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135 young chef candidates from 12 regions, representing 50 countries, are now one step closer to reaching the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2020 Grand Finale.

Over 2,400 applicants from all over the world entered the globally renowned competition to find the world’s best young chef, and now 15 from the UK & North Europe region will be going head-to-head on the 12^th November 2019 to be crowned the regional winner. 

This year, the UK & North Europe region encompasses the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, with representatives from each country successfully making their way through to the regional final.

The finalists from the UK & North Europe region include: Oliver Serve of Grand Hotel Oslo (Norway); Pippa Lovell of Little Fish at the Bay (Man Island); Nicolas Fagundes Galindo of Chapter One (Ireland); Liliana Haaland of Frilands (Norway); Joshua Wilde of The Coach Marlow (UK); Thilda Martensson of Grand Hotel Saltsjöbaden (Sweden); Arlen Ortegaof One Pico Restaurant (Ireland); Luuk Hoffman of Frunk (Netherlands); Rik Veen of De Lindehof (Netherlands); Jerome Lanmark Calayag of The Ledbury (Sweden); Rasmas Bundgaard Nielser ofBundgaard Food Consulting (UK); Gerard Villaret of De Librije (Netherlands); Friso Van Amerongenof Rijks (Netherlands); Timothee Martin of The Greenhouse (UK); Andrea Vailati of The Ledbury (UK).

Each young chef’s application and signature dish was evaluated by culinary experts, at the World’s Leading International Educational and Training Centre for Italian Cuisine, ALMA, who are in charge of the candidate selection. ALMA’s selection process hinged on three key criteria: technical skills, creativity, and a personal belief in the transformative power of gastronomy as a device for positive change in society.

“We have had the pleasure of collaborating with S.Pellegrino Young Chef since the very first edition, and every time we are amazed by the variety of ideas and the great passion shown by the candidates”, said Andrea Sinigaglia, General Manager of ALMA. “For this edition we selected 135 young talents and we are excited to see how they will perform first on a local, and then on a global scale. Good luck to all of them!”

Showing initial results of the commitment taken by S.Pellegrino towards gender balance and inclusivity, the percentage of women registered among the candidates increased to more than 10%.

Each region will have a jury composed of leading independent chefs, who will judge the candidates’ signature dishes and select the regional winners of the four awards. This year, the awards include: the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Award (judged by the independent chef jury) , the Fine Dining Lovers Food For Thoughts Award (voted for by the online Fine Dining Lovers community), the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility (voted for by Food Made Good) and the Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy (voted for by the Young Chef’s mentors).

Allowing S.Pellegrino, as well as the platform of Young Chef, to be accountable and authoritative, this year the brand has signed a global partnership with Food Made Good to work on social responsibility at the competition.

Born from the founders of Sustainable Restaurant Association, Food Made Good is committed to drive sustainability within the food industry, working together with chefs, restaurants, suppliers and food service businesses. As part of the partnership, Food Made Good will be voting the Social Responsibility Awards at both Regional and Global level. Furthermore, they will also support S.Pellegrino in integrating sustainability within the platform.

By the end of December 2019, the Young Chefs from around the globe announced as official finalists of the four awards will move on to the Grand Finale to be held in June 2020. Throughout the months, each finalist will be accompanied by Mentor Chefs, who will provide them with guidance on how to improve their signature dishes and support them in their preparation for the international final.

Discover the list of 135 candidates and find exclusive content and updates here:http://www.sanpellegrinoyoungchef.com/en.

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