Meet the Regional Winners of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2026–27
Follow the Regional Finals and discover the winners as they are announced around the world.
Across 15 regions, the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2026–27 is entering one of its most exciting phases: the Regional Finals. Around the world, the regional finalists are presenting their signature dishes to the Local Juries, bringing together technical skills, creativity and a personal vision of gastronomy.
Each Regional Final will select one winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Award, who will go on to represent their region at the Grand Finale in Milan in 2027. There, the finalists will present their signature dish to the Global Jury, for the chance to be named the best young chef in the world.
The collateral awards
Alongside the main award, three collateral awards will also be assigned in each region, celebrating different dimensions of contemporary gastronomy.
The S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award is voted for by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), a global organization dedicated to driving positive social and environmental change in hospitality since 2019. The prize recognizes a dish that represents food at its best: the result of socially responsible practices, from sourcing to environmental impact. Dishes are assessed according to eight criteria: resource use, climate impact, biodiversity, food waste, nutrition, collaboration, advocacy and innovation.
The Fine Dining Lovers Award, voted for by the Fine Dining Lovers Insiders – a panel of journalists and industry experts from the Fine Dining Lovers network – celebrates a dish that best expresses the chef’s personal belief and has the potential to inspire a wider audience. The dishes are evaluated according to originality, message and appeal.
The Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award, voted for by the Mentors, recognizes a dish that represents the culinary heritage of the chef’s region, combining traditional practices with a personal, modern vision and creating a connection between past and future.
Follow the Regional Finals
From Latin America & Caribbean to North Europe, each Regional Final brings a new perspective on the future of gastronomy. As the competition travels across regions, this page will gather the winners, their dishes and the stories behind them.
Ana Flavia Batista Graciolli, representing Brazil, is the first Regional Winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2026–27, following her victory at the Latin America & Caribbean Regional Final held in Panama City, Panama, on September 29.
The chef stood out with Grandma’s Corn, a signature dish rooted in memory, place, and transformation. Built around corn as a symbol of abundance, tradition, and belonging, the creation celebrates family ties and culinary heritage, as explained by the winner herself: “This is a very special award for me. Corn has a deep emotional meaning in my childhood, because of the corn festivals I experienced with my family and, above all, because of my grandmother. Being able to carry that memory with me, first to Latin America and now with the opportunity to represent Brazil and Latin America & the Caribbean before the whole world, means so much to me. It is a great honor to share a little of my story and of our gastronomy through this dish.”
Her dish won over the Local Jury, composed of Jaime David Rodríguez Camacho, Luiz Filipe Souza, Marsia Taha Mohamed, Jaime Pesaque, and Alejandra Navarro, who selected Graciolli as the young chef to represent her region at the Grand Finale in Milan. Her personal vision and creativity also earned her the Fine Dining Lovers Award.
The two remaining collateral awards recognized two different interpretations of the region’s culinary landscape. Kevin Chavez Cazarin, representing Mexico, won the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for Entre el mar y el traspatio, a dish inspired by the sea, the land, and the local communities of the Yucatán Peninsula. Diego Ramirez, representing Colombia, received the Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award for Pachamanca, a tribute to Colombian home cooking, built around ingredients and traditions from different regions of the country.
