The most exciting talent search for young chefs in the world, came to an exhilarating close on 30th October with the Grand Finale of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2019-21. After rounds of competitive cooking, Jerome Ianmark Calayag, representing the UK and Northern Europe Region, was announced as the winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Award 2019-21.
The awards were created by the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy to nurture the future of Gastronomy and are judged by the competition's Grand Jury made up of six giants of global gastronomy – Enrico Bartolini, Manu Buffara, Andreas Caminada, Mauro Colagreco, Gavin Kaysen, Clare Smyth.
Jerome's impressive "Humble Vegetables" signature dish conceived in partnership with his mentor, David Ljungqvist, captured the jury's attention with his choice of ingredients and message behind the plate, beating entries from nine other talented chefs from around the world.
In winning the prestigious title, Jerome Ianmark Calayag goes down in history alongside previous champions
Mark Moriarty (2015), Mitch Lienhard (2016) and Yasuhiro Fujio (2018). This year's competition also introduced three new awards that reflect the Awards' belief in and support of the transformative power of gastronomy and its impact beyond the kitchen. Elissa Abou Tasse, representing the Africa and Middle East Region, is crowned the winner of the Award for Connection in Gastronomy, recognising her ability to prepare a signature dish with ingredients that highlight the richness of her own cultural background. Callan Austin, from the Africa and Middle East Region, received the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility, for the recipe that best represented the principle of food as a result of socially responsible practices. And finally, the online community of Fine Dining Lovers assigned its Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award to Andrea Ravasio, from the Iberian and Mediterranean Countries, as the young chef who best represented his personal belief within his "El domingo del campesino" Signature Dish.
To find out more about the awards, visit sanpellegrinoyoungchefacademy.com.