S.Pellegrino Young Chef Pacific Regional Finals
The competition will be held on the 26th of August 2019 in Sydney.
UPDATE August 26: Find out the winners from the Pacific Region of the 4th edition of S.Pellegrino Young Chef!
The ten competitors, mentors and judging panel are announced for the Pacific Regional Finals of the 4th edition of S.Pellegrino Young Chef competition! This exciting Regional Final will be held on the 26th of August 2019 in Sydney.
Ten Regional Finalists (see below), have been selected by ALMA in accordance with the Golden Rules of the competition. They will face off during a live local cooking competition where each of their respective Signature Dishes will be assessed by a local jury panel, always in line with these Golden Rules. The jury’s decision will be final as they select the best young chef capable of representing the region at a global level.
Apart from the Finalists, there will be a further three awards assigned at these Regional Finals. For the first time in 2019, the panel will judge the young chefs and prize three additional awards on top of the title of ‘S.Pellegrino Young Chef’.
These are: Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award, the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility, and the Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy.
The Local Jury Panel for the Pacific Region
The star-studded line up this year for the Pacific Regional Final hail exclusively from Australia, and includes:
Peter Gilmore (Australia)
Peter Gilmore is the executive chef of the Quay restaurant in Sydney which has been included in The World's 50 Best Restaurants since 2009, and the newly opened Bennelong, at The Sydney Opera House. His food is inspired by nature and as a passionate gardener himself, he was one of the first chefs in Australia to embrace heirloom varieties of vegetables, and continues to work in partnership with small and artisan producers who cultivate bespoke produce exclusively for both Quay and Bennelong.
Jock Zonfrillo (Australia)
Jock Zonfrillo is an Australian celebrity chef and philanthropist. Born in Glasgow, his Restaurant Orana in Adelaide, Australia has won multiple awards including Australia’s Restaurant of the Year 2019 by the Good Food Guide. His not-for-profit The Orana Foundation works to preserve cooking techniques and ingredients of The First Australians; the importance of his work was recognised by the Basque Culinary World Prize in 2018.
Danielle Alvarez (Australia)
Florida-born Alvarez trained at Thomas Keller’s lauded restaurant, The French Laundry, before moving on to Chez Panisse in Berkeley. She is currently based in Sydney, as head chef of Fred’s where she has created a menu around ethically-sourced produce. The restaurant, since opening in 2017 has garnered critical acclaim, including Australia’s Gourmet Traveller’s Restaurant of the Year 2018.
Dan Hunter (Australia)
Dan Hunter is an Australian chef, and owner of Brae restaurant in Birregurra, Victoria. Brae was ranked 44 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants, 2017. Hunter’s career started as a dishwasher in Australia and Britain before he landed a job at the acclaimed Mugaritz restaurant in Spain. He returned to Australia and worked as head chef of the Royal Mail Restaurant in Dunkeld, Victoria, before starting Brae in 2013. He has been named Chef of the Year in both The Age Good Food Guide (2012 and 2016) and Australian Gourmet Traveller (2016).
Christine Manfield (Australia)
Christine Manfield is a chef, author and gastronomic traveler. She has a number of successful books on global cuisine, and her professional culinary life has culminated in three award-winning restaurants - Paramount in Sydney from 1993 to 2000, East@West in London from 2003 to 2005, and Universal in Sydney from 2007-2013. She continues to work alongside chefs from around the world and hosts gastronomic tours to exotic destinations.
Here is the list of the 10 Regional finalists plus each of their chosen mentor chefs who will guide them throughout the Regional Finals:
Abhijit Dey, Mentor: Marc De Passorio (New Zealand)
Andrew Tranter, Mentor: Ryan Henley (New Zealand)
Aram Yun, Mentor: Shinya Nakano (Australia)
Camille Saint-M’Leux, Mentor: Andrew Gunn (Australia)
Daniel Jakobsson, Mentor: Francois Poulard (Australia)
Giada Grilli, Mentor: Michael Meredith (New Zealand)
James Bond-Kennedy, Mentor: Greg Clarke (Australia)
Jose Lorenzo Morales, Mentor: John Rivera (Australia)
Joshua Gregory, Mentor: Troy Rhoades Brown (Australia)
Kezia Kristel, Mentor: Karen Doyle (Australia)
The Finalist chosen from this Regional Final and Finalists of the three awards will be announced on www.SanpellegrinoYoungChef.com as and when they take place.
Find out more about S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2019-2020 and via our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram and by following #Sanpellegrino and #SPYoungChef.
