Meet the Local Juries for S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25
These are the chefs who will choose the regional winners.
On this page you will find details about the Local Juries for the 15 Regional Finals of S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25. The page will be updated as the Local Juries are announced.
At each Regional Final, the first stage of the Competition, a jury of revered local chefs will judge the signature dishes of the young hopefuls. This local jury will then choose a regional winner, who will go on to cook off against the other 14 regional winners at the Grand Finale in Milan in 2025, for a chance to be crowned the best young chef in the world.
Interested in applying or know someone that is? Applications are open for this edition of the Competition until 19 June 2024. More details, including how to apply, can be found here.
The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition is the world’s greatest culinary talent search; a chance for young chefs to share their unique vision with the world through a signature dish, and to help shape the future of gastronomy.
Click on the area below to find out more about each Local Jury.
LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES
SOUTH EAST EUROPE & MEDITERRANEAN
ITALY
Giancarlo Perbellini
Perbellini grew up in a food family. In 1989, at the age of 26, he opened the Perbellini restaurant in Isola Rizza, which went on to win two Michelin stars. An entrepreneurial chef, he has many restaurants, most recently Locanda Perbellini ai Beati in Garda. Since January 2024, he has been Executive Chef of the UK’s Pasta Evangelists brand. He is also a published author.
Matteo Metullio
Having worked with Norbert Niederkofler at Alta Badia, Metullio arrived at La Siriola, the restaurant of the Ciasa Salares hotel in the Dolomites at the turn of 2012/13, bringing in chef friend Davide De Pra to work alongside him. The Michelin Guide confirmed a star in 2013, before a second followed in 2017. The duo are now executive chefs at two-star Harry’s Trieste. Among the cornerstones of his cooking philosophy is the constant search for and exaltation of excellent raw materials without territorial limits.
Karime López
Born and raised in Querétaro, north of Mexico City, chef Karime López leads, alongside, Takahiko Kondo, Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in Florence. Her passion for food has led her to work in the most prestigious kitchens around the world: from Spain (Can Fabes in Catalonia) to Mexico (Pujol in Mexico City), from Peru (as sous chef at Central in Lima) to Japan (RyuGin in Tokyo), before landing at Osteria Francescana in Modena and then, finally, at Gucci Osteria in 2018.
Isabella Potì
Born in Rome, Potì showed passion and aptitude for cooking from an early age. After attending hotel school in Lecce, her career took off in London alongside her teacher Claude Bosi. Her talent then took her to Spain, where she studied with Paco Torreblanca and Martín Berasategui, to Copenhagen at Geranium, and to Menton at Mirazur. Together with her partner, Floriano Pellegrino, she founded the one-Michelin-starred restaurant Bros' in Lecce, Salento.
Davide Di Fabio
After attending hotel management school in San Benedetto del Tronto, Di Fabio began working in Modena in 2005, at Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana. In 2021, he became the chef at the Michelin-starred Dalla Gioconda restaurant in Gabicce Monte. He likes dishes with a real and direct flavour, but with deep roots in the imagination.
LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES
Janaína Torres
A Brazilian culinary powerhouse with a social conscience, Torres is the chef-owner of several award-winning gastronomic businesses in the same São Paulo neighbourhood where she grew up. A Casa do Porco was born in 2015 and has become one of the most sought-after dining experiences in the region, offering inspiring tasting menus at affordable prices and, most recently, ranking at number 12 at The World 50 Best Restaurants 2023. Torres was recognised as the Best Female Chef in Latin America in 2023 and The World's Best Female Chef in 2024.
Mario Castrellón
The chef behind Panama City's lauded Maito, along with a small empire of other restaurants in the country, is a pioneer in Central America. Castrellón's efforts to educate, empower and enlighten future generations of culinary talent looking to enter the industry are noteworthy, as is his work with charities such as the Fundación Calicanto that helps socially vulnerable women throughout Panama. Castrellón's work as a culinary pioneer, community leader and philanthropist are just some of the reasons behind his huge popularity.
Gabriela Cámara
A Mexican entrepreneur born in Chihuahua, Cámara founded Contramar in Mexico City in 1998, marking the beginning of a successful career in the restaurant industry. Betting on a simple cuisine with high-quality fresh ingredients, she expanded her gastronomic empire with the opening of Entremar and Expendio Durango. In 2021, she added Caracol de Mar and Itacate de Mar to her repertoire, consolidating the Grupo Contramar. Beyond her business success, she is committed to sustainability and social responsibility, working closely with suppliers and collaborating on projects related to responsible fishing and agriculture.
James Berckemeyer
With over 23 years of experience in the industry, Berckemeyer is a chef, entrepreneur and brand ambassador. He is the founder of the Cosme, Alado and Pánguche restaurants, studied at Cordon Bleu in Peru, and did a Master of Cooking at the ICIF (International Culinary Institute for Foreigners) in Italy. He has worked in some of the most prestigious restaurants in the world such as Agli Amici (Italy), El Celler de Can Roca (Spain) and Arzak (Spain).
Dolli Irigoyen
An Argentine chef, television presenter and author, Irigoyen has more than 50 years’ experience and currently works in her space known as Espacio Dolli, which has a test kitchen, a culinary school, an event space, a library and a store. She was a columnist for the national newspaper La Nación and has published several books, from Productos Argentino to Cocina para Todos. She participates as a judge on television programs such as MasterChef Celebrity Argentina and Bake-Off Argentina, and has chaired the Argentine committee for the Bocuse d'Or.
SOUTH EAST EUROPE & MEDITERRANEAN
Victor Borg
Under Grain in Valetta, Malta has held a Michelin star for five years and there, chef Borg takes great pride in offering classic, French-inspired dining with refined service. At the more casual Bib Gourmand-recognised Grain Street he has a curated an à la carte menu with European-inspired dishes featuring a selection of snacks, charcuterie and sharing plates that shows off the chef’s versatility as well as the Mediterranean island’s diverse culinary offering.
Alexandru Iacob
Iacob is one of Romania's best-known chefs. He has worked in Austria and Germany and completed a master's degree in gastronomy at the Basque Culinary Center. After returning to Romania, he won Top Chef and inspired by a trip to Mexico, opened Mat restaurant in Bucharest, together with friend chef Cristi Dascaleanu, promising the best tacos in Romania. Everything there is made in house, from the masa to home-smoked meats.
Iwona Niemczewska
Niemczewska gave up a legal career in 2010, graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in London before completing professional training at the Paul Bocuse Institute in Lyon. On the premises of her former law office in Szczecin, Poland, she opened a signature restaurant Z Drugiej Strony Lustra (‘The Other Side of the Mirror’), which has been awarded two toques by Gault&Millau since 2016. In 2019 she was chosen as the Culinary Personality of the Year in Poland. She is a member of the board of Chaine des Rotisseurs Bailliage of Poland (Conseiller Culinaire) and Vice President of the Polish Culinary Chefs Association.
Thanos Feskos
Feskos is co-Executive Chef at two-Michelin-starred Delta Restaurant in Athens and ex-Head Chef at Geranium in Copenhagen, which holds three Michelin stars and was named Best Restaurant in the World by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2022. Feskos started cooking at the age of 18 and left Greece aged 20 to travel the world and collect experiences. “Cooking unites people and countries,” he says.
Igor Jagodic
Jagodic has been running Michelin-starred Strelec at Ljubljana Castle since 2012 and since 2022 has been co-owner of the restaurant. Before Strelec he worked all over Slovenia and further afield in Europe and was a member of the Slovenian culinary team that won two silver medals at the 2008 Culinary Olympiad in Erfurt. He was awarded Chef of the Year 2019 by Gault&Millau and also teaches at the Ljubljana High School for Hospitality and Tourism.
PACIFIC
Jake Kellie
Kellie is the co-owner and Executive Chef of Arkhé, Adelaide’s first open-flame restaurant. Between 2017 and 2019, he honed his craft as Head Chef of Burnt Ends in Singapore alongside chef-owner David Pynt, driving the Australian barbecue restaurant to #53 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and its first Michelin star. Prior to this, Kellie was the winner of the Southeast Asia Regional Final for S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2018, progressing to the Grand Finale in Milan.
Josh Niland
Born and raised in Maitland, New South Wales, Niland cooked all over the world, including The Fat Duck in Bray, UK, before opening his acclaimed Sydney restaurant, Saint Peter, in 2016. There, he has led a gill-to-tail revolution in fish butchery and cooking through his innovative dishes utilising often discarded parts of the fish as well as lesser-known species and his various cookbooks. He has also opened a Fish Butchery and launched further restaurants, both in Sydney and Singapore.
Rosheen Kaul
Kaul is an author, food personality and head chef of Etta in Melbourne’s Brunswick East.
Drawing on vibrant flavours from her childhood in Singapore and Kashmiri and Peranakan Chinese heritage, Kaul is an alumnus of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and some of Australia’s top restaurants. In 2022, Etta joined the 50 Best Discovery list, and in 2023 was awarded Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year (VIC). In 2022, Kaul co-authored her first cookbook with illustrator Joanna Hu, Chinese-ish, to widespread acclaim, winning a James Beard Media Award.
Brent Savage
Savage is chef and co-owner of Sydney's acclaimed Bentley Restaurant + Bar, among many others, consistently ranked among Australia's top 20 restaurants. In 2010, he shared his culinary expertise with the world through the cookbook, Bentley: Contemporary Cuisine, offering insights into his creative process. He has twice been awarded the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Chef of the Year (2005 and 2015) and has travelled the world cooking as a guest in some of the world’s best restaurants.
Brigitte Hafner
Hafner began her cooking apprenticeship under Kylie Kwong before working in the kitchens of Jacques Reymond, Greg Malouf, Guy Grossi and Stefano de Pieri. She opened the Gertrude Street Enoteca with James Broadway in 2004 before they shifted their energy to the opening of Tedesca Osteria at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula in 2020. Since then, Tedesca has been named Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant of the Year, currently holds two hats and three glasses, and continues to evolve.
USA
Curtis Duffy
Duffy is a renowned American chef and restaurateur who owns and operates the Ever Restaurant Group in Chicago, with Ever earning two Michelin stars and his previous venture, Grace, earning three Michelin stars from 2015 to 2018. In addition, Duffy sits on the advisory board of the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, where a $25,000 scholarship in his name is awarded. In 2022, Duffy and business partner, Michael Muser, expanded their group and opened After, a dinner and cocktail lounge, and The Canvas by Ever, a high-end event space.
Ayesha Nurdjaja
A Brooklyn native of Italian-Indonesian heritage and a James Beard Foundation Best Chef: New York State nominee (2022 and 2023), Nurdjaja graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education. After working her way up the ranks at various New York City establishments including Lidia Bastianich’s Felidia, Bar Aristinal, Picholine and Missy Robbins’ A Voce, Ayesha went on to join The Bowery Group, where she is currently Chef & Partner at Shuka and Shukette, earning a devoted following for her vibrant Eastern Mediterranean fare and distinct seasonal culinary approach.
Aisha Ibrahim
Ibrahim was born in the Southern Philippines before immigrating to the US as a child. After graduating from the Le Cordon Bleu program in San Francisco, she launched her career in the Bay Area at notable restaurants such as Aqua, Commis, and Manresa where she eventually became a sous chef before moving to the Basque Country to train at Azurmendi. She has spent time in some of the best kitchens in the world including in Japan at Kagurazaka Ishikawa, L’effervescence, and RyuGin, and is now Executive Chef at Canlis restaurant in Seattle. She was most recently recognised as a 2023 Food & Wine Best New Chef of America.
Valerie Chang
Chang grew up in Chiclayo, Peru and moved to the US when she 10, where she spent her childhood watching her father Fernando cook. In 2018 Chang, her brother Nando, and their father opened Itamae in the Miami Design District food hall and then in 2019, a fast casual off-shoot concept, B-Side. In 2023 she opened Maty’s, named after her grandmother, in Miami’s Midtown neighbourhood. At Maty's the menu is a modern take on comida criolla, the traditional Peruvian food of Chang's upbringing. She has earned two James Beard semifinalist nominations for Rising Star Chef (2019, 2020) and nominations for Best Chef South (2022, 2023).
Junghyun ‘JP’ Park
Chef Junghyun ‘JP’ Park is a Seoul-born, New York City-based chef, most recently recognised as Best Chef: NY State (2023) by the James Beard Foundation. He is globally acclaimed for his NYC restaurants Atomix (2 Michelin Stars, No. 8 World’s 50 Best 2023) and Atoboy in NoMad, NARO in Rockefeller Center, and Seoul Salon in Koreatown. With an academic background in Food Sciences bolstered by years of experience in creating restaurants pioneering the ‘New Korean’ movement, Park continues to hone his dedication to evolving Hansik through research and development on a global scale.
WEST EUROPE
Christian Nickel
After years of apprenticeship and travel in Germany, Spain, France and Singapore, Nickel moved to Switzerland in 2005, working with Hans-Peter Hussong, and Lucia and Felix Eppisser at Spice in Zurich. He has been running Park Hotel Vitznau and the Campus Hotel Hertenstein in Weggis since 2013 and the Neuro Campus Hotel in Vitznau since 2021. He has dedicated himself to “Preserving the past and shaping the future” through his food and leadership, he says.
Manon Schenck
Originally from Alsace, Schenck worked in France (including five years in Brittany) and in Luxembourg before settling in Durbuy in Belgium and creating La Table de Manon in 2016, where the cuisine is focused on seafood and in particular lobster. The restaurant currently holds one Michelin star, while Schenck has previously been named young chef of the year for Benelux.
Silvia Manser
Silvia Manser grew up in a small restaurant in Gais, Switzerland. She spent three seasons with Roland Jöhri, before heading to Auberge du Raisin in Cully to work with Adolf Blokbergen. In 2001, Silvia and her husband took over the family business from her parents and transformed it from a neighbourhood eatery into the Gault Millau and Michelin award-winning gourmet restaurant Truube Gais.
Frank Giovannini
Giovannini, born in Tramelan, Switzerland, started his career as Chef de Partie in the Lespinasse restaurant at the St. Regis Hotel in New York under the direction of chef Gray Kunz. From 1995, mentored by Frédy Girardet and Philippe Rochat, Giovanni worked at the Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville à Crissier, first as Chef de Partie and later as Sous Chef. In 2019, he ascended to Chef de Cuisine, earning the restaurant three Michelin stars and 19/20 GaultMilau points.
Thijs Vervloet
After training at the Hotel School in Koksijde and time at Hof ter Hulst, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Zilte, among others, Vervloet then opened his own restaurant, Colette, named after his grandmother, in Westerlo, Belgium in 2016. Nine months after opening, Colette was awarded its first Michelin star, and in 2019 Vervloet received the title of Young Top Chef of Flanders. Colette was awarded a second Michelin star in 2022.
CENTRAL EUROPE
Heinz Reitbauer
Reitbauer’s cooking style reflects his respect and appreciation of raw ingredients and products. His Vienna restaurant Steirereck holds two Michelin stars and five toques from Gault Millau. It has been voted the best restaurant in Austria by A La Carte magazine and the Falstaff Guide. Since 2009 the restaurant has been included on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and in 2016 Reitbauer was named Austrian Chef of the Century by Gault Millau.
Daniel Gottschlich
Gottschlich is the owner and head chef of two successful restaurants in Cologne: Puls and the internationally renowned, two-Michelin-star Ox & Klee. His cooking revolves around the six taste qualities of sweet, sour, umami, salty, bitter and fat and their perception with all five senses. In 2023, he was the first chef to receive a short-term scholarship at the German Academy Villa Massimo in Rome, an art academy that is over 120-years-old and is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany.
Julia Komp
At her Michelin-starred Cologne restaurant Sahila, Komp takes guests on a culinary journey inspired by her global travels. Next door to Sahila you can find Julia’s second restaurant, Mezze Bar Yu*lia, a tribute to her time in Tunisia. In 2016 Komp was Germany's youngest female chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant, and in 2020 she was named chef of the year. She is also a regular guest on German television.
Rosina Ostler
Born in Munich, Ostler has worked at some of Germany’s best restaurants, including at three-Michelin-star Restaurant Schwarzwaldstube Torsten Michel, and at the similarly awarded Maaemo in Oslo. She is currently Head chef at Alois-Dallmayr Fine Dining in Munich, which holds two stars.
The Duc Ngo
As a restaurateur, The Duc Ngo is well known throughout the region. Born in Hanoi, he came to Berlin in 1979 as a refugee of Chinese descent via Hong Kong. At the age of 24, the self-taught chef opened his first restaurant, Kuch. Many restaurants followed. In 2016, he opened 893 Ryotei on Kantstraße. Today The Duc Ngo runs 18 restaurants, regularly features in Gault Millau and the Michelin Guide and is 44th of the 100 Best Chefs in Germany according to Rolling Pin.
CANADA
Jason Bangerter
Bangerter began his culinary career in Toronto, before heading to Europe, working under the likes of Anton Mosimann and Pierre Koffmann in London. Returning to Toronto, he joined the team at Auberge du Pommier, before in 2013 becoming the Executive Chef at Langdon Hall Country House Hotel and Spa in Cambridge. Bangerter is a champion for Ontario, ensuring 80% of all food and drink in the restaurant is sourced locally. He is also a long-time Ocean Wise partner.
Nuit Regular
Chef Nuit Regular is the Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Pai, Kiin, Chaiyo, Sukhothai, and By Chef Nuit Events & Catering, as well as the Executive Chef of Selva. She has transformed the Thai food scene in Toronto through the distinct flavours of Northern Thai cuisine and hospitality. Nuit left her career as a nurse and Thailand to share her passion and life experiences through family recipes, street market dishes, and Royal Thai cuisine in Canada.
Normand Laprise
Born and trained in Québec, Laprise opened the critically-acclaimed restaurant Toqué! In Montréal with Christine Lamarche in 1993. In 2009, he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Québec, and in 2014 received the l’Ordre du Canada. He has been part of Grande Tables du Monde since 2014 and for several decades has inspired young chefs who are now at the top of the ladder in the culinary world or are running their own restaurants.
IBERIAN COUNTRIES
Rui Silvestre
At just 29-years-old, Silvestre became the youngest chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Portugal at Bon Bon in the Algarve. In 2019 he achieved another milestone by bringing the first Michelin star to the eastern Algarve as Executive Chef at Vistas Rui Silvestre restaurant. Since January 2024, he has been the Executive Chef at restaurant Fifty Seconds in Lisbon.
Quique Dacosta
Dacosta began his career as a chef in 1986. In 1988, he started working at what is today his restaurant, El Poblet (now three-Michelin-star Quique Dacosta Restaurante) in Dénia, Spain. The restaurant currently sits at #20 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He is also the director and culinary creator of the Hotel Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid, and has further restaurants in Valencia and London. Dacosta has become a chef who uses his culture and territory like a banner, inspired by the Mediterranean Sea and the Montgó Natural Park.
Martina Puigvert Puigdevall
Chef Puigvert Puigdevall was recently awarded the Young Chef Award 2024 by the Michelin Guide Spain. She is a chef at two-Michelin-star Les Cols restaurant in Catalonia, where she works with her parents: chef Fina and sommelier Manel. She studied Gastronomic Arts and Culinary Sciences at the Basque Culinary Center and staged at restaurants such as Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York state. After that, she carried out her Undergraduate Thesis Project with a gastronomic and social project at Gustu restaurant in Bolivia, before joining les Cols in 2016.
José Avillez
Portuguese chef Avillez’s main focus is to promote his country’s gastronomy and contribute to making Portugal a top gastronomic destination. He has several restaurants there, as well as in Dubai and Macau, each with a different concept. His flagship Belcanto, in Lisbon, holds two Michelin stars and is #25 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list. He has also contributed to countless Portuguese and foreign books, and hosted TV and radio shows, nationwide and abroad.
NORTH EUROPE
Soenil Bahadoer
Born in Suriname, Bahadoer moved with his family to the Netherlands at a young age, where his early experiences in his mother's kitchen ignited his love for cooking. He has worked in prestigious restaurants such as Scholteshof and Parkheuvel, and in 1995, became the owner of Restaurant De Lindehof in Nuenen. De Lindehof has been awarded two Michelin stars and is renowned for its sophisticated and innovative cuisine, combining Surinamese flavours with high-quality Dutch ingredients.
Søren Selin
Selin began as Chef de Cuisine at AOC in Copenhagen in 2013. It has held two Michelin stars since 2015, while Selin has won Danish Dish of The Year three times, the last being in 2017 with his dish, BBQ with plaice. He owns the restaurant together with sommelier Christian Aarø. Selin has a culinary background at Le Relais Louis XIII (two Michelin stars) and Jules Verne (one Michelin star), both in Paris, and at Alberto K in Copenhagen, where he spent four years as Executive Chef.
Anika Madsen
Having worked for some years with the Kadeau (two Michelin stars, Copenhagen) group, Madsen took an opportunity with Noma and Gustu founder Claus Meyer, becoming partner and Head Chef at an old pheasant farm in the city, Fasangården, cooking food with deep Nordic roots. In 2022 she was invited to become part of a new restaurant project, on the floating art installation, Salmon Eye, in Norway. Iris opened in June 2023. The first expedition dining in the middle of the Norwegian fjords, Iris is a six-hour culinary journey that starts and ends at Rosendal harbour.
Helena Puolakka
Puolakka has worked in multiple Michelin star restaurants over two decades in London and Paris. She returned home to Finland to take over Helsinki’s iconic Savoy restaurant in 2019. Since taking over, Savoy has been refurbished in collaboration with Ilse Crawford and Studio Ilse and returned to culinary glory with an elegant feminine French/Finnish cuisine. In 2022 she opened a casual Southern French brasserie on the ground floor of the same building.
Adam Dahlberg
Dahlberg has 30 years of experience at various restaurants in Sweden and abroad, and has competed in many cooking competitions including Bocuse d’Or 2013. Currently he is running three restaurants in Stockholm: Solen, Misshumasshu and flagship restaurant Adam/Albin. His Michelin-starred restaurant Adam/Albin offers a personalised Nordic dining experience, with a set menu founded on à la minute cooking and on a natural way of preparing the best ingredients sourced for the moment.
MAINLAND OF CHINA
Rong Wu
Rong Wu is the owner and Executive Chef of Meet on the Bund, a Fujian restaurant in Shanghai. Considered a master of Fujian cuisine he has a number of other restaurants and was named Chef of the Year 2024 by Black Pearl Restaurant Guide. Meet the Bund currently sits at #50 on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list and was the first Michelin-starred Fujian cuisine restaurant in China.
Jacqueline Qiu
Jacqueline Qiu was born in Shanghai and has worked at Westin, Jean Georges, Park Hyatt and Andaz since 1992. She is currently working as Director of F&B Operations, Greater China & Mongolia, for Hilton Corporate. She has been involved with the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition since 2016, and is also the Western Cuisine General Secretary of the Shanghai Restaurants & Cuisine Association. She is a chef driven by curiosity and a craving for knowledge.
DeAille Tam
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Canada, Tam moved to Shanghai in 2016. There she headed up Bo Shanghai, which was awarded a Michelin star just a year after it opened, making her the first female chef in mainland China to lead her restaurant to a star. In 2021, Tam was named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2021 by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. Her Michelin-starred Obscura is a modern Chinese restaurant established with her partner Simon Wong.
Stefan Stiller
Stefan Stiller, originally from Germany, worked at the likes of three-Michelin-star Zum Goldener Pflug before relocating to Shanghai in 2004. In 2016 he opened Taian Table, which received a Michelin star in the inaugural Shanghai Guide the same year. The restaurant was awarded a second star in 2019 and a third in 2021. With restaurants in Guangzhou also, Stiller’s restaurants currently hold six Michelin stars in total.
Jingye Xu
Jingye has specialised in Cantonese cuisine since he started his career, spending five years polishing essential techniques. He then met Yao Min, who shared the same vision and passion for opening a private kitchen focusing on Cantonese cuisine. The result is 102 House in Shanghai. Inspired by Japanese kaiseki cuisine, Jingye has created an all-season menu that breaks away from conventional thinking, harnessing the original flavours of the ingredients. The restaurant currently holds two Michelin stars and is #40 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST & SOUTH ASIA
Akmal Anuar
Originally from Singapore, Anuar has a career spanning two decades and has headed multiple award-winning restaurants in Singapore and the Middle East. He is the chef-proprietor of White Rice, a boutique hospitality company specialising in creating bespoke food-centric experiences. Now a successful restauranteur and the driving force behind multiple unique concepts in the UAE, he has his sights set on global expansion.
Roaya Saleh
The founder and owner of Villa Mamas in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and London, Saleh is on a mission to take Khaleeji cuisine global. A self-taught chef, her menus take you on a journey of the region’s rich history, combining influences from Iran, India and Europe. Across all operations, the heart of Villa Mamas remains Saleh’s connection to home with the offering formed around her childhood spent on the family farm and in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother.
Bertus Basson
Basson’s food philosophy is rooted in traditional South African food culture with a modern outlook. Since opening his first restaurant in 2007, his establishments have grown into a family that now includes Chorus, Eike, Kantien, Spek & Bone, Geuwels, Clara’s Barn and two De Vrije Burgers. Bertus is a popular television personality, bringing his years of experience to the table with series including In Die Sop: Restaurant Evolusie and Sjefhuis.
UK
Santiago Lastra
Born in Mexico City, Lastra was offered an internship at one-Michelin-starred Europa Restaurant in Pamplona and moved to Spain after graduating high school. Following this, he studied and researched food and ingredients across the globe, catching the attention of Noma and René Redzepi, who would later work with Lastra for a pop-up in Mexico.
He opened Kol in London 2020, with bold menus that celebrate his homeland's rich cultural tastes, aromas and textures, using seasonal British produce. Kol was awarded a Michelin star in 2022 and features on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Adam Smith
Smith joined The Ritz in London in 2004 under chef John Williams, rising to Executive Sous Chef by 2012, with a string of culinary awards under his belt including the Roux Scholarship. In 2016 he joined Coworth Park as Executive Chef, eventually opening Woven by Adam Smith, where he has created dishes inspired by classic flavours and techniques, presented in fresh, creative and contemporary ways. Woven by Adam Smith was awarded a Michelin star in its first Michelin Guide.
Lorna McNee
McNee was born in Moray, Scotland. She went on to spend 12 years at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, rising to the position of Sous Chef. She took her first Head Chef role at long standing Glasgow restaurant Cail Bruich in 2020, where she champions seasonal Scottish produce. The restaurant earned a Michelin star within just five months of her taking on the role.
Nokx Majozi
Nokuthula Majozi, or Nokx as she is known, began her culinary career at the four-star Riverside Hotel in Durban. She then moved to London to take on a role of Demi Chef at the Intercontinental Hotel Park Lane, where she stayed for two years. She joined the team at Rosewood London in 2014 where she currently works as Senior Sous Chef and Head Pie Maker. Outside of the kitchen, Nokx works closely with Women in Hospitality, an organisation that supports and fosters the career development of women in the hospitality industry.
Alex Dilling
Dilling grew up between London, England, and the US. He was Executive Chef at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, and The Greenhouse, maintaining two Michelin stars for both. Dilling’s namesake restaurant opened in 2022 in the five-star Hotel Café Royal in London, achieving two Michelin stars just six months after opening. Dilling has a strong international following and in 2023 alone hosted pop-ups and events in Thailand, Greece, Singapore and Mauritius at some of the world’s most prestigious hotel groups.
FRANCE
Clément Bécherel
Bécherel has been Executive Chef of three-Michelin-star Plénitude in Paris since November 2023, having worked alongside chef Arnaud Donckele for seven years. From 2017 to 2019, he worked at the restaurant La Vague d'Or at Cheval Blanc Saint-Tropez, rising to Sous Chef
Alexandre Mazzia
Born to French parents, Mazzia spent his childhood in the Congo. Upon returning to France, he attended hospitality and gastronomy school, working at Place de la Madeleine in Paris and several celebrated French kitchens before travelling to Barcelona to stage at Santi Santamaria. In 2009, he accepted a permanent role in Marseille at Le Corbusier. The city has been a huge influence on the chef and in 2014 he opened AM Par Alexandre Mazzia, which currently holds three Michelin stars.
Georgiana Viou
Chef of the one-Michelin-star Rouge restaurant in Nîmes, Viou was born in Benin. She left the country in 1999 to study foreign languages at the Sorbonne, Paris. After entering a number of culinary competitions, she gained experience at top establishments in Provence and Paris. In 2011, she struck out on her own, first at L'Atelier de Georgiana, then Chez Georgiana and La Piscine, all in Marseille. In 2021 she opened Rouge, earning a star two years later.
David Toutain
Toutain opened his eponymous Paris restaurant in 2013. Over a decade later, he's still there every day, serving 36 covers in an intimate setting where raw materials rule. The chef’s elegant cuisine, dictated by colours and seasons, has helped earn the restaurant two Michelin stars and a green star.
Glenn Viel
Glenn Viel has helmed the kitchen of L'Oustau de Baumanière in Provence since 2015. In 2020, the restaurant was awarded its third Michelin star, as well as a green star. In the same year, he was named Chef of the Year by his peers winning the Le Chef trophy at the 34th edition. Originally from Brittany, he is passionate about local terroir and enjoys mixing his Breton roots with Provençal culinary traditions.
ASIA
Antonio Iacoviello
Iacoviello is Executive Chef of one-Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Tokyo. He moved to Japan in 2021 after gaining experience in Europe. Always respectful of his Italian roots, Iacoviello brings Italian gastronomic traditions and local Japanese ingredients together to present a playful, truly contemporary Italian cuisine that appeals to all the senses at Gucci Osteria Tokyo.
Tam Debhakam
Chudaree ‘Tam’ Debhakam, is Owner and Head Chef at Baan Tepa Culinary Space in Bangkok, a fine-dining restaurant focusing on local ingredients, sustainability and culinary creativity. The restaurant has two Michelin stars. She was the first and youngest ‘Top Chef Thailand’ and is also an advocate of food waste reduction having been the Chef Ambassador for Thai Harvest/SOS and UNEP campaigns 2015-2017. She worked for chef Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, New York for two years, a restaurant renowned for its sustainable food concept.
Vicky Cheng
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Toronto, Canada, Cheng trained under highly revered and respected French chefs, including Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud in New York.
On returning to Hong Kong he gained an understanding of traditional Cantonese cooking, combining this with French technique to open one-Michelin-starred Vea. In 2021, he opened Wing, which is currently ranked #5 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024.
Johanne Siy
Born in Dagupan, Philippines, Siy left a corporate career to pursue a passion for the culinary arts. She trained at The Culinary Institute of America and has apprenticed under chefs Eric Ripert and Daniel Boulud, plus a four-year stint at Restaurant André (Singapore). Now based in Singapore, Siy’s food spotlights Asian-inspired modern European cuisine that often pays homage to her Filipina heritage. As the Head Chef of Lolla, she has steered the restaurant to #43 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024.
Richie Lin
Born in Hong Kong, Lin worked alongside Peter Gilmore at Quay in Sydney. He then spent time at Noma in Copenhagen before moving to Taiwan permanently. He set up Mume in 2014, together with Long Xiong and Kai Ward, though it has been run solely by Lin over the last few years. There he combines his international outlook, propension for minimalist Nordic-inspired plating and passion for Taiwanese produce. The restaurant is ranked #34 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024.
Vicky Lau
Having swapped a career in graphic design for the kitchen, chef Vicky Lau has become one of Asia’s leading chefs, winning two Michelin stars at Tate Dining Room, one Michelin-star and one Michelin Green star in her soy-based restaurant MORA in her native Hong Kong. There, she has been lauded for her elegant approach to French and Chinese cuisine, utilising her razor-sharp design aesthetic to create plates that are not only delicious but works of art.
David Lai
Lai’s passion for cooking began while at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was inspired by Alice Waters at Chez Panisse. After university, he trained at top restaurants, such as Masa, and The Dining Room at Ritz Carlton under mentor chef Sylvain Portay. He moved back to Hong Kong in 2003 to help open Alain Ducasse’s Spoon at the Intercontinental Hotel. In 2009, Lai opened his first restaurant On Lot 10 (closed) and in 2014, opened Neighborhood, #16 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024.
