Vote for your favorite young chef to win the Food for Thought Award

With the start of S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25, it’s time to have your say on the future of gastronomy by voting for your favorite young chef to win the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award.

Discover more about the award and how to vote, below.

What is the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award?

The Food for Thought Award is a collateral prize of the Competition (along with the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award and the Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award) given to chefs who best represent their personal beliefs in their signature dishes. It is awarded to a different chef at each of the 15 Competition Regional Finals and voted for by Fine Dining Lovers readers (the only one of the three collateral awards voted for by the public), who can have their say up to 30 days preceding the Regional Finals.

The 15 regional winners will then be considered for the global Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award, again voted for by the public, which is announced at the Competition Grand Finale (which for this edition will take place in Milan in 2025). 

How to vote for the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award

On the dedicated mini-site, you will find the competing young chefs’ signature dishes and the philosophies behind them. You can then cast your vote for who you think best links the two. Voting will open 30 days before the start of the respective Regional Final and remain open up until 72 hours before, starting with the UK on August 28.

This is your chance to help change the career of a young chef, by voting for the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25 Regional Finalist that you think deserves to win the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award.

Who won the Food for Thought Award in 2022-23?

Ian Goh, from Singapore, was the global winner of the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award at S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2022-23, with his signature dish, Heritage Lamb.