Regional Finalists 2022-23

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 I aim to BREAK THE SHELLS of outdated mud crab cooking methods, moving beyond traditional curries.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.

"Humans and nature are not separate; they create value together. Across Asia, time becomes value through drying, fermentation, aging, and brewing. In Japan, UMAMI captures a part of this wisdom.

By reinterpreting Ikameshi—where sea squid meets land rice—I express this time culture in a five-hour competition. Through the cycle of sea, land, and sky, the dish honors the lives sustaining it, from squid to bees, hoping it continues.

To me, UMAMI is when nature, time, and human wisdom converge."

"[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."

"Aai's Fish Thali" is my tribute to the coastal food traditions of Maharashtra and the women who preserve them through generations. By elevating familiar flavors such as amti, sol kadhi, wada, kokum, and seafood into a contemporary fine-dining expression, I celebrate heritage, memory, and sustainability. The dish reflects my identity as an Indian chef while showing how traditional knowledge can inspire the future of gastronomy.

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.

L’Aube au féminin celebrates all that embodies femininity in all its richness and diversity. Rooted in the earth, the beetroot represents strength and resilience; in pink, it celebrates beauty and gentleness. The flowers echo this gentleness and evoke kindness through their healing power. The female duck, the centrepiece of the dish, embodies protection, instinct and freedom. This dish pays tribute to those who infuse every new dawn with light and vitality.

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 symbolises the union of Latin American and Bavarian traditions, reflecting my culinary journey. By blending these rich cultures, I create a bridge that unites people through food. It represents my passion for merging vibrant Latin American flavours with hearty Bavarian comforts, celebrating the unique histories and identities of both. This fusion cuisine showcases my belief that food can unite diverse worlds. My philosophy of honouring traditions while creating harmonious experience

The decline of traditional inns is a real problem. These establishments tell our culinary story and are an important part of local communities. What happens when no one is left to tell that story? This is exactly where my dish begins. I want to show how beautiful simple and traditional cuisine can be—viewed from a different perspective, but without losing its core values: craftsmanship, tradition, sustainability, and great flavor from great ingredients.

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.

I would like to express a simple message through my dish, the reduction of food waste and pollution. Through my life experiences, between Italy and France, I combined the cultures and some of the traditional dishes, to me close, in one. I talk about classic preparation of both countries revisited on a contemporary way. I use only sustainable food like mackerel (using every part) for responsible fishing and seaweed in substitution of animal proteins. Work local, think global.

As I grew up in Saint-Raphael, fish soup had an emblematic place in my family. My father, a fish lover, observed changes in the sea ecosystem: pollution, destruction of the biodiversity and diminution of the quantity of fish. We can’t keep our old habits by cooking without thinking about the consequences. I don’t want to forget the taste of Provence so I invented a new recipe that take into account these issues. More ethical ways can be taken to archive the emotional memory of taste.

My dish is inspired by the similarities between the foothills of the Chilean Andes and the north of Spain, especially Navarre. The freedom of the Chilean quail and the strength of the bull during the San Fermin festival represent the connection between these two distant lands. With local ingredients that must be used to the maximum, this dish brings me closer to home, allows me to discover its potential and motivates me to represent Chilean gastronomy in Navarra and the whole world.

My dish is inspired by potaje de berros, a traditional Canary Islands watercress stew that embodies the region’s rural cuisine and collective memory. Using Tenerife kid goat and a zero-waste approach, I reinterpret its key ingredients—watercress, gofio, cheese, pickles and broth—through a contemporary lens. The dish celebrates place, seasonality and local producers, showing how humble cuisine can evolve into fine dining without losing its identity or authenticity.

With this signature dish I intend to elevate the octopus to its maximum using all parts of it, without any waste. The place where I work, in Tavira, octopus is one of the great treasures that exists, and I intend to make it shine!

Through this dish, I want to convey the value of wholeness. Every part of the albacore tuna is celebrated: the Wellington highlights its finest cut, while Roman-style tripe and liver pâté give dignity to parts that are often discarded. The carrot, also used in its entirety, reinforces a message of respect, culinary memory and the mindful transformation of ingredients.

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.

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.

In my childhood, my grandparents used to have Sunday family lunches and the dish I remember the most is the tongue in sauce, served with onion and coconut sauce. In my village we always accompanied the main course with bananas, even soups. That's why my interpretation was inspired by these Sundays with the family. I believe in local products and tradition, raising the level of the products of my village with modern techniques without losing the traditional flavour.

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 is a modern culinary expression that combines local Sichuan ingredients with traditional French cooking techniques. Through this dish, it showcases the exchange and fusion of different regions and cultures, highlighting the harmony and balance of Sichuan's natural environment. Fresh seasonal bamboo shoots, sun-drenched Daliangshan yellow potatoes, and the unique flavor of wood ginger are used, aiming to express the skills and aesthetics of modern cooking through traditional French methods.

For me, the meat of the turbot fish is tender and not fishy, and it often appears on every household's dining table. The common cooking methods include steaming, braising, pan-frying, and more. Although it is a very common fish, I want to try to create a unique experience based on my own understanding. Furthermore, it seems that the concept of "numbing and spicy" is not widely known internationally. I hope to introduce the concept and let more people understand the charm of Chinese cuisine and the unique flavors it offers

As a native of Nanjing, I have always held a belief that "no duck can leave Nanjing alive." From a young age, I may have had a certain obsession with eating duck. For this competition, the dish is based on Nanjing Saltwater Duck, using the Fujian Egret Duck, no part of the duck is wasted; Food is the foundation of life, and since ancient times, the path of cooking has always been about inheritance. Like an old tree with intertwined roots and lush branches, only by inheriting and being brave enough to innovate can new buds continue to sprout. This is akin to the theme "Old Tree, New Sprouts."

My name is Astrid Snövit Wahlen, I am 24 years old and I am passionate about nature, the earth and cooking. I believe that we only borrow nature's resources and therefore must use them with respect. That is why I chose to work with carrots and wild duck – raw materials with a low climate impact. A sustainable future begins in the soil, where healthy ecosystems create the conditions for food production. Through conscious choices, we can preserve Sweden's nature

Cooking connects me to the women in my family who passed down traditions through observation and practice. This dish celebrates that heritage using Irish Dexter beef, barley, whiskey, peat, oats and carrots. Inspired by memories of family, farming and visits to the local bog with my father, it reflects Ireland’s landscape, resilience and food culture. Through modern techniques, I reinterpret familiar flavours while honouring the stories, people and traditions that shaped them.

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

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.

Australia’s landscape carries one of the world’s oldest and richest histories of ingredients, place, and people. Drawing from this land is both a privilege and a responsibility. This dish reflects my determination to champion the beauty of lesser-known native botanicals and elevate them globally as luxury produce. The vessel to help me achieve this is connected to the coastline of my regional West Aust roots, shaped by a coastline of pristine shellfish

My passion and mindset when creating new dishes is to create something remarkable, to accept the challenge and always being out of the comfort zone. I am personally not Vegan or Vegetarian, however I believe fruits and vegetables deserve the same respect during preparation as proteins. My guiding principles in creating this dish where to, first, create a play of different temperatures, textures, and flavours and, secondly, have a clear line, structure, and complexity.

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

Through “The story of Cod” I wanted to give a modern twist to a traditional Greek recipe and products that are a part of every table in Greece. The goal was to showcase Greek gastronomic culture through a combination of tradition and modernity. Wanting to highlight the quality of Greek products, I chose to include ingredients found all over Greece. The message I wanted to convey was that complexity can occur through simple things and that we should get inspired by our roots and history.

Inspired by my grandmother’s rabbit stew, this dish reflects my journey from childhood memories to contemporary fine dining. Using the whole rabbit, each preparation represents family, sustainability, nature, and my evolution as a young chef, combining emotional storytelling with modern gastronomy.

Through a desire to seek out and understand culture outside of my own, I have been able discover so much about myself and the food I want to create. I am inspired by the flavours/methods of the world, and I want to use what I have discovered by cooking delicious food without boundaries. Ode to Sam Yee is an homage to my partner who has shared her culture with me. This dish combines Chinese flavours with my classically trained French cooking methods. This is about creating new traditions.

Two fond memories from growing up was the excessive amount of celariac my grandma used to produce in her garden, and sailing off the west coast of Scotland and stopping off at some of the finest seafood shacks in the world eating some beautiful scallops . That's why the dish came to mind for my signature dish.

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 and really shows how different styles and cuisines have evolved. This really expresses how far food has come and how far i have come.

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.

I want to express the courage to work with nonconformity, taking a classic plate form my country with products that we barely use and remade it with new techniques and thoughts but keeping the amazing flavor of the main components so you can transport yourself to Catalunya.
The message is to bring back the forgotten classics and the story behind them.

I see the future of cooking as an act of respect for those around you. Care and community are often lost now, but amongst chefs, it will never cease. I believe my role as a chef is to cook honestly, respect the integrity of the ingredient and to share the joy of cooking with as many people as I can. This dish draws inspiration from all that have given me the gift of knowledge, nostalgia and practice. With this dish I hope to honor those gifts and create new experiences as such for others.

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.

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.

I chose this dish to enhance the Italian tradition, to combine a poor dish like Tuscan fish soup and Grano Arso flour, made with fish and crop waste products, with the technique and refinement of a gastronomic restaurant, in order to have a dish that tastes like home in an elegant and refined style.