Edoardo Fumagalli is the Italian finalist for S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018

Edoardo Fumagalli has been crowned the winner of the Italian regional final of S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 with his signature dish of Carabiniere shrimp.

During the Italian final, held on 11 September at Spazio Marras in Milan, the young chef from La Locanda del Notaio in Italy, was able to win the local jury over with his signature dish: ‘Carabiniere shrimp, frosted sweetbreads, crispy algae and aromatic salad’.

Competing against nine other finalists, including Alessandro Rapisarda the returning winner from last year’s competition, Edoardo was able secure his victory in front of six huge names of Italian cuisine:

• Cristina Bowerman
• Caterina Ceraudo
• Loretta Fanella
• Carlo Cracco
• Ciccio Sultano and
• Anthony Genovese.

Each dish was assessed against the ‘Golden Rules’ and the dish’s strength in five categories:

• ingredients
• skill
• genius
• beauty and
• message.

"We did an amazing job, and it's an honour to work with Anthony Genovese," said the excited winner, who also participated in S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016. "The recipe was born as a treasure of Italian culinary tradition, starting from basic cooking to achieve an innovative result. I started studying the dish six months ago, and it began with fresh water algae.”

Edoardo will now have the chance to prepare for the Grand Finale together with mentor Anthony Genovese. "It was a tough decision," the chef mentor commented. "We decided on his dish because he had a solid base to work on, a classic combination, but with great potential. The first thing I thought when tasting his dish was ‘He knows how to cook!' Now we’ll go to the final with the goal of winning, not just participating."

The pair will next appear on the world stage at the Grand Finale in May 2018, where Edoardo will face off against 20 other global finalists.

Read the interview with the winner Edoardo Fumagalli

Read the interview with Antony Genovese, the mentor chef for the S,Pellegrino Young Chef Italy Area