Meet the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award 2022-23 regional winners

Xchel González from Maizal at the hotel La Casona de los Sapos in Puebla, Mexico was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the Latin America and Caribbean region. His signature dish is ‘Chinampas’.

“The chinampas is an efficient and sustainable agricultural system, an articulated set of artificial floating islands built in pre-Hispanic times. Through this dish, I seek to highlight the importance of chinampas, the organic products that are grown there and also recognise the hard work of the producer.”

Diego Sgarbossa from The View Lugano in Switzerland was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the West Europe region. His signature dish is ‘Grilled tripe, roots and bitter herbs’.

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

Saskia Vorhemus of Ritzi restaurant in Stuttgart, Germany was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the Central Europe region. Her signature dish is ‘What nature gives us’.

“I want to know where my products come from and how I can use the conditions of my environment for my dishes. Products should find their way onto a plate when they are available on the market at the best quality. The goal should always be to use the full potential of all products.”

Imogen Parrish from The Hind’s Head in Bray, England is the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the UK. Her signature dish is ‘Crab bisque, crab and preserved lemon Chantilly, fennel and tomato concassé’.

‘It’s been said that crabs and lobsters are becoming less sustainable due to net fishing. I believe we can change this through designated areas of non-fishing.”

Alexis Belmas of La Petite Souris in Queensland, Australia was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the Pacific region. His signature dish is ‘Western breeze over Oz’.

“Through this dish, I wanted to link France and Australia. There was no question of importing products from Europe. I believe that it is up to our generation to limit the environmental impact through our cuisine. So, I looked for products grown and appreciated in each of the two countries, I then selected them individually from local producers. Every single product comes from Queensland.”

Kali Fawcett of Stofa restaurant in Ottawa was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for Canada. Her signature dish is ‘Love amongst the lovage’.

“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. My dish is completely vegetarian because I believe in a more veg-forward lifestyle, which is more sustainable for the environment.”

Jack Stewart, based in Montana, was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the US. His signature dish is ‘Leek and quail yolk ravioli’.

“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.”

Nils Flatmark from the Britannia hotel in Trondheim, Norway was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the North Europe region. His signature dish is ‘From the local farm’.

“I want to send the message that we really must make sure that local food production survives in the future. I want to show how amazing vegetables can be, cooked the right way and that you can order a vegetarian dish in a restaurant, and still feel full.”

Yi Zhang from The River House restaurant in Chengdu was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for Mainland China. Her signature dish is ‘A trip to Guangxi’.

“This is a vegetarian dish. The flavour is based on a famous noodle in Guangxi, [called] ‘old friend’, and I use some fermented ingredients which are also common in Guangxi cuisine.”

Xu Yu Chan from Labyrinth in Singapore was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the Asia region. His signature dish is ‘Memories of hometown Assam laksa'.

“My favourite 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.”

Žiga Koprivc from Galerija Okusov restaurant in Slovenia was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the South East Europe and Mediterranean region. His signature dish is ‘Just the two of us’.

“Brown trout is the most common fish of our rivers and this dish is a 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 that has a complex flavour profile.”

Artur Gomes of Vale das Lobas restaurant in Sobral Pichorro, Portugal was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the Iberian Countries. His signature dish is ‘”Vale das Lobas” celeriac.’

“Sustainability is a word lost in intentions. We believe that to be really sustainable we can’t only focus on our restaurant, we also focus on our community, our artisans and on our region. With sustainable construction, regenerative farming, and resource management we aren’t only regenerating this land but also this community.”

Zanté Neethling of Avant Garde Restaurant at Hazendal Wine in Stellenbosch, South Africa was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for the Africa, Middle East & South Asia region. Her signature dish is ‘Strandveld ecosystem’.

“The dish is a representation of the coastline along Southern Africa and has a variety of indigenous medicinal fynbos plants which grow [there]. This was my chance to showcase an edible ecosystem.”

Danilo Vella of Grand Hotel Imperiale Resort & SPA in Como, Italy was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for Italy. His signature dish is 'Come to Sicily with Me'.

“A message that I would like to convey with this dish is to make people understand the importance of their territory, look for products that are used less and less today, enhance and promote them.”

Luca Visentin of Granite restaurant in Paris was the winner of the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award for France. His signature dish is ‘Mare nostrum’.

“I would like to express a simple message through my dish, the reduction of food waste and pollution. I use only sustainable food like mackerel (using every part) for responsible fishing and seaweed in substitution of animal proteins. Work local, think global.”