Regional Finalists 2022-23

This dish began with my love of lamb, and the hope to highlight my Hainanese heritage. Lamb has been a staple of the Hainanese diet (i.e. Dong Shan Lamb) and through this menu, it would be featured alongside ingredients and techniques that link the East with the West.
Taking inspiration from the Spice Route, also known as the Maritime Silk Roads, I have utilised spices such as cumin, fennel, Sze Chuan peppercorns and ginger, all of which were known and used in antiquity and traded in Asia.

This dish played a very important role in my life. I took inspiration from the dish Steamed Grouper. We would have this dish every Sunday with my family. This dish is an inspiration to keep me being grounded as a Chef to have a dish so simple but so complex. To remember that food doesn't need to be complicated to taste good and food is always meant to be shared. My dish is a showcase of what I have learned with my experiences without forgetting my Culture and upbringing as a Filipino-Chinese.

Many chefs talk about « sustainability » on media, and I am also concerned, especially when it's related to food waste. Food waste carries a social, environmental, and financial problem, as a cook, everyday we see how much food we waste from the kitchen.

During this competition, I would like to make my own creation for the purpose of zero waste: The whole chicken will be used entirely. I would like to express what we can do as a chef with our little strength and our social responsibility.

Receiving whole deer every fortnight, I noticed that the unused offal was being wasted. So I decided to put them to good use in a dish to raise awareness of food waste. My aim is to promote responsible and sustainable cooking, reflecting my passion for gastronomy and my values of respect for natural resources.

This is the purest form of expression of my journey. This dish will take you through the beginning of my career all the way to the present. It takes inspiration from my grandmother’s impactful love for cooking transmitted to me as a young girl, to the reflection of my culinary career. My development as a chef and the learning of cultures, were turning points of finding my own identity and what has devoted me to this chapter.

I invent this plate in honor of the hard work of my father and my mother. My father always work in the cereal world and this is a very hard work. He gives is life to this work to make shure we miss nothing. I also put carrot because when i was young my mother have a big garden with a lot of carrots and i dont really like them at this time. Now this is one of my favorite vegetable. Also the duckling is my favorite animal proteine so that’s why i wan’t to serve them. I hope you let me show you!

Tikka Masala - a dish that started my culinary journey. It captivated me as a chef's apprentice with its layers of flavor, the first dish I mastered and the one that won my wife's heart, as the first dish I cooked for her. For this competition, I present it in two ways: whole, to enjoy it fully with all flavours present. But alongside it, a deconstructed version with all elements still present and polished, presented to highlight its individual mastery.

I wish to inspire people to reconnect with their neighborhood. Regionality is not just practiced, it is lived! We need to encourage kids to engage in gastronomy. Let's show the next generation the joy of serving guests dishes made from locally-sourced ingredients, fostering connections with friends in the local farming community. Hopefully, kids today, through my cooking, will discover that, as my grandma always says: 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' Let's create paths worth taking.

Seasonality and regionality play a fundamental role for me when creating my dishes.
Going through the world with open eyes, seeing what nature has to offer, helps me tremendously when creating new dishes.
I want to know where my products come from and how I can use the conditions of my environment for my dishes. Products should find their way onto a plate when they are available on the market in the best quality it can offer. The goal should always be to use the full potential of all products.

This dish for me represents Irish culture married with classical french techniques,as an Irish chef in France it's something that's very important to me.I break down the elements of the whiskey making process into individual steps, and that utilise those steps to inspire a key ingredient on the plate, all to accompany Irish Beef Tongue."Whiskey loosening the tongue" is an Irish phrase for when we drink whiskey it helps open conversation, I'm playing on that phrase as I braise the beef in whiskey.

I would like to express a simple message through my dish, the reduction of food waste and pollution. Through my life experiences, between Italy and France, I combined the cultures and some of the traditional dishes, to me close, in one. I talk about classic preparation of both countries revisited on a contemporary way. I use only sustainable food like mackerel (using every part) for responsible fishing and seaweed in substitution of animal proteins. Work local, think global.

France and my hometown, South Korea are both surrounded by the sea and is a temperate climate where produce, livestock, and seafood abound. My dish celebrates these ingredients and highlight the 4 elements that maintain the delicate balance of life: soil, sea, sky, and fungi. I believe that this philosophy will open my eyes to view humble ingredients in a different light. To keep exploring earth’s offerings by experimenting unique flavor combinations and new ingredients.

On our plate, we unite the gastronomic tradition of Mallorca and Menorca, highlighting local products with a sustainable approach. We believe that every chef should work with what they have at home, respecting the environment. Our passion for Mediterranean cuisine drives us to create unique culinary experiences, combining tradition and innovation.

My dish is inspired by the similarities between the foothills of the Chilean Andes and the north of Spain, especially Navarre. The freedom of the Chilean quail and the strength of the bull during the San Fermin festival represent the connection between these two distant lands. With local ingredients that must be used to the maximum, this dish brings me closer to home, allows me to discover its potential and motivates me to represent Chilean gastronomy in Navarra and the whole world.

Kitchen and gastronomy are my life since I was young. I move to Açores , I fell in love with the gastronomy of the region and I want to try to bring and mix the oldest traditions with new technics, new vision with my personal touch , in this way I hope to put Açores gastronomy in the map , be a reference in the culinary world . Must part of the ingredients are local.
I would like to contribute , so that traditions are not forgotten, preserve and promote the azorean traditions

This dish represents me and everything I wanted to believe in. I was born in Milan, moved to Ancona, mother Bolognese, father Milanese and Sicilian grandparents This could only lead to my personal split. This leads me to a singular deepening of every part of me, held together at the same time by feelings, passions and personal beliefs. So is my Signature Dish: the ingredients are enhanced individually but even more when combined thanks to the untied sauce.

I rapresented violence against woman. Living or cohabiting with someone who exhibits aggressive attitudes and feeling without a way of escape.
Also walk alone, sometimes, could be scare.
During COVID-19 requests for help incresed by 119% and the cage tht I rapresented makes me think of them. Trapped at home.

My "Ossi di seppia" draws inspiration from Montale's work, where bones, wandering among the waves and seemingly worthless, symbolize a miserable yet significant existential condition. Like the small things in daily life, they conceal intrinsic value and beauty. By using every part of the cuttlefish, even those considered scraps, I aim to showcase their importance and convey the significance of circular cooking to reduce waste and valorise each ingredient.

I’m very passionate about gastronomy; my country, its people, and its ingredients bring out the flavors, in each one, of my dishes. Self-expression, for me, comes with every texture, color, and form of each detail. I recognize the importance of my surroundings, my community, and the products distinguished by their performance within sustainability guidelines. I have the responsibility to share with diners the richness, tradition, and culture that Mexican cuisine offers.
I am proud of Mexico.

A short time ago there was an oil spill on the coast of Peru, it made me realize the consequences of spills, they generate a tremendous environmental impact, but I think the wisdom of nature is greater than mine, and its benefits even more so, for this reason I want to use seaweed and mushrooms in my dish. My dish generates awareness but also sustainability, using a product that is not used to supplant others and obtain benefits for human health, for me that's one way to make sustainable cooking.

Emerging Forest was born through memories I have of my childhood with my grandparents and the teachings they gave me about the products that nature gives us and which many of these we have forgotten, as well as many gastronomic techniques. That is why I decided to use rabbit, a protein that has been forgotten in our gastronomy. That is why I decided to diversify this protein by giving it many uses and using it 100%, creating awareness for the new generation.

This is a modern culinary expression that combines local Sichuan ingredients with traditional French cooking techniques. Through this dish, it showcases the exchange and fusion of different regions and cultures, highlighting the harmony and balance of Sichuan's natural environment. Fresh seasonal bamboo shoots, sun-drenched Daliangshan yellow potatoes, and the unique flavor of wood ginger are used, aiming to express the skills and aesthetics of modern cooking through traditional French methods.

I once read an interview stating that food waste is a fatal flaw in fine dining restaurants. Many ingredients, from purchase to plating, end up being only 50%-70% of their original quantity, with an average of 30% of ingredients being wasted. However, sustainable development is a social responsibility and obligation that we, as the new generation of young chefs, must undertake. At this moment, I utilize various cooking techniques to fully utilize ingredients and minimize waste, aiming to convey my thoughts on sustainable development as a young chef.

There are many ways to cook chicken in Guangzhou, and as the saying goes: “It is not a feast if you don’t have chicken”. This dish is originally a Cantonese-style crispy roast chicken. Chicken dries out easily because of its low fat content, and traditional methods of roasting or frying at high temperature are not healthy enough, so I use modern low-temperature slow-cooking cooking methods to process traditionally marinated chicken. This resulting chicken is not only tender and juicy, but also nutritious and healthy.

The chicken is stuffed with sweet pea paste and shrimp paste. This is a technique called "stuffing" in Chinese cuisine. One or several ingredients are made into puree and filled with another ingredient. During the heating process, the flavors of various ingredients integrate yet retain their own characteristics. The sweetness of the sweet pea puree and the saltiness of the shrimp bring a fuller taste experience to the chicken. I reduce the use of condiments, and unique original flavor of the ingredients themselves become more memorable.
 

Nordic Sea is a dish that focuses on sustainable ingredients. This dish reflects my culinary journey and who I am as a chef today. Combining fishing and cooking is fantastic. Something I often did as a child. Many fish species are now threatened by overfishing and pollution. I focus on cod, blue mussels and seaweed. I use MSC-certified cod from the North Sea. Farmed blue mussels that contribute to a better sea environment and seaweed counteract the negative effects of climate change.

I truly believe that the most important element is to have passion for food and cooking. Having passion for what you do will help to drive you to work harder every day. For me, I have a passion for good and clean cooking. When it comes to creating dishes, my culinary philosophy is that everything on the plate has to be “clean”, flavourful, and showcase the beauty of nature

To achieve that, I believe in using the best products ranging from sea, land, and forest to create innovative dishes.

During my time spent at Faroe Islands I create this dish with one purpose, to make something Mexican inspired but allowing myself to do it only with local resources but still following the tradition of my culture, and way of cooking.

Adapting a classic street dish like “ceviche and tostadas” to a more defined and detailed idea with technique behind and a mix of ingredients from both cultures.

I think food on these days is about adapting, connecting and evolving like all humans.

I was born and raised in Sichuan, China. With my professional training from Le Cordon Bleu in Australia, I found Australia can be a bridge of combination of two completely different flavours and cultures. I have considered South Australia as my second home, and I love the wide range of fresh ingredients and indigenous products. I want to bring the authentic Sichuanese flavour to South Australia and create my own food style inspired by modern western cuisine in the short future.

My yakitori is a unique take on the classic Japanese dish, combining traditional flavours with Italian and Australian elements and techniques, delivering a dish that is at once familiar, but unique in taste and texture.
Rather than a traditional yakitori sauce, I cured the egg yolk using colatura di alici, before using the latter to create a gel balanced with dashi that has a unique umami flavour.
My yuzukosho draws on fermented jalapeño for a complex umami flavour, lime zest, juice.

This dish is influenced by a region of India called Kashmir. It is inspired by its rich culture, cooking style and ingredients that grow around there. Through this dish, I want to express how influences of different countries and cultures has created the rich history of Kashmir. Complexity in the concept, simplicity in the execution is what that I want this dish to cry out. Exploring deep into their culture, taking inspiration and applying my own creativity and style has formed this idea.

Through “The story of Cod” I wanted to give a modern twist to a traditional Greek recipe and products that are a part of every table in Greece. The goal was to showcase Greek gastronomic culture through a combination of tradition and modernity. Wanting to highlight the quality of Greek products, I chose to include ingredients found all over Greece. The message I wanted to convey was that complexity can occur through simple things and that we should get inspired by our roots and history.

Influence of different cuisines from where I learned becoming French and Spanish my biggest influence, without leaving aside the importance of ingredients, traditions, and heritage of my country, Ecuador, taking care of local producers and craftsman, always taking full advantage and respect for the product with a touch of modernity, creating an experience of textures and sensations in each perfect bite.

The story behind this plate starts with a deer and pumpkin. Because I want to take every chance to make my own home grown plants, last spring I planted pumpkin seeds at the edge of the forest, 50 meters from my restaurant. One morning when I walked to my pumpkin field to check up with my ripe pumpkins, I saw that one had a bite taken off. I knew that there has been a deer eating my pumpkins. That is why I decided to connect three main ingredients: Deer, pumpkin and mushrooms. This is my story.

Through a desire to seek out and understand culture outside of my own, I have been able discover so much about myself and the food I want to create. I am inspired by the flavours/methods of the world, and I want to use what I have discovered by cooking delicious food without boundaries. Ode to Sam Yee is an homage to my partner who has shared her culture with me. This dish combines Chinese flavours with my classically trained French cooking methods. This is about creating new traditions.

This dish is all about a recreation of a happy memory growing up and getting a nostalgic feeling. Cooking and food to me is all about a mixture of new discovery and connecting to a different place, a different time, a memory, a feeling. When I was growing up my mother would take me to my nanny's place and she would always be in the kitchen making something. Two standout dishes I remember always helping her with were her Veranicki's which are a Russian perogy and borscht. We would sit for hours chopping vegetables, stuffing veranickis, and spending time together at her table. The recipe for the dough is her fathers recipe and I wanted to do a bit of a modern take on the classic dough and by adding elements of borscht through dill, beetroots, and creme fraiche throughout the dish. The duck parts of the dish are a more recent memory of moving half way around the world to come work in London at The Ritz Hotel. One of the most memorable dish's that we serve at The Ritz is the Duck a la Presse. The theater and level of service makes this more than just a dish, but creates an everlasting memory to anyone who would order it. Even the people around would remember it, it's so special.

This dish signifies my journey , it starts off with my heritage and roots - this being the base flavours of masala, Granadilla and Smokey Braai flavours ( Braai: South African cooking method ) , these flavours represent where my journey began. At the same time showcasing my beliefs of respecting the ingredients and using them with integrity and love , expressing my beliefs through food . My journey was not an easy one , but I made sure it was colourful, vibrate and bold.

I have always been inspired by the way my family in Greece and Italy embrace food, especially coastal fare. In my professional career I have learned so much more about traditional French and Japanese technique, and through this dish, I have found an all encompassing way to convey my passion for food.

The pairings of squid & date and oyster tofu & bone expresses a yearning for a unified Korea. My father's family was forced from their home north of the 38th parallel to escape invading communist forces during the war. They arrived in the southern port city of Busan as strangers in their own land. This dish aims to harmonize the flavors of our ancestral home in the north of Korea with the textures and ingredients of the south in efforts to to tell our family's story and chart our migration.

Growing up in Chile, I’ve always appreciated the sea. With over 6,000 kilometers of coastline, Chile introduced me to the power of fresh fish and seaweed. Working in fine-dining restaurants in Paris and New York, I’ve learned that the fish industry also leaves an abundance of food waste. With this dish, I am using almost every element of my favorite fish: the Shima-aji. I’d like to inspire people to begin a new relationship with food to appreciate all that a fish has to offer.

With this first course I wanted to create a link between land and sea, revisiting a typical preparation of my country, the porchetta. I am a lover of the sea and I wanted to make a preparation that combines the two in a modern way. Combining these also with pasta, it can never be missing in an Italian lunch. Tradition and innovation come together respecting the raw material.

With this dish, I want to express the use of poor and reusable raw materials, I have used tripe which is a popular product par excellence, bitter herbs have a very low environmental impact, and roots have always been the sustenance food of the poor.

With this dish I actually want to transfer all my passion and love to the detail. From the first step to the last arrangement of the flower. How many thoughts have gone into this dish. How to use everything from an animal. How I can best transmit my emotions to the guest. The filigree and delicacy of the dish. But in the end it's the taste that counts, that's my priority. I also want to be able to stand behind it 100 percent and I want to tell myself, that I can't do it better at the moment.