MILAN — S. Pellegrino has announced the 135 candidates selected to go on to the next round of judging in the S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2020 Edition.
Representing 50 different countries, the candidates were chosen from more than 2,400 applicants, by culinary experts at ALMA — the world’s leading international, educational and training centre for Italian cuisine. Each applicant presented a signature dish to be evaluated and was judged on three categories: technical skills, creativity and a personal belief in the transformative power of gastronomy as a device for positive change in society.
“We had the pleasure of collaborating with S. Pellegrino Young Chef since the very first edition and every time we’re amazed by the variety of ideas and the great passion shown by the candidates,” says Andrea Sinigaglia, general manager of ALMA. “For this edition, we selected 135 young talents and are excited to see how they will perform — first on a local and then on a global scale.”
From August 2019 to December 2019, the candidates will compete in 12 regional challenges, each judged by its own panel of leading independent chefs. These judges will then select the regional winners of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Award, the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thoughts Award, the S. Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility and the Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy.
Following the regional competitions, the winners of the four awards from each region will move on the Grand Finale, which will take place in June 2020. Each of the finalists will be accompanied by a mentor chef to help them prepare for the final round of the competition.
S. Pellegrino is proud to announce that, in keeping with its commitment to gender balance and inclusivity, there was a 10-per-cent increase in the number of women registered as selected candidates for the 2020 edition — a number it hopes to further increase in the future.
Of the 135 selected candidates, the five chefs representing Canada in the regional competitions are:
- Garrett Martin, Concorde Group, Calgary (spring lamb with cabbage, black garlic and goat butter)
- Kathryn Ferris, Stofa Restaurant, Ottawa (forest honey-glazed rabbit ballotine with fennel, chanterelles and mustard greens)
- Marvin Palomo, 7 Enoteca, Oakville, Ont. (Dungeness crab chawanmushi)
- Rafael Covarrubias, Hexagon Restaurant, Oakville, Ont. (mole-spiced Muscovy duck, preserved prune and winter roots)
- Yoann Therer, L’Abattoir, Vancouver (le pigeon à Papi)
