Regional Finalists 2024-25

My grandmother is from North Korea. She came down to South Korea during the Korean War. She was a housewife, but also my chef. She cooked a lot of North Korean food. Among them, my favorite was Pheasant dishes. It's a main signature dish that unravels these foods in my own way. My grandmother's cooking for me was a memory and happiness for me. With those memories, I give people happy memories and dishes and my dream is to become a chef. If She was alive, I would like to cook this for her.

I sought to blend the flavors of Balinese cuisine with the memories of my roots in Tholen, a small village in the Netherlands, Zeeland province, historically renowned for its mussel culture. Now I am located in Bali, exploring, and tasting those amazing dishes and flavors. In this fusion, I weave together the essence of Bali and Tholen, capturing the essence of two worlds in one dish. It's a tribute to my journey, where the flavors of my past meet the spices of my present.

I choose this dish because my mom used to cook this for me and now I cook it for my son. I wan to represent thai heritage dishes in a modern way, to reflect that if the products are treated with love and respect, so the dish will be. I refine the flavours and techniques to elevate it even more, to show the proud heritage of the Thailand ingredients and recipes.

This dish is an homage to my personal culinary journey. Being of Chinese Filipino decent, this dish is a culmination of the influence other countries have had on Filipino cuisine. I want to use this opportunity to showcase a beautiful bird sourced locally from Ontario,while flaunting a contemporary version of a classic dish replacing the pork. I’d like to think of myself like this Sinigang dish, a pinnacle of different influences and techniques I've learned from the different Chefs in my career.

This is the purest form of expression of my journey. This dish will take you through the beginning of my career all the way to the present. It takes inspiration from my grandmother’s impactful love for cooking transmitted to me as a young girl, to the reflection of my culinary career. My development as a chef and the learning of cultures, were turning points of finding my own identity and what has devoted me to this chapter.

With this dish, I want my diverse immigrant family background and the fact I do not identify with one food culture, to show what can be done with modern ideas and less. I want to improve myself and develop tight portion control, recipe control, “waste” utilisation, and an insane passion for food. I want to demonstrate my vision of fine dining cooking, which is to cook as local, zero waste, and as ethically as I can while still keeping deliciousness. I want to put food into bellies, not bins.

My dish should represent the northern Waldviertel and the history of my family. The idea for my signature dish was born in my head from childhood flavours. But I also want to use it to show sustainability and make a statement that you can still cook an interesting style of cuisine using classic techniques.

The Char is a fish which lives directly in our alpine lakes in Ladis. So the main ingredient stands for my home town. The char is served in 2 different styles. Once as "Cordon Bleu" and once stained. With the dish i would like to show, that it´s possible to connect typical ingredients and tastes from my home town with tastes and ingredients from all over the world. So the whole world on "one plate".

This dish represents me: german born i lived in Irleand for 10 years. North Sea Cod: Pan-seared to perfection, symbolizing my childhood fishing expeditions in northern Germany. Oyster: Representing Ireland, adorned with colors inspired by the Irish flag (green, white, and orange). Potato Salad with Beurre Blanc: Reflects my time in Hamburg and the elegance of Carls Restaurant. Mashed Peas: A nod to my Irish experience, complementing the traditional fish and chips.

This dish gives nobility to the sturgeon by placing it at the centre of the plate, with the caviar playing a secondary role as an accompaniment. I love the idea of pairing the fish with the highly prized egg it produces. Born to two young parents, I grew up between Sologne and Provence; by combining the flavours of Douglass, pine kernels and artichokes, as well as remembering the tian my grandmother used to prepare for me and my love of freshwater fish, I'm showing my origins.

My name is Klervi. It's a Celtic name from Brittany, Bretagne region of France from my mother. She gave me the taste of the gastronomic products with the fish, the seaweeds and the buckwheat. I found this passion again few years later when I met my Mentor from Japan. We found out that the products from Bretagne and Japan are quite the same. The Colombo, is a memory from my childhood in Guadeloupe, french island in the Caribbean. The sea is the link between this 3 regions and my traveling diary.

My signature dish, 'Oceanic Revelations,' contrasts the natural color of white cod with black squid ink to symbolize the impact of sea pollution on ocean life. Fennel with green herbs and a delicate fennel sauce represents hope and the fragility of marine ecosystems. Inspired by sustainable practices, it emphasizes the importance of conscientious seafood consumption and urgently calls for the protection of our marine ecosystems for future generations.

With this proposal, what I am trying to do is make the most of a product of such quality as hake. Hake is one of the most consumed foods in Spain by the most humble families. In this dish I use all parts of the hake to avoid throwing waste in the trash. The garnishes are also made with cheap products simulating how poor families would make them. The dish has three preparations using a different part of the hake in each of them.

I would like to express the evolution of nuances and flavours that develops in cold-ripened sea bass without humidity. The maturation of pork pieces is a technique widely used in our area, it is carried out in the winter months in order to take advantage of the dry cold. The impediment of having fresh fish available on a daily basis has led us to implement this technique and adapt it in the restaurant to achieve a regularity in quality and a product with a great complexity of flavour and nuances.

With this dish I seek to change the focus generated by some products and turn it into something more personal. Using parts of not so common products and plating them in tableware designed and handcrafted by myself.

Growing up in the province of Bergamo with my grandmothers, who were born and raised during the war, they always had the philosophy ‘ the butcher throws nothing away of an animal’. A thought that made me reflect on how many different ways there are to make full use of all that a raw material can offer us. This is why I chose to use a rabbit in its entirety and develop the dish starting with the use of a few kilos of carrots, thus managing to have no waste.

My "Ossi di seppia" draws inspiration from Montale's work, where bones, wandering among the waves and seemingly worthless, symbolize a miserable yet significant existential condition. Like the small things in daily life, they conceal intrinsic value and beauty. By using every part of the cuttlefish, even those considered scraps, I aim to showcase their importance and convey the significance of circular cooking to reduce waste and valorise each ingredient.

The dish is the result of a creative process that gives new life to discarded glass fragments, reassembled in a symphony of transparent shapes and colours. The artichoke becomes the protagonist, accompanied by fleshy elements that enhance its intensity without overpowering it, here the meat accompanies the vegetables, not the other way around. A zero-waste vision, this applies to materials as much as to food. The ferrosity of the heart accompanied by the butter mousse complete the artichoke's honesty and freshness.

Goat is a typical product of my region Mendoza. I have eaten it since my childhood, my grandfather taught me how to cook it on a flame but I never experimented with other cooking methods, so it became a personal search of how to transform it and find other textures, flavours and combinations that complemented it. I want to show that with the same product I can achieve different preparations by working it 100% without wasting anything from head to toe, mixing migratory cultures.

The hen is the base of one of our emblematic typical dishes: the sancocho, a soup that is eaten at any time and on any occasion, it is cooked in firewood causing the soup to have smoky notes. It was with this idea that this dish was born, as I was curious about how to use the little parts of it, such as the neck, how the food ferments inside the gizzard and how through the use of one hundred per cent of the ingredients.

As a proud young chef from Mexico, I capture my roots using local ingredients, intertwining cultural traditions with global techniques. Inspired by Oaxaca's rich culinary heritage, my dish showcases our identity, drawing from childhood memories. This creation reflects the vibrant flavors of Oaxaca, honoring our traditions and the essence of my hometown.

The dish presented by Alchemist restaurant, calling for a reduction in ocean plastic, has inspired me and made me realize that ocean pollution is not far from anyone. I live in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, a coastal city with abundant seafood resources that is also affected by pollution. Therefore, I hope to use my dishes to raise awareness and urge people to protect the ocean.

I once read an interview stating that food waste is a fatal flaw in fine dining restaurants. Many ingredients, from purchase to plating, end up being only 50%-70% of their original quantity, with an average of 30% of ingredients being wasted. However, sustainable development is a social responsibility and obligation that we, as the new generation of young chefs, must undertake. At this moment, I utilize various cooking techniques to fully utilize ingredients and minimize waste, aiming to convey my thoughts on sustainable development as a young chef.

I express the fusion between two cultures, Chinese and Italian. The dish is composed of childhood memories where every Sunday as a child I cooked with my grandmother "Spaguetti pomodoro", I grew up with the taste of this food and I tell this story with Chinese elements, peppers from the Sichuan region, which I transfer to the tomato sauce. I replace the "grano paste" with bamboo, from southern China. I follow my dish with crostini in it there is osmantus that reminds me of the Chinese spring.

This dish represents how we can use different parts of one protein source and combine this with Estonian wine. I am also using lingonberry and moss from Estonia, it is hand picked from the forest near where i work every day.

Through this dish, I aim to evoke a sense of culinary heritage and connection to Sweden. The lamb symbolizes tradition and sustenance, reflecting the rich history of pastoral cultures. Each bite tells a story of resilience and harmony with nature and culinary craftsmanship. It embodies a cultural identity deeply rooted in reverence for quality ingredients and time-honored cooking techniques.

My culinary journey starts at the outbreak of the covid pandemic. Finding myself at a crossroad, I chose to go back to the roots and enroll in a French culinary program. There I discovered a passion for the arts. Meeting my mentor Chef Mathew Leong was my next career milestone. This dish represents my journey, as well as my identity. Cooking with high quality Norwegian produce, using french technics with an asian twist. I wish to show that all goals are reachable, even with a late start.ano

Through this dish, I aim to express the elegance and complexity of Australian gourmet cuisine. The combination of duck, plums, and Australian black truffles showcases the country's rich agricultural diversity and culinary potential. The dish pays homage to my grandfather's farm and Australia's ability to produce high-quality, luxury ingredients and its growing reputation in the global gourmet scene.

I am pleased to present a new dish that highlights some of the extraordinary ingredient we are fortunate to have in Australia, ingredients that many people may not even be aware of. This culinary creation features various cuts of lamb, each prepared using distinct techniques that enhance their unique flavours and textures. My inspiration for this dish stems from my childhood growing up on my grandfathers farm in rural Queensland.

"My Mother's Tze Char" is a tribute to my late mother's dream of feeding the hungry. By transforming humble ingredients into a rich tapestry of flavours and textures, I hope to embody her generosity and commitment to making a difference. Each bite pays homage to memories of home-cooked meals shared with her and celebrates the fusion of my Singaporean, Teo Chew, Hokkien/Cantonese and Australian upbringing. This dish speaks to her belief in the power of food to nourish both body and soul.

Today's dish is more than just a meal; it is a plea for sustainability and responsibility. The present we live in is marked by major ecological challenges. Water pollution,food waste,and climate change are just a few of the urgent issues demanding our attention. These are not just statistics; Perhaps the Earth is sending us a message,urging us to return to essentials. Now, more than ever, we need to remember this simplicity and cook with conscience. Come back to our roots. This dish is a manifesto.

I would like to present my version of the most popular dinner in Poland, which is why I called it Sunday dinner at grandma's. When creating Dania, I was guided by Polish and regional traditions. I want to show that our wonderful home cooking, served in a competitive manner, can be very interesting and tasty. When i working in the kitchen, I follow the zero waste principle, which is why my plate includes elements such as potato skin or the inside of a cucumber, and my plates contain meat skin.

I’d like to introduce my dish, to express my way of thinking about both cooking and dealing with life outside of gastronomy. the dish depicts a perfect circle of life, forests ( Deer), rivers (crayfish), mountains (cordyceps) all naturally connected and a human (chef) who unitedly combines nature with technology and cares for the environment. Without our healthy and clean approach to life, nature will not survive on its own nowadays, I would like to make people aware of this as much as possible

Scallops & samphire are the flavour of the galette I was eating as a kid on Brittany's coast when my family was going to a "crêperie", this is why I have chosen 3 major ingredients: scallops beautiful seafood from Scotland (where I am living), samphire foraged along Scottish coast, and buckwheat reminder of the "galette de blé noir" dish of my childhood. Also by using the entirety of the scallops through the dish I want to express the importance of going toward a zero waste way of cooking.

I want to showcase everything I have learnt as a chef so far. I think doing a classical dish like this is unique and modern. It really shows how different styles and cuisines have evolved. This really expresses how far food has come and how far i have come as a chef.

The chosen fish for this dish is halibut, a firm fish with an oily texture. I have made a special sauce called fish caramel made from halibut bones with a good amount of sauce and nice creamy cauliflower puree with vanilla, blended until smooth. The lemon gel next to it gives a nice acidity for freshness in the dish. Along side we have New Zealand mussels grilled with butter halibut cheeks tartare with kohlrobi and fried kohlrobi leaves. Simple and tasty to enjoy!

By celebrating the products and cuisine of the Chesapeake Bay I hope to generate interest in its preservation. Oysters in particular are an iconic Chesapeake Bay species that have been decimated, like many other native populations, by habitat loss, poor water quality and harvest pressure. The modern Chesapeake pantry must reflect current sustainable harvests and farmed oysters exemplify this expectation. Chesapeake chefs must adopt this pantry to maintain the watershed's rich culinary tradition.

My dish is a homage to my mom. Being an immigrant, my mom has faced a lot of obstacles with my grandma (mee-maw), but the first time they were able to bond was through growing potatoes of all things. Now, every couple of potatoes are filled with the same excitement as that day she shared digging them up with my mee-maw. This dish is a portrayal of my mom’s garden with a mix of Filipino and American flavors, with hints of the chickens that try to pluck her harvest before fruition.

Summer in Oregon showcases the region's bounty and the resilience of its people. Inspired by my grandfather's farm, I emphasize patience, resilience, and stewardship through food. Enduring eight months of rain, the community eagerly awaits summer's vibrant arrival. Fresh produce and seafood highlight our connection to the land. My dish blends floral and coastal flavors, sourced locally and ethically, to celebrate and promote environmental preservation. This dish is a snapshot of Oregon's sprit.

With this dish, I want to convey much more than just a culinary experience: I want to pass on a story of commitment to ecology and sustainable development. For me, Neirivue trout, caught in the pristine waters of the Gruyère region, embodies the tradition and quality that nature has to offer. By choosing to work with this local fish, I am committed to respecting and preserving our environment. The fresh, fragrant herbs from the Mossettes garden are at the heart of it all.

The first message this dish gets across is a bit of a surprise to most people who taste it as even a simple lettuce plant, if well prepared, can become the tastiest dish on the menu. historically it has no specification, but another important message this dish gets across is definitely that of using all parts of a product, from a to z, from the cooking liquid that becomes a vinaigrette to the daikon waste that becomes kimchi.

“Encouragement” is the theme of my dish, where ingredients, methods and cooking processes reflect the people, who at first glance might seem to be the simplest ones, those hidden behind the scenes. As in life itself, sometimes those elements need a little push to get them on stage, making them realize that they too can reach its fullest explendore.