Kiwi Chef Wins the S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 Pacific Semifinalist Challenge

Kiwi Chef Wins the S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 Pacific Semifinalist Challenge

26 July 2016, 1:45PM
Lily & Louis

Following remarkable performances by ten of the most talented young Australian and New Zealand chefs, Kiwi chef Leslie Hottiaux of Apero Food & Wine, has today been announced as the winner of the Pacific region’s S.Pellegrino Young Chef local challenge.

Hottiaux will advance to the world Grande Finale competition to take place on October 13, 2016 in Milan, Italy.

With her Potato Gnocchi, Mushrooms, Pine nuts & Truffle signature dish, Hottiaux finished first among nine other contenders. The nine other semifinalists – selected by ALMA, the world’s leading international educational and training centre for Italian Cuisine (www.alma.scuolacucina.it) – competed for a chance to participate in the global finals and win the prestigious title of S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016. 

The regional challenge took place on  25th and 26th July at Crown Melbourne, where a jury composed of renowned chefs—including Peter Gilmore, Andrew McConnell, Jacques Reymond, Peter Doyle and Adam D’Sylva tasted the signature dishes prepared by each of the semifinalists and selected Hottiaux as the winner, based on the criteria of five “Golden Rules”: ingredients, skills, genius, beauty and message.

1.     INGREDIENTS: Successfully selecting the best of what the market has to offer with regards to quality, freshness and uniqueness.

2.     SKILLS: Successfully handling and transforming raw materials into a finished dish that respects its original essence.

3.     GENIUS: Successfully exploring inedited, inspiring, unexpected prospects/outlooks, connected with fine dining culture with a personal and contemporary style, while maintaining a perfect balance of tastes and shapes.

4.     BEAUTY: Dish presentation is part of the charm.

5.     MESSAGE: Successfully communicating a clear message through work and personal vision.

About S.Pellegrino Young Chef

S.Pellegrino Young Chef is a unique initiative created by the world-famous sparkling water, S.Pellegrino to reaffirm its commitment to the promotion ofemerging talents and toenhancing and diffusing fine dining culture throughout the world.
 
From January to March 2016, thousands of young chefs from across the world submitted their applications together with their signature dish on www.finedininglovers.com for a chance tocompete in the 2016 edition of S.Pellegrino Young Chef, the brand’s global talent search to find the best young chef in the world.
 
S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 will now enter into the last of its four phases. During this final round, each of the 20 finalists from each region of the world will be assigned a “Mentor Chef”, or globally-renowned culinary master, who will advise them on how to improve their signature dishes and help them prepare for the final competition.

On October 13, 2016 in Milan, a jury of seven celebrated international chefs known as the Seven Sages—composed by David Higgs, Carlo Cracco, Gaggan Anand, Elena Arzak, Mauro Colagreco, Wylie Dufresne and Roberta Sudbrack— will determine the winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016, following the five Golden Rules.

THE 20 REGIONS

1.     Italy

2.     France

3.     Germany-Austria

4.     Switzerland

5.     Spain-Portugal

6.     UK-Ireland

7.     Russia/Baltics/CIS (ex Soviet Union)

8.     Scandinavia (Norway/Sweden/Finland/Denmark)

9.     East Europe

10.   BeNeLux

11.   Med Countries

12.   USA

13.   Canada

14.   Africa-Middle East

15.   Latin America - Caribbean

16.   Pacific (Australia/NZ/Pacific Islands)

17.   China

18.   Japan

19.   Northeast Asia (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines)

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