Jerome Ianmark Calayag wins the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition Award

Jerome Ianmark Calayag, 25, a Swedish of Filipino origin, won the final at the 2021 edition of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, the ambitious international scouting and lifelong learning project promoted by S.Pellegrino. On Saturday 30 October the chef, with the support of his mentor the Swedish David Ljungqvist, managed to win over the other 9 young finalist chefs by surprising the Grand Jury with his signature dish, ‘Simple vegetables’, a vegetarian dish consisting of a puree of roasted carrots and smoked butter, as a base for grilled carrots accompanied by a carrot reduction, then a Jerusalem artichoke pie with a röra (Jerusalem artichoke and apple brunoise, sunflower seeds and chives), fried leek, roasted leeks and carrot glaze, roasted vegetable sauce. 135 chefs all over the world passed the preliminary selections this year and then challenged each other in the various contests organized in 12 macro regions by submitting their signature dishes to the juries made up of great local chefs. The winners of the individual finals then challenged each other in Milan after facing a long and interesting training course alongside their mentor – a highly experienced and authoritative chef or chef – in order to perfect every detail before participating in the grand final. ” The Grand Finale and the selections that precede it and which take place all over the world – commented Stefano Marini, Chief Executive Officer of the San Pellegrino Group – represent a phase of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy project that involves not only the winners of past editions, but also everyone. the young chefs who in the world, since 2015, have participated in the final selections to form today a community made up of over 1000 talents from 70 different countries. S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, originally conceived as an international scouting project, has evolved over time into an authentic permanent training laboratory. S.Pellegrino has in fact chosen to commit itself to evolving the world of catering which today represents in many countries – and in Italy in particular – an extraordinary “medium” of universal values: culture, identity, taste and beauty. The nursery of young chefs that S.Pellegrino is helping to feed has today more than one place to meet – live as in the three days in Milan just ended – and by accessing a dedicated digital platform, sanpellegrinoyoungchefacademy.com, which allows members of the community to update themselves professionally and learn in all fields of knowledge inherent in the world of quality cuisine and beyond. ” Jerome Ianmark Calayag not only conquers the podium as the best young talent like those who preceded him – Mark Moriarty (2015), Mitch Lienhard (2016) and Yasuhiro Fujio (2018) – but, above all, he himself becomes a point of reference for all those who wish to undertake the profession of chef with a new look towards the future, made up of opportunities and sharing within an increasingly dynamic and international network. “Jerome – said Enrico Bartolini one of the top chefs who are members of the international jury composed by Manu Buffara, Andreas Caminada, Mauro Colagreco, Gavin Kaysen and Clare Smyth – was inspired by a classic Filipino popular dish, isaw, based on chicken meat and pork offal that the chef has reinterpreted in a surprisingly vegetarian way giving the carrot a central role: the texture was exceptional, the flavor was in balance between the umami and the hint of root. The vegetable sauce that accompanied it was po i really extraordinary, he managed to combine every element of the dish, transforming this quote of a street food into a high-profile proposal made possible by the mastery of the technique applied to the raw material. We have invested Jerome with a great responsibility and we hope he can become and continue to be an authentic reference and example for all young chefs. ”Italy was also represented on the podium: Alessandro Bergamo, who grew up professionally alongside Carlo Cracco, finished second. His signature dish, “Better an egg today or a hen tomorrow?”, Particularly impressed the jury for the technical skills demonstrated and for the ability to obtain starting from simple but high quality raw materials, chicken, corn and potatoes, a dish of haute cuisine, complex and balanced. Accompanying him in the preparation for the final was his chef mentor Antonia Klugmann, owner of L’Argine in Vencò, 1 Michelin star. acquisition of new knowledge and new skills that are increasingly transversal, with a view to networking, professional growth and sharing. The great added value of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy project lies in having made it possible to meet and exchange between young people and great masters, professionals recognized throughout the world for their ability to move the quality bar higher and higher. or to conceive new possible horizons for those wishing to pursue a career as a chef. In this regard, the competition has introduced three awards that complete the “podium” of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2021 and testify to the commitment to cultivate the transformative power of gastronomy: • Elissa Abou Tasse, Executive and Creator Chef of Kanz by Beit el Baraka in Beirut (Lebanon), is the winner of the Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy, with her signature dish “Adam’s Garden”, in which she expressed the richness and uniqueness of its cultural background. • Callan Austin, chef de partie of Chefs Warehouse at Tintswalo Atlantic in Cape Town, with his signature dish “The Ghost Net”, won the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility, assigned by Food Made Good for being able to propose the dish that more than any other has embraced the principle that food is better when it is the result of socially responsible practices. • Finally, the Fine Dining Lovers online community awarded the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award to Andrea Ravasio, an Italian who has long chosen Spain to express himself in the kitchen as Sous Chef of the Zumaque restaurant in Tenerife. The award enhances the chef’s ability to effectively represent his vision and philosophy through his dish “El Domingo del Campesino”. The award ceremony ended with an authentic gastronomic experience staged by Massimo Bottura and his “dream team ”: Takahiko Kondo, Riccardo Forapani, Francesco Vincenzi, Jessica Rosval and Bernardo Paladini. Massimo Bottura, Master of Ceremony and mentor par excellence, together with the five chefs has created as many unique and exclusive culinary moments, synthesizing the style, spirit and history of the La Francescana team. The highlights of the “Grand Finale” of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2021 are available at https://www.sanpellegrinoyoungchefacademy.com/.