Regional Finalists 2022-23

"[The essence of ingredients that are not wasted]

Born in Gwangju, I often enjoyed duck dishes with my grandmother as a child. Those meals taught me to appreciate ingredients and the importance of using them without waste.

For this main dish, I have utilized every part of the duck—from the breast and leg meat to a rich broth made from the bones. Through this dish, I hope to express my respect for the ingredient and the values that have shaped my passion for cooking."

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 originated from my love for the two countries where I spent the longest time learning to cook. The San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, which I attended four years ago, gave me a broader vision. Having cooked in Korea, I relocated to Singapore for new experiences, and this dish captures the harmony between my two culinary homelands. I prepared it using hairtail fish, baechu cabbage, and mu radish, aiming to contribute to sustainability by utilizing every part 100% with no waste.

I want to show that fine dining food can have zero waste when done correctly, getting creative on how to utilize trim in order to reduce food waste will make fine dining more sustainable. this dish when done correctly in a restaurant setting will have zero waste associated with it. it uses techniques that I have developed alongside some of my mentors. This dish is very important to me as it shows my mindest towards cooking on one plate. No waste, local, healthy, delicious.

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.

As Mongolian chef working in fine dining in Canada, carrying the values of my nomadic heritage into every kitchen I enter. Like a modern nomad, I adapt to new environments, learn from different cultures, and grow through each experience while remaining connected to my roots. Inspired by the hospitality of the Mongolian Ger, this dish reflects my journey and my ambition to help shape the future of Mongolian cuisine on the world stage.

My dish reflects my journey between Ukrainian roots and life in Germany. Through venison, forest ingredients, local seasonal products and a zero-waste approach, I express memory, adaptation and connection to nature. The flavors combine Ukrainian traditions with the wild, earthy character of German forests. This dish represents the kind of chef I want to become — one who tells personal stories through conscious and modern gastronomy.

Through this dish, I want to express the meeting of Mexico and Germany, two places that have shaped my journey as a chef. Through white asparagus, hoja santa, Mexican pumpkin seeds, corn and mustard, I portray a shared field where tradition, identity and nature coexist. “Dos Mundos, Un Campo” speaks of growth, cultural exchange and respect for ingredients, showing how different roots can come together to create something new without losing their essence.

With this dish I would like to express that we all have to look back sometimes when we were young and our families were cooking for us.
This dish I devote both my Grandmothers. One of them came from the Northern part of Germany that stands for the Sea part of the dish and the other Grandma came from the West part of Germany and she had a big homegrown garden. I gather two types of living and put my identity as a chef on top thus it became my Signature Dish.

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.
 

I see cuisine as a means of transmission. It brings pleasure while questioning our relationship with living things. This dish embodies that belief. The Grise du Vercors, a breed preserved from standardisation, is used in its entirety. Guided by phronesis, I seek thoughtful choices rooted in its terroir. Each element conveys a simple idea: value lies in what we choose to preserve, despite time and constraints.

I learned to respect nature and its ingredients from my grandmothers. In their kitchen, waste was minimal and every flavor was honest and true. That philosophy shaped my roots, and those flavors inspire A Rabbit Walking Around the Mountains. I see myself in a carefully tended garden and in the work of local producers, thoughtfully chosen, whose dedication gives my cuisine its deepest connection to the land. Everything rests on attention to to detail and rigorous, passionate technique.

The dish tries to capture the work philosophy that characterises me in its maximum expression, for this I base it on a traditional stew from Valencia called "All i pebre", always the cuisine of my territory by flag, but drinking from other cultures to enrich the elaborations, in this case with Mexican influence with the mole, the nixtamalisation as an ancestral technique applied to the current cuisine. In short, this dish conveys tradition from a modern perspective of respect for our roots.

This dish is inspired by the Sierra Norte of Madrid, a rugged mountain region shaped by sheep farming, cereals and pine forests. Using young lamb and seasonal ingredients, it expresses landscape, memory and a sense of place through a contemporary approach. Each element reflects a different aspect of the region: smoke, fresh herbs, the mountains and the respectful use of every part of the animal.

My favorite part of my childhood is the sea so that was my main inspira tion for this signature dish.I really want to transmite the ocean to everyone who tries the dish, especially because I'm from Viana do Castelo and we have several tradition related to the sea as getting up early and going to the beach to get seafood from the rocks.I remember the first time I tried a sea urchin, 100% sea.I want everyone to feel that flavour, that memory and get to know better Viana do Castelo by this dish.

With this dish, I would like to express the concept that the replacement of animal protein with vegetable protein, allows the dish to have an equal taste, thus reducing the environmental impact, being also environmentally friendly. I hope, in this way, to succeed in approaching all food intolerances and pathologies that do not always allow the guest to feel free and involved in the free and varied choice of multiple dishes.

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.

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...

With this dish, I aim to express the essence and authenticity of seafood from the Pacific coast, especially in Chile. My intention is to tell a story of respect for the sea and its resources, highlighting the freshness and quality of local ingredients. My goal is to capture the freshness and unique flavor of these ingredients, emphasizing the culinary tradition and art that surrounds them.

As a proud young Mexican chef, I honor my roots through local ingredients and ancestral traditions. Inspired by Oaxaca’s rich culinary heritage, my dish expresses identity, memory, and resilience. It celebrates Latin American unity by highlighting our shared history, vibrant diversity, hard work and the beauty that emerges when our cultures come together through flavor.

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.

This dish is a conversation of humble roots & cuisine’s inclusive power, as I’m from the “wrong side of the river” in rural Shanghai & trained on the Rhône in Lyon. Vol-au-vent & Kousansi share a Chinese superior sauce brewed of Acqua Panna, topped with upcycled tuiles patterned from Song Dynasty art. I believe, in our divisive era, cuisine bridges cultures and nourishes innovation with understated depth & radical earnestness, respecting ingredients & welcoming all to drink from a shared well.

I have been training in the culinary arts since I was 14 and that set me on my career path. It allowed me to gain a thorough understanding of Western gastronomy and culinary techniques. But I have never veered too far from what is familiar to me; Chinese cuisine is etched in my memory and I am mesmerized by it. Coupled with foreign elements, it has sparked whimsical surprises in my style of Chinese cuisine.
 

Nature is almighty, and ecological systems require balance, this symbiosis the only way to survive, so I had the inspiration to use “Coexistence” as my theme.

This inspiration stemmed from the traditional Chinese character “Xian” (meaning freshness, which is made up of the Chinese character for “fish” and the Chinese character for “lamb” ).
I use a commonly found but not ordinary big head carp fish head from the freezing regions of the Northeast. Due to the cold weather, the big head carp is fatty and has a wonderful texture. The fish head is the best part and rich in collagen, it is the soul of the produce. This I combined with the delicacy of the grasslands, the tender lamb, and the traditional fried snack “You Dun Zi”; onion crisp, caviar, asparagus lettuce, and powdered dill adds texture and flavor.
Where it matters, ingredients that reflect their geographical and natural habitat are used and through my understanding, creativity, innovation and using each ingredients to its fullest.

 

I'm from Lapland, where reindeer is a big part of the culture. With my signature dish, I want to show how diverse and wonderful meat reindeer is and combine it with international flavors. I lived in Lebanon for a year and wanted to bring flavors inspired by the Middle East alongside northern flavors. The dish is inspired by the mindscape of smoke over the swamp filled with berries, mixed with the scents of heather and angelica. At the end of the landscape stands a reindeer on the forest's edge.

Less waste – more taste. My dish is based on an idea that I want to throw away less. Everything is utilized to its’ maximum: even herb stalks or stale bread. With a dash of creativity and practical knowledge we can lessen the burden of the never-ending food waste problem. My palate philosophy is built on natural impressions and simplicity. Therefore the balanced character of my dishes means there is no overshadowing of the natural flavours and beauty of the ingredients.

I want to send the message that we really must make sure that the local food production survives in the future. In Norway, we are losing more and more of the producers because people don’t buy their vegetables/products. I want to show how amazing vegetables can be, just cooked the right way and that you can order a vegetarian dish in a restaurant, and still feel full. I’m doing this using some traditional cooking methods in a more modern and vegetarian way and only using Local products.

Wapiti deer were introduced into New Zealand in 1905. Since then the feral herd escalated in numbers and volunteer groups put in huge efforts to contain them. Using wild deer in this dish, that would have otherwise been shot and left, is a key sustainable factor.
When eating wild venison I envisage walking through New Zealand bush and I am reminded of what deer eat in the wild. That is why this dish contains kawakawa, horopito and pikopiko. I am kūmara and a modern interpretation of Hāngi.

“Before Sustainability Was a Trend” reflects how Asian food cultures have long embodied sustainability through preservation, seasonality, and respect for ingredients. My selection of ingredients and techniques aims to reinterpret these principles while being guided by my Asian heritage and Australian upbringing. Highlighting biodiversity, whole animal utilisation and cultural continuity through combining old and new is how I hope to shape a more conscious future as a chef now and moving forward.

This dish is called Analogy from the river. The concept is an accumulation of values and experiences I have as a chef. This dish is my expression of my ethnicity on a plate. I intend to integrate applications of tradition and how it can stay resilient despite my migration to the other side of the world. I embrace this because this is what inspires me to visualize the futures potential to sustain life’s practices more than just the gastronomy.

It’s an honour to present to you a dish that is deeply inspired by the culinary heritage of Malta — one that bridges tradition and innovation, land and sea, history and identity. This is my dish:Glazed Rabbit loin served with a Maltese barley koji-marinated rabbit leg, carrot purée, and a rich sauce of rabbit bones, local liquor, and prawn head bisque. On the side, a rabbit offal pie inspired by pastizzi, and a consommé that evokes the soul of the Maltese prawn.

Working in Mano2, the initiative behind micro seasonality, zero waste and preserving food and flavor through various fermentation techniques began the concept behind this dish. The inspiration behind the story comes from the fall season in continental Croatia where there is a rich abundance of various mushrooms, wild herbs and vegetables. We have showcased them using techniques seen in Mano2 which have preserved and fully expressed its soul purpose while also using the ingredients as a whole.

My dish celebrates the tradition and sustainability of the Vipava Valley. Jota made from Turnip Tropinka, served in aluminum dishes, carries the flavors and memories of the harvest. The humble Turnip Tropinka symbolizes simplicity and homeliness. Accompanying it is the skin sausage Krotegin, bread made from grape seed flour, and smoked grape seed oil. The dish blends traditional and modern techniques. Each bite evokes memories of family, vineyards, and values, connecting the past with the future

As a Korean chef in London, this dish reflects my identity. In this diverse city, culinary boundaries dissolve, blending local UK ingredients with staples from my homeland. Signature ingredients like kimchi, Korean miso paste, Jeju bracken, and Makgeolli create a fusion that's both familiar and innovative. This dish also showcases the seafood expertise I've developed as a fish chef. From precise techniques to selected marinades, every element shows my dedication and passion for seafood cuisine.

Inspired by childhood walks in the New Forest, this dish reflects my connection to seasonality, place, and craft. Venison represents both the forest and the first protein I learnt to prepare professionally at sixteen. Wild mushrooms are fully utilised, with trim transformed into a parfait to reflect a zero-waste approach. A venison ragù inside delicate pasta honours my Italian grandmother, while mushroom tea captures the aroma of the forest after rain.

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!

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.

Three Shores, One Table tells the story of the cultures that shaped my identity as a chef. Born and raised in Maracay, Venezuela, with Italian heritage and professionally developed in Miami, I use lamb as a thread connecting memory, tradition, and evolution. Through three complementary preparations, the dish explores how different culinary traditions can coexist, creating new expressions while honoring their origins. It reflects who I am today and the chef I aspire to become: one who builds bridges.

This dish is a walk through the garden — every part of the bird used, every element drawn from the land around it. It is rooted in years spent at The Chef's Garden in Ohio, where I learned that nothing is waste and everything has flavor. The whole bird mirrors the whole plant: nothing discarded, everything transformed. I want the person eating this dish to feel the same wonder I felt walking those rows — that food, at its best, is an act of attention.

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.
 

With this dish, I want to express the use of poor and reusable raw materials, I have used tripe which is a popular product par excellence, bitter herbs have a very low environmental impact, and roots have always been the sustenance food of the poor.

Sustainability and deliciousness are my beliefs, because when combined are strong enough to make a change in what today is a broken food chain.
Also Connecting my past and my origins with what I think the future should look like in gastronomy, is what makes me the happiest. Through my dish and my cooking, I want to share a message: “Eating sustainable food, food that’s around you, following seasons and bringing traditions from the past to the present, is going to make the difference for us and for the future generations".