Regional Finalists 2022-23

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.

Through this dish, I want to convey the wonderful ingredients and food culture of Japan.
We also thought about garnishing the dish with shiso leaves and myoga, which are commonly used in Japan, and adding the aroma of sea bream skin chips and grilled green onions so that the dish would not become boring in terms of texture and flavor.
We also believe that the soup's consistency can be made easier to mix with rice and sea bream by using rice starch or by adding a little density to the soup.

I consider that the food with genuine sentiments is the most delicious, but at the same time, the most challenging to make— the cuisine that tells a story. Through my cuisines, I want to share with people the story weaved by my experience of travelling, precious memories and the island have nurtured me and raised me up – Taiwan. I wish my guests, by eating the warm delicacies, can be moved and realize that their days can also be pleasant and heart-warming.

This dish is an homage to my mother and the time we spent in Italy together. I wanted to showcase a variety of ingredients and techniques that reminded me of Italy as well as things that she would enjoy. She is such an important part of my life and when she took me to italy, I feel like it transformed myself as person as well as the things I was passionate about. My dish is completely vegetarian because I believe in a more veg-forward lifestyle which is more sustainable for the environment.

Vegan food, through methodology and expertise, belongs on the world stage. Vegetables can be a complete substitute for any animal product. Vegan forward diets reduce factory farming practices, and when we eat meat, we should source local and ethically raised products.
Fallon recognized the harsh realities of raising cattle. She realized cultivating mushrooms was the way of the future. These are generational farmers who shifted their focus for the environment, their courage deserves recognition.

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.

In this dish I want to give a stage to an ingredient that I think is underestimated (the horse) and represent it as much as possible. I take the food of the horse, the so-called soft food and complement with it parts of the animal to present the whole. I want this animal to be culinary understood from beginning to end.

With this dish, I present my homeland on a plate and showcase my Bavarian/Franconian roots with typical components from pub cuisine. My motto is to make pub cuisine special and fresh in its simplicity. Classic Bavarian cuisine is known for its heaviness and richness. However, I want to show that it can also be dynamic, light and appealing without losing its traditional charm.

This dish is entirely inspired by general and global necessity for #change. Where everyone has to give at least a minimum effort to participate in saving the planet earth. We all know that sustainability and reduced waste is the solution to this current crisis, so I created a dish to be my homage to this food revolution.
Although, I am kind of, opposed to people`s tendency to call dishes vegan burgers, vegan steak etc.
But, I gave a shot to preparing something that looks and tastes like a steak.

I would like to present this dish because it is the first dish I have offered in a starred restaurant. It is close to my heart because it took me a lot of time and trials to achieve the expected result. In addition, it represents for me a childhood memory. Indeed, my father is a baker and pastry chef. When I was little, he made pissaladières every day. I ate it often, I always loved it. Through this dish, my wish was to sublimate my father's pissaladière.

My dish associates two opposed universe: the "meaty" one from the Chateauneuf farm beef and the iodized one from the cuttlefish and the herring eggs
These three product prepared in their entirety will along the preparation and then degustation respond and feature them self. They will reveal their complexity and the deepness of their taste but still with a strong readability.
A key quest to the essential in the idea that “less it’s more” in this special social and environmental context.

I’d like through this creation to express the ambivalence which exists in our «industry». Chef, sommelier,etc, all those occupations can give the image of a certain negativity : physically rude, mentally charged, long hours, fatigue, everyday issues… But once you go over those darks elements, then you discover a world full of color and freshness, sensitivity, solidarity, passion, creativity. With one very important commun duty : bringing happiness to people.
 

The dish represents my whole essence as a cook and as a person. It evokes my Italian-Granadian roots. It is a journey through the 5 senses that reflects my culinary maturity learned so far. At the same time, it aims to show diners the values that represent my cuisine. Love for the profession, respect for the raw material and sustainability with the environment.

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.

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.

Migration and Integration
Arriving in a new place is not always easy and even more so it is not easy to integrate and be accepted with your traditions by people with a culture different from yours. The African slaves in Peru in 1800 were able to integrate their spices and traditions to a very important dish in the Inca culture such as the carapulcra.With this dish I want to tell my journey, playing with techniques, shapes and colors to propose the flavors of my land with an Italian twist.

This dish represents me and everything I wanted to believe in. I was born in Milan, moved to Ancona, mother Bolognese, father Milanese and Sicilian grandparents This could only lead to my personal split. This leads me to a singular deepening of every part of me, held together at the same time by feelings, passions and personal beliefs. So is my Signature Dish: the ingredients are enhanced individually but even more when combined thanks to the untied sauce.

I believe as human being that we are very sick. Imagination and language is what did separated humans from animal.
Today peoples are not conscious of who we really are and the consequence is that we create confusion, trends and bad ego is the protagonist in this planet. Today we try to fix this planet by using one word, sustainability.
who really know the significant of that word and who first went to see inside of the most scary place of this world? I think it is better to start from us...

It’s a celebration of the plantain plant itself, all of it.
Plantain has always been the base of our nutrition. The most productive plant of the country and it’s never been seen as such.
After every ton of plantain consumed, 2 tons of waste are left, because of how little use its other parts. Due to the Chinese and afrocaribbean influence in our gastronomy (and in my heritage), plantain takes 3 forms in my dish: a bread (for the plantain was called bread for the poor) a a siumae, and a tamal.

The connection we have with our people and the land, our hands are channels with earth. Great dishes can be made using everyday products from our Mexican foods, we must use all of our natural resources without exploiting them.
Heritage, I am not from Oaxaca by birth but my family is, that is my heritage, here I show the value I give to the land of Oaxaca.

Emerging Forest was born through memories I have of my childhood with my grandparents and the teachings they gave me about the products that nature gives us and which many of these we have forgotten, as well as many gastronomic techniques. That is why I decided to use rabbit, a protein that has been forgotten in our gastronomy. That is why I decided to diversify this protein by giving it many uses and using it 100%, creating awareness for the new generation.

This dish stemmed from my memory of my hometown. It started with chicken from Hetian Town and that relates to local farms and the whole ecological system. From there, it casts a light onto the Chinese farming and rural society culture.

Poultry is an important element in the dining culture for this city tucked away in the mountains. These Hetian chickens have a wild temperament and were used for imperial chicken fights in the ancient times. The farmers live in the mountains and the chickens roam around freely in the pristine environment feeding on wheat and rice grown on the farm. From my memory, these chickens are capable enough to scale trees and even rooftops.
 

The inspiration for this dish came from my hometown: Ningbo, Zhejiang. There is a dish in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province called Stir-Fried Rice Cake and White Crab. The white rice cake on the plate is the original slice of rice cake with ginger oil brushed on it. Under the white rice cake are crab meat, chive, tarragon, crab paste egg meringue, and white crab bisque. The snack in the upper left corner is another dish inspired by hometown: bean curd skin-wrapped yellow croaker. I replaced the yellow croaker with crab legs and sprinkled the tomato puree powder from the Bisque making process. This dish is from my hometown, but it is presented in a way that is not traditional. I believe this presentation method can be accepted by more people.

China is a country with vast territory and abundant resources, and each region has its own special ingredients. This dish uses the loin of Tan sheep originally from Ningxia, which like to lick salt in the Gobi Desert.

Pickled with Sichuan pepper and spices for oil seal, with yunnan spring and summer wild bacteria made of wild cheese, fermented corn is more delicious, sweet and delicious, showing the style of Chinese wilderness.

The whole dish is like a tan sheep from the Gobi Desert, placed in the Yunnan mountains rich in wild bacteria. Corn plays the role of pastoral scarecrow, paired with western dishes and mints and herbs associated with Yunnan's native eatery habits.
 

Knowledge makes you respect the raw materials, if you know how we produce food we also learn to treat it with respect. Knowledge is power to respect different people, countries and finally the globe.

I would like to just honestly share my idea for this competition. I understand that not everyone that applies will participate however it does not mean I could try and share my journey to San Pellegrino, perhaps worldwide.
This dish represents my memories of my grandmother that I wanted to give my twist on. I applied lessons that I learned throughout my culinary journey that hopefully tells the story and what I am still willing to learn.

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

"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.

The main purpose of this dish is to change the misconception that exists in some beef offal's, in this case "sweetbread", considered an exquisite treat in my country, Argentina, however not so pleasant in other cultures. Through childhood flavors I aim to encourage people to experience something different by creating a beautiful dish with colors that pique curiosity to try. And encourage sustainability by utilizing part of the cow that are often considered waste as sweetbread and tendons.

In New Zealand we have a large number of introduced pests like wild deer that damage our native flora and fauna. By using wild venison we can create an economy for conservation by giving a financial incentive for the pest control. Hunters can sell the meat and chefs can utilise a delicious clean natural protein in the kitchen. I want to show a way to use the whole animal by ulatising the offal & bones in an approachable way for customers. The more we sell creates more money for conservation.

The day Slovenia proclaimed its independence the Linden tree was planted in front of the National Assembly building, since then it became our symbol for freedom. Brown trout is the most common fish of our rivers and this dish is the love song to Slovenia. I used only trout, linden in different ways, salt, and honey to prove you can make a dish with minimum carbon footprint, humble and basic ingredients but has a complex flavor profile. Whole dish is served on a set of fallen local linden tree.

My dish is my interpretation to the classic Borscht. I took my mother’s recipe and disassembled it and combined it with the local ingredients and flavor’s. The dish itself served on plates that passed in my family in inheritance.
My goal was to make a dish that combines two cultures, memories from my childhood and also has minimum waste. I tried to use all the parts of all the ingredients.

In a world of abundance, we need to look at a more nursing future. Sourcing ingredients has become paralysing for our planet. Due to over-fishing and over breeding, there is a big impact on the bee lives that provide us reproduction, which is necessary for our lives. In my dish, I combined sustainable farmed sea bass, free range pork and ecofriendly bee products from our little country. The dish shows how important sustainability is and also how the elements of nature are and can be connected.

This is the dish that I first wrote down 4 years ago when I was planning to do my first ever pop up, which unfortunatelly for one reason on another I never got round to do. Now revisiting it with different techniques that I've learned along the way I'd hope to be able to present to you a well balanced and complete plate. I chose the flovours of celeriac and apple becuase I think the combination is delicious. I'd like to express how delicious vegetables can be.

The message I'm trying to express through my dish is that although its been said that crabs and lobsters are becoming more unsustainable due to fishing nets. I believe we can change this through designated areas of non-fishing , which will ensure crabs and lobsters become more sustainable. Crabs have been around for millions of years and its only know, due to their popularity and over fishing that we face declining numbers.

I designed this dish as a homage to my wife and the restaurant we dream of opening which will fuse our two cultures together, NZ and SA, in a fine dining setting. I wanted to pay tribute to the lineage of bakers in my family by serving this dish with a bread, 1/2 Rewena, 1/2 Mosbollejtie, baked together to become one. I chose venison as it reminds me of fond childhood memories of hunting with my family, it's filled with a farce rolled in a South African boerewors spice to further weave our story.

Food conscience and sustainability are more prevalent in our lives than ever before.
It is time to take action and look for more sustainable solutions.
My dish is a representation of sustainable ingredients, rich in nutrients, with a low water and carbon footprint, that may improve ocean water quality, rebuild coastal ecosystems, alleviate hunger and contribute to environmental revival at a low cost through ethical farming on a global scale.

Through this dish, I aim to express a harmony of flavors and cultures, celebrating the versatility and richness of plant-based ingredients. The blend of beet root with lactofermented strawberries and blueberries highlights the art of fermentation, an age-old preservation technique. The spices, wine, and agave syrup reflect a fusion of global culinary traditions. Accompanied by the refreshing tomato water and the vibrant foam made of fermented fruits, An example of my culinary identity.

My intention was to use every piece of an often-overlooked ingredient, prepare it in a variety of ways, and build depth with fermented products. Leek hearts were steamed and marinated, more fibrous leaves were braised for pasta filling, inner leaves were made into a mousseline with leftover quail egg whites, the leek tops were made into an oil, a few leaves were fried to make leek hay, and the remaining scraps were made into an ash to color the pasta dough. Paired with miso, amazake, and shoyu

“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.

My dish is an initiation, a journey through a memory, a reminiscence. One day I went with my grandfather into the forest, I was young, that's when nature opened up to me. My dish will tell this story, starting with a simple trace of deer that will be found in my dish, a message borrowed from
l ́essence of a lived adventure.
I want to convey the essential message that we must understand in 2022, what is the place of responsible gastronomy in Switzerland.
 

When I started to create this dish a lot of people told me not to do it because it contains too much work.
So this explains my stubbornness and love for the work. The sweet potato also became my personal logo.

I want to express that you can make things very complex without a million technics. sometimes a pure product has his own complexities.