Anton Husa Will Represent Scandinavia and the Baltics at the Grand Finale
The young chef fought off competition from nine of the best young chefs in the region to win gold at the local final.
Anton Husa has been named the best young chef in Scandinavia and the Baltics, following a charged day of competitive cooking in Stockholm on 24 October.
He will now represent the region by advancing to the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 Grand Finale in Milan in May 2018.
The Scandinavia and Baltics local final saw 10 of the area’s emerging young talents, as selected by Alma cookery school, cook head to head at Aveqia, Stockholm, with the hope of becoming best in region, and ultimately in with a chance of becoming best young chef in the world.
Following five intense hours of cooking, the competing chefs presented their signature dishes for judging by a panel of seven distinguished chefs from across the region:
- Tom Sjöstedt (Sweden)
- James Maxwell-Stewart (Norway)
- Henri Allen (Filand)
- Janis Zvirbulis (Latvia)
- Egidijus Lapinskas (Lithuania)
- Andrus Laaniste (Estonia) and
- last year’s winner Nikolaj Skadborg.
Each dish was assessed against the five principles outlined in the ‘Golden Rules,’ namely:
- skills
- ingredients
- message
- beauty and
- genius.
Despite strong performances from the competitors gathered from across Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, it was Anton Husa, the chef at Upper House Dining in Gothenburg, Sweden and his dish of 'leek-coated cod, caramelised celeriac, stuffed onions and smoked dill emulsion, served with a roasted cod and leek foam, dried liken and watercress' that wowed the judges the most.
“It feels amazing and I am so happy. I felt very confident throughout the competition and it is such an honour to win today. I really used my eye for aesthetics like colours and shapes when it comes to putting elements together in a dish. And I used some of my favourite products,” said an elated Anton Husa of his win.
Chef Henri Alen from Finland, co-owner of Restaurant Finnjävel, Muru, Pastis and Bystro, will mentor Anton in the coming months. Together they will fine tune Anton’s cod dish and presentation skills ready to represent the region on an international stage at the Grand Finale.
During the final challenge, friendships will be forged, and culinary skills will be tested to the max, as 21 global finalists battle for the ultimate accolade. It will be the job of the Seven Sages to determine the most talented young chef in the world deserving of the prestigious title and the honour of walking in the career changing steps of the past winners, Mark Moriarty and Mitch Lienhard.
