Ireland’s top young culinary talent invited to compete in ‘world’s best’ challenge

San Pellegrino has launched a global talent search to find the best young chef in the world, who will have to prove his or her creativity by working with an emerging young designer, chosen by Vogue Italia, to present a joint food and fashion vision at EXPO in Milan next June.

There will be separate completions for both chefs and designers, but the two will work in tandem in the final, with the designer interpreting the chef’s signature dish in his or her creation. There will also be an award for the chef and designer whose collaboration is thought to be the most successful.

The competition is open to chefs aged 30 or under, working in a professional kitchen, and the first stage is an online submission of their signature dish, which must be done by December 31st. For further information and to enter, see finedininglovers.com.

ALMA, the education and training centre for Italian cuisine in Colorno, near Parma, will choose 10 finalists from each of 20 world regions to cook their dish for a judging panel in their region. Chef Oliver Dunne of Bon Appetit and Cleaver East will be on the judging panel for the UK and Ireland heat. The final 20 will be selected at this stage to take part in the final in Milan in June.

Young Irish chefs at an earlier stage in their career also have a competition to aim for, with the launch of the 18th Knorr student chef competition. UK chef and restaurateur Mark Sargeant is the guest judge for this year, and the final will be held at Belfast Metropolitan College in February. This competition is open to student chefs, and entries close on January 23rd at ufs.com/knorrstudentchef.