Regional Finalists 2022-23

This dish began with my love of lamb, and the hope to highlight my Hainanese heritage. Lamb has been a staple of the Hainanese diet (i.e. Dong Shan Lamb) and through this menu, it would be featured alongside ingredients and techniques that link the East with the West.
Taking inspiration from the Spice Route, also known as the Maritime Silk Roads, I have utilised spices such as cumin, fennel, Sze Chuan peppercorns and ginger, all of which were known and used in antiquity and traded in Asia.

My favorite childhood dish is Assam Laksa. To me, the beauty of this dish is the combination of flaky fish melding together with the herbaceous, acidic, spicy, sweet umami broth with nuggets of larger sized fish meat. My version of Assam Laksa utilizes homemade traditional rempah enhanced with fish garum & fish-bone stock & laksa leaf oil with a mosaic made of Kingfish and Farce using the fish trimmings served with Ginger Flower Sorbet and Fish Skin-Yuba Tuile topped w Native Herbs and Salsa.

My Dish, from a village by Kerala's backwaters, is inspired by where the historic spice route shaped our rich cultural heritage. I aim to BREAK THE SHELLS of outdated mud crab cooking methods, moving beyond traditional curries. I believe every part of the crab can be utilised wisely akin to other types of meat. My signature dish combines my grandmother's traditional flavour with innovative, sustainable twists inspired by my culinary travels in Southeast Asia, highlighting Kerala ingredients.

I want to pay tribute to our forests and also to our ancestors who lived there using ancestral cooking methods such as crust baking and banique bread. I also want to bring back memories and make you nostalgic with the smell of dead leaves when you go mushroom picking. The mushrooms will also be showcased, as will some of the trees that can be found there. I really want to transport the judges to a forest in the middle of autumn.

This dish reflects my life and experiences—a blend of French culinary skill and comforting home flavors from Canada as a multicultural nation. Montreal's Chinatown was my sanctuary, sparking my fascination with diverse culinary traditions, inspiring me still today. Cooking, for me, is love and passion, rooted in respect—using every part of ingredients, minimizing waste, letting flavors shine. Join my journey as a French-Canadian chef celebrating diverse influences shaping my culinary identity.

I invent this plate in honor of the hard work of my father and my mother. My father always work in the cereal world and this is a very hard work. He gives is life to this work to make shure we miss nothing. I also put carrot because when i was young my mother have a big garden with a lot of carrots and i dont really like them at this time. Now this is one of my favorite vegetable. Also the duckling is my favorite animal proteine so that’s why i wan’t to serve them. I hope you let me show you!

I wish to inspire people to reconnect with their neighborhood. Regionality is not just practiced, it is lived! We need to encourage kids to engage in gastronomy. Let's show the next generation the joy of serving guests dishes made from locally-sourced ingredients, fostering connections with friends in the local farming community. Hopefully, kids today, through my cooking, will discover that, as my grandma always says: 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' Let's create paths worth taking.

This Dish is my Handwriting, it is all the experiences I collected over the years in every kitchen I worked, starting from what my mother cooked for me when I was a child. My Grandma created many dishes with offals, and that was the inspiration for my ragout. I Love to make some old traditional dishes in a new modern way with a touch of Asian style.

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.

France and my hometown, South Korea are both surrounded by the sea and is a temperate climate where produce, livestock, and seafood abound. My dish celebrates these ingredients and highlight the 4 elements that maintain the delicate balance of life: soil, sea, sky, and fungi. I believe that this philosophy will open my eyes to view humble ingredients in a different light. To keep exploring earth’s offerings by experimenting unique flavor combinations and new ingredients.

I would like to pay tribute to all the places I have lived, thanks to my family coming from many backgrounds. I chose a fish that I love. I think it’s a shame that most of the time not all the part of the fish are used.Food waste is something chefs all around the globe should fight and this is why I chose not to cook the filet. Deliciousness is everywhere.You will find everything I love in
the three cuisines: French, Lebanese and Ivorian.I wanted to show and share the cuisine close to my heart...

‘Quanto sei bella Roma’ is a tribute to my hometown, Rome. The title comes from a famous song about this city that for me is the most beautiful in the world. I left Rome about 10 years ago to grow personally and professionally, but my heart will always belong to it and I am happy to represent it with a dish in such an important competition. It is a traditional recipe that my grandmother used to prepare for me (Coda alla vaccinara) and which I propose in my own way, gastronomically speaking.

The dish is a representation of my origins, I don't have a Spanish culinary tradition because my mother was born in Venezuela, and my father in Germany, although my grandparents and I are Andalusian.
I express in this gastronomic representation what I consider to be my causalities, the origin of my parents has had a direct effect on my concept of gastronomic culture.
There are three culinary elaborations with the same value: an Iberian consommé, a hallaca of cuttlefish and a red mullet cooked in a flame...

On our plate, we unite the gastronomic tradition of Mallorca and Menorca, highlighting local products with a sustainable approach. We believe that every chef should work with what they have at home, respecting the environment. Our passion for Mediterranean cuisine drives us to create unique culinary experiences, combining tradition and innovation.

With my signature dish I would like to try to tell you judges my story, from my Sicilian origins and what I have learnt these past two years in Spain. Precisely in this dish I have tried to find a marriage between my homeland and Spain, taking a wild meat much used in Spain, and some Sicilian elements that I prefer, which bring back so many beautiful memories linked to my family, because in the end what I love when I cook is to remember.

My dish showcases the biodiversity of Alta Langa using every part of the lamb, emphasizing sustainability and respect. Combining tradition and innovation, it draws inspiration from historical local recipes. This dish reflects a deep connection with the land, honoring the region's culinary heritage and presenting it in a modern, creative way.

This dish revolves around the use of the main part of the ingredients and those of “ scrap “ , nothing is thrown away, rather at the end of each preparation what’s left is used as a base for another recipe. This is to raise consciousness of the Chef on food waste and consequently on the human resources used for the production of raw ingredients.

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.

“Mackerel, plantain and coconut” refers to the day to day life of people living in humble seaside towns in Costa Rica, it highlights the value of these undervalued products and a perspective on a simpler way of living where waste is not an option.In these areas zero waste is not a trend but a viable way to feed an entire family. And instead of seeing it as something that limits it can be a source of inspiration for creating unique preparations and finding ways to enhance their flavour.

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.

Through this dish I would like to show the importance of women as bearers of gastronomic tradition. The clay work of the potters, through which this dish was created and inspired. Emphasizing that broths and soups are considered an ancestral food that is part of the primordial baggage of the history of food, forming a perfect symbiosis that becomes food for the body and connects it with the soul.

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.

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 advocate, “to make full use of all things and sustainable ingredients."

I selected the specialty ingredient "Yanchi Tan Sheep" from Ningxia, China and local wild leek flowers. Using Chinese and Western fusion cuisine techniques to cook the lamb chops, lamb loin, lamb bones, internal organs and other parts combined with local flavours to form the flavour profile of the final dish. Puna series mineral water is used to cook the Yanchi Tan sheep, this is also the water that the sheep grew up drinking.

When making sauce and stock, I used the stock from making “lamb wrapped with lamb belly” combined with a sauce made from lamb bones. During cooking, kitchen utensils such as wide-mouth pots and pressure cooker are used to reduce the cooking time and to achieve the reduction of carbon emissions, and sustainability of ingredients. Geographical specialty product "Yanchi Tan Sheep" is selected with the intention to be the guardian of pure bloodlines, and to promote all over China and onward to the world.
 

With this dish, I want to show that worldly flavors can be achieved with products from our own country or region, promoting sustainability and supporting local farmers and suppliers. This dish is entirely based on vegetables and fruits, and contains no animal products. By doing this, we challenge ourselves and demonstrate that the same flavors can be achieved without using animal ingredients.

This dish is inspired by our workplaces garden. Our own grown vegetables and salads combined with chefs knowledge creates Synergy. I would like to use this to entice you choose vegetarian options more often, I believe it’s beneficial for our health and also our environment.I I believe if we consume less meat it would be meaningful change for environment. Chosing locally produced food we decrease transport waist and reduce carbon footprint. Use local produce were possible. Less is more.

The idea behind the dish is to connect the Bulgarian and Nordic cuisine through common ingredients and procedures. The lamb is common for Bulgaria in Easter and this is written deep into the culture. The piece is either cooked on open fire or braised for long hours, and this is why I use both techniques to represent the original way of cooking lamb, from back in the days. The garnishes representing modern way salad, done by my grandmother, as well as flavorful, creamy fricassee served back home.

My dish is based on my culinary journey: I am Indian by birth and I moved to New Zealand when I was 18 and I've been working in Tamaki Makaurau for the last 10 years, surrounded by the ocean. I want to showcase the best of seafood found in the country and also merge it with my Indian heritage in a subtle way by using dried fenugreek leaves with some of the main ingredients found in a lot of Indian food.

The story of the dish tells my story with the cuisine. I use a culinary technique from each chef I have worked with, while adding my personal touch that I associate with the products of my native country. Which gives a textured dish, full of color with this full-bodied, powerful, fragrant juice which gives character to the dish. This dish testifies to my love for my profession, the ups, and downs, the sacrifices I have had to make for the sole purpose of living my passion.

My yakitori is a unique take on the classic Japanese dish, combining traditional flavours with Italian and Australian elements and techniques, delivering a dish that is at once familiar, but unique in taste and texture.
Rather than a traditional yakitori sauce, I cured the egg yolk using colatura di alici, before using the latter to create a gel balanced with dashi that has a unique umami flavour.
My yuzukosho draws on fermented jalapeño for a complex umami flavour, lime zest, juice.

My dish is called Friend's Ear. This is a traditional Hungarian dish. The reason, why this dish is close to my heart is because my Grandmother prepared it a lot for me and my siblings when we were young and I loved it back then, too. My Grandmother is unfortunately dement now and I cannot communicate with Her anymore. I feel like this dish makes us connect again.

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.

This dish stems from the global need to change the fine dining concept. I believe that the process of dining in a restaurant should be more educational, interestin and enjoyable for guests, with the help of other arts such as theatrical. With this dish, I will conjure up a performance about Sava Savanović, the first Serbian vampire, and country i came from, with the fact that in dish food will play the main role, where each segment of the dish will tell its own part of the story in this play.

The inspiration comes from my experience in Tokyo and the memory of my childhood. I’d like to present a wonderful marriage between the ingredients from mountain and ocean, and I believe humble ingredients could also be the star. I love both French cuisine and Chinese cuisine and I believe all different cuisines have something in common. So I'd like to present some Chinese poaching technique, and the way we make chicken broth. It would be a French contemporary with a Chinese twist.

It is my homage to one of the most iconic animals of a place which I now call home, the Scottish Highlands. I want to express my identity as a chef in this competition by using local and sustainable ingredients, showing respect for the animal by using everything I could. I wanted to showcase the techniques I have learnt in my short time in this industry, with butchery, pastry work and sauce making at the heart of the dish.

I want to focus on traditional Rajasthani hunter-style cooking by showcasing grains, vegetables of the region. It reflects the time when kings used to go out hunting for weeks, they would carry minimal spices and grain and they would cook the hunted animal in the pit. My dish is surrounded by that idea but with my execution.

I have always been inspired by the way my family in Greece and Italy embrace food, especially coastal fare. In my professional career I have learned so much more about traditional French and Japanese technique, and through this dish, I have found an all encompassing way to convey my passion for food.

This dish represent my years of experience working in this industry, from a local pub or bistro, all the way to fine dining using the knowledge pass down to me from the chefs that came before me.I challenge myself to present a dish with ingredients that a I commonly not work with utilizing different cooking techniques, utilizing ingredients to their maximum minimizing waste, from the trimmings of proteins to the vegetable of stocks.

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.

My dish embodies simplicity, honesty, and refinement with three core ingredients: mackerel, dulse, and shiitake. Inspired by my parents' bakery, where simplicity was prized, I aimed to create a refined meal with minimalism at its core. Sustainability was crucial; I sourced locally from Belgium, minimizing the food supply chain and using all by-products to reduce waste. This dish reflects both my culinary ethos and dedication to sustainable practices.

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".

With this dish I actually want to transfer all my passion and love to the detail. From the first step to the last arrangement of the flower. How many thoughts have gone into this dish. How to use everything from an animal. How I can best transmit my emotions to the guest. The filigree and delicacy of the dish. But in the end it's the taste that counts, that's my priority. I also want to be able to stand behind it 100 percent and I want to tell myself, that I can't do it better at the moment.