Regional Finalists 2022-23

Through the San Pelegrino competition, I would like to make new Korean dish that is interesting and delicious to people in a fun way with familiar ingredients.

Furthermore, I would like to develop a recipe that can reduce food waste that affects environmental pollution.

This dish is made using a "priced" protein in our ASEAN culture. It is not something we get to enjoy much of as it was expensive as well. Many farms and villagers I have visited prior to the opening of restaurant Province have hardly enjoyed a prestiges protein as duck. However, when enjoyed it is truly for a special occasion, be it a birthday, wedding or a personal achievement for the families. This dish helps to tell the story of how the different cultures come together as one in a dish.

Nowadays, Bali is facing a massive shift in landscape and lifestyle due to mass tourism. My biggest concern is the future of our children. What is our legacy? What is my responsibility as a chef for future generations? I want to take my part in preserving our Balinese heritage, our ingredients, our local farmers, our skills, and show that mixing tradition and modernity is possible. This is why I called my dish " Go Local or Go Home ".

The Shepherd offers his healthiest lambs, either for feasts or as a sacrificial meal every year by monotheists alike, in suit of Abraham's sacrifice to god. It is tradition to use a healthy lamb that is at least a year old. I wanted to honour this abiding tradition by encompassing the subtle yet rich flavours of the animal, complimented with locally foraged seasonal vegetables. This is an exploration of a harmonious dance of textures, temperatures, and flavours.

I want to show that fine dining food can have zero waste when done correctly, getting creative on how to utilize trim in order to reduce food waste will make fine dining more sustainable. this dish when done correctly in a restaurant setting will have zero waste associated with it. it uses techniques that I have developed alongside some of my mentors. This dish is very important to me as it shows my mindest towards cooking on one plate. No waste, local, healthy, delicious.

This dish reflects my life and experiences—a blend of French culinary skill and comforting home flavors from Canada as a multicultural nation. Montreal's Chinatown was my sanctuary, sparking my fascination with diverse culinary traditions, inspiring me still today. Cooking, for me, is love and passion, rooted in respect—using every part of ingredients, minimizing waste, letting flavors shine. Join my journey as a French-Canadian chef celebrating diverse influences shaping my culinary identity.

In this dish I want to give a stage to an ingredient that I think is underestimated (the horse) and represent it as much as possible. I take the food of the horse, the so-called soft food and complement with it parts of the animal to present the whole. I want this animal to be culinary understood from beginning to end.

With this dish I want to show my love for the italian country, people, language and its cousine. And of course all the delicious ingredients. So I took the ingredients of my favorite dish "pasta e patate" and made a variant as main plate, another variante as a satellite plate and last but not least the original "pasta e patate". Classics will never be old.

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.

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.

This dish gives nobility to the sturgeon by placing it at the centre of the plate, with the caviar playing a secondary role as an accompaniment. I love the idea of pairing the fish with the highly prized egg it produces. Born to two young parents, I grew up between Sologne and Provence; by combining the flavours of Douglass, pine kernels and artichokes, as well as remembering the tian my grandmother used to prepare for me and my love of freshwater fish, I'm showing my origins.

I would like to pay tribute to all the places I have lived, thanks to my family coming from many backgrounds. I chose a fish that I love. I think it’s a shame that most of the time not all the part of the fish are used.Food waste is something chefs all around the globe should fight and this is why I chose not to cook the filet. Deliciousness is everywhere.You will find everything I love in
the three cuisines: French, Lebanese and Ivorian.I wanted to show and share the cuisine close to my heart...

With this signature dish I intend to elevate the octopus to its maximum using all parts of it, without any waste. The place where I work, in Tavira, octopus is one of the great treasures that exists, and I intend to make it shine!

500 characters are less than I imagined so I'm retyping everything and trying to be shorter I want to say with this dish that "tutto il mondo è paese" because from an idea of an italian dish (risotto ai frutti di mare), using spanish and mexican products and preparation I'm making a dish that is present in a different way in the three countries (arroz a la tumbada in mexico and paella de mariscos in spain).
As well I choose to use bivalves and seaweed because they are sustainable products.

The dish is a representation of my origins, I don't have a Spanish culinary tradition because my mother was born in Venezuela, and my father in Germany, although my grandparents and I are Andalusian.
I express in this gastronomic representation what I consider to be my causalities, the origin of my parents has had a direct effect on my concept of gastronomic culture.
There are three culinary elaborations with the same value: an Iberian consommé, a hallaca of cuttlefish and a red mullet cooked in a flame...

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.

I believe as human being that we are very sick. Imagination and language is what did separated humans from animal.
Today peoples are not conscious of who we really are and the consequence is that we create confusion, trends and bad ego is the protagonist in this planet. Today we try to fix this planet by using one word, sustainability.
who really know the significant of that word and who first went to see inside of the most scary place of this world? I think it is better to start from us...

With this dish, I would like to express the concept that the replacement of animal protein with vegetable protein, allows the dish to have an equal taste, thus reducing the environmental impact, being also environmentally friendly. I hope, in this way, to succeed in approaching all food intolerances and pathologies that do not always allow the guest to feel free and involved in the free and varied choice of multiple dishes.

Exotic fruits, barks, medicinal plants, and fish were always there, together with his people, the ancestral communities guardians of their cuisine, traditions, ancient techniques.
Today gastronomy is revaluing this legacy of techniques, knowledge of most big amazonian pantry that is constantly evolving.People who live in the cities feel that the Amazon is a distant topic. But that is not the case, we are closer to it because it is a source of carbon and regulator of global climate changes.

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.

All the ingridients in my dish come from the farm I grew up, I sowed them myself, and I prepared them using traditional and contemporary techniques. The aim is for the judges to eat a humble part of Colombia at its best. I want this dish to be a way to give a voice to the farmers who had to leave their land and to create reflections about the crops and dishes that call themselves sustainable but often cause damage to the countryside and the traditional knowledge of peasant families.

As a native of Nanjing, I have always held a belief that "no duck can leave Nanjing alive." From a young age, I may have had a certain obsession with eating duck. For this competition, the dish is based on Nanjing Saltwater Duck, using the Fujian Egret Duck, no part of the duck is wasted; Food is the foundation of life, and since ancient times, the path of cooking has always been about inheritance. Like an old tree with intertwined roots and lush branches, only by inheriting and being brave enough to innovate can new buds continue to sprout. This is akin to the theme "Old Tree, New Sprouts."

Inspired by the first book of traditional Chinese medicine, "Huangdi Neijing," which states that food is food when eaten on an empty stomach, but medicine when consumed by patients, I have chosen medicinal herbs such as Poria cocos, japonica rice, Gastrodia elata, and Phyllanthus emblica as the main ingredients, complemented by traditional handcrafted tea. This has led to the creation of a pure vegetarian dish, embodying the concept of food and medicine sharing the same origin.

This dish stemmed from my memory of my hometown. It started with chicken from Hetian Town and that relates to local farms and the whole ecological system. From there, it casts a light onto the Chinese farming and rural society culture.

Poultry is an important element in the dining culture for this city tucked away in the mountains. These Hetian chickens have a wild temperament and were used for imperial chicken fights in the ancient times. The farmers live in the mountains and the chickens roam around freely in the pristine environment feeding on wheat and rice grown on the farm. From my memory, these chickens are capable enough to scale trees and even rooftops.
 

I would like to just honestly share my idea for this competition. I understand that not everyone that applies will participate however it does not mean I could try and share my journey to San Pellegrino, perhaps worldwide.
This dish represents my memories of my grandmother that I wanted to give my twist on. I applied lessons that I learned throughout my culinary journey that hopefully tells the story and what I am still willing to learn.

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.

Over 800 million people around the world go to bed hungry each night. At the same time, one third of all the food that is produced for human consumption is wasted, and obesity is one of the western world’s most pressing health issues.

Hunger is one of modern civilization’s great paradoxes, since it is a problem that already has a solution. The cure for hunger is called food – and we already produce too much of it.

 

It’s been three years, that I have seen my family due to the pandemic, three years since I've been to my ancestral home in ‘Aurangabad’, a city with a high Muslim population. The very place where I truly appreciated the true diversity of my cuisine and culture.
This dish is an amalgamation of my childhood, my roots and the vision I have to see my cuisine on the global stage amidst all its diverse and colorful glory. Where people do not just tag it as a “curry cuisine” but see it for what it is

Through this dish, I aim to express the elegance and complexity of Australian gourmet cuisine. The combination of duck, plums, and Australian black truffles showcases the country's rich agricultural diversity and culinary potential. The dish pays homage to my grandfather's farm and Australia's ability to produce high-quality, luxury ingredients and its growing reputation in the global gourmet scene.

In New Zealand we have a large number of introduced pests like wild deer that damage our native flora and fauna. By using wild venison we can create an economy for conservation by giving a financial incentive for the pest control. Hunters can sell the meat and chefs can utilise a delicious clean natural protein in the kitchen. I want to show a way to use the whole animal by ulatising the offal & bones in an approachable way for customers. The more we sell creates more money for conservation.

In a world of abundance, we need to look at a more nursing future. Sourcing ingredients has become paralysing for our planet. Due to over-fishing and over breeding, there is a big impact on the bee lives that provide us reproduction, which is necessary for our lives. In my dish, I combined sustainable farmed sea bass, free range pork and ecofriendly bee products from our little country. The dish shows how important sustainability is and also how the elements of nature are and can be connected.

The day Slovenia proclaimed its independence the Linden tree was planted in front of the National Assembly building, since then it became our symbol for freedom. Brown trout is the most common fish of our rivers and this dish is the love song to Slovenia. I used only trout, linden in different ways, salt, and honey to prove you can make a dish with minimum carbon footprint, humble and basic ingredients but has a complex flavor profile. Whole dish is served on a set of fallen local linden tree.

The inspiration behind this dish stems from deeply rooted memories of my childhood visits to my grandmother's home. At the heart of her cooking was her rooster dish, a testament to resourcefulness and culinary creativity born out of necessity. In the old times, when resources were scarce, my grandmother relied on every part of the rooster to create the family meals. Even though the dish is now adapted to fine dining techniques, I am transported back to those moments, the essence of home.

This is the dish that I first wrote down 4 years ago when I was planning to do my first ever pop up, which unfortunatelly for one reason on another I never got round to do. Now revisiting it with different techniques that I've learned along the way I'd hope to be able to present to you a well balanced and complete plate. I chose the flovours of celeriac and apple becuase I think the combination is delicious. I'd like to express how delicious vegetables can be.

I want to showcase everything i have learnt as a chef so far. I think doing a classical dish like this is unique and modern and really shows how different styles and cuisines have evolved. This really expresses how far food has come and how far i have come.

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.

This dish represent my years of experience working in this industry, from a local pub or bistro, all the way to fine dining using the knowledge pass down to me from the chefs that came before me.I challenge myself to present a dish with ingredients that a I commonly not work with utilizing different cooking techniques, utilizing ingredients to their maximum minimizing waste, from the trimmings of proteins to the vegetable of stocks.

Through this dish, I'd like to show that brazilian ingredients are unique and amazing just as much as from any other part of the world. Since starting my career outside of my country as a immigrant, I've received a lot of comments ''what is the food like in Brazil?'', and I can confirm that for being a ''3rd world country'', many times our food culture is left behind and not taken as seriously as other cultures. Our potential is huge and I'd like to show that to the world.

Food conscience and sustainability are more prevalent in our lives than ever before.
It is time to take action and look for more sustainable solutions.
My dish is a representation of sustainable ingredients, rich in nutrients, with a low water and carbon footprint, that may improve ocean water quality, rebuild coastal ecosystems, alleviate hunger and contribute to environmental revival at a low cost through ethical farming on a global scale.

This dish represents a combination of my view, love and upbringing with food. being thought french cuisine and working with locale produce, loving the purity of japanse food and having roots in indonesia. I strive for balance in flavours and combining the east with the west in unexpected ways. I like to think outside the box with produce without losing the story behind the dish.

“Encouragement” is the theme of my dish, where ingredients, methods and cooking processes reflect the people, who at first glance might seem to be the simplest ones, those hidden behind the scenes. As in life itself, sometimes those elements need a little push to get them on stage, making them realize that they too can reach its fullest explendore.

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.