Antonio Buono is the Winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef France
Antonio Buono will represent France at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Grand Finale in June next year.
Having tasted the signature dishes of the 10 young chefs, Frédéric Anton, Christophe Bacquié and Philippe Mille named 30-year-old Antonio Buono as the winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef France at the Local Competition held in Paris on 14 September.
"I am Italian, but I am proud to represent France, which is my country of formation," said the victorious young chef from the Mirazur restaurant in Menton. He will now have the opportunity to present his winning signature dish of 'Mediterranean scorpion fish, black rouille, rhubarb, wild celery and mountain flowers' at the Grand Finale in June 2018 in Milan.
"His plate is both simple and explosive," assured Frédéric Anton, President of the jury. "It is a dish that will be able to compete with the other countries in the world final and win thanks to its reliefs, its taste and its colours.”
It was a gruelling day of competition for the 10 candidates competing at the Cordon Bleu cookery school in Paris, each selected for the event by ALMA, the world’s leading international educational and training centre for Italian cuisine. Following four hours of cooking time, the young chefs presented their dishes one at a time for the critical taste buds of the three judges. The dishes were assessed against the criteria defined in the “Golden Rules”:
- ingredients
- skill
- genius
- beauty and
- message.
"We were very surprised by some seasonings and the finesse of the dishes," said Frédéric Anton at the end of the tastings. "Overall, there were no false notes or cooking errors, we had nice sauces... As in all the competitions there are good and the not so good. Three candidates have clearly distinguished themselves and the discussion between us was animated but in the end, we agreed."
From now, Frédéric Anton officially becomes the mentor of the young winner. The three Michelin star chef will have nearly eight months to work with Antonio Buono, helping to refine the young chef’s recipe, before presenting it at the Grand Finale in Milan in 2018.
