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As the Grand Finale of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2022-23 approaches, we’re looking at the chefs that have used the Competition as a springboard to launch or boost varied and exciting careers. This includes all four Competition winners to date of course, but this list also highlights one of the fundamental truths of the Competition: that taking part is just as important as winning, given the networking opportunities it presents. Any chef who takes part in the competition at any stage is then also a member of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy for life. Find out more about the Academy.
It's also important to note that this is not an exhaustive list. The Academy has thousands of chef members, many of whom are achieving amazing things in the gastronomy world and beyond.
Check the SPYCA page on Fine Dining Lovers for all the news from the Grand Finale, which takes place 4-5 October 2023 in Milan.
Mark Moriarty
The inaugural winner of the S.Pellgerino Young Chef Academy Competition back in 2015, ahead of his time with a vegetarian winning dish, took full advantage of the doors the win opened for him. In the months and years that followed he travelled the world, popping up to cook alongside the world’s best chefs – something which he still does. He has since become a fixture on TV in his native Ireland (as well as appearing on Canadian screens) and starred in Fine Dining Lovers’ The Secrets of Sauces. His first cookbook, Flavour, is out this September and though plans to open a restaurant were stalled by the pandemic, you can be sure that this exciting chef will always have something up the sleeves of his whites.
Jerome Ianmark Calayag
The most recent winner of the Competition has been cooking all over the world since his victory in Milan, travelling to the likes of Gucci Osteria in Florence, to the Isle of Man to cook with Pippa Lovell (see below) and to South Africa to cook with fellow global finalist Paul Prinsloo. He has also appeared on Swedish TV alongside his competition mentor David Ljungqvist, encouraging Swedes to cook more vegetables (his winning dish in 2021 was vegetarian). We’re sure there’s lots more to come from this exciting young chef.
Mitch Lienhard
Is there an Academy member with a more varied career than 2016 Competition winner Mitch Lienhard? At the time of his win, when he was mentored by Dominique Crenn, Leinhard was Chef de Cuisine at California’s three-star Manresa restaurant. He then went on to take the role of Campus Executive Chef at Google, before co-founding hospitality consultancy, Suited. An example of the broad range of roles on offer to the 21st-century chef that is willing to think beyond the restaurant kitchen.
Yasuhiro Fujio
2018 Competition winner Yasuhiro Fujio fulfilled a long-held dream when he opened his first restaurant, Middle, in Kyoto in 2021. Building on his experience at Michelin-starred French restaurants La Cime in Osaka and Passage 53 in Paris, Middle serves fine French cuisine in the Kyoto Botanical Gardens close to the city’s Kamo River, in the north of the city.
Xrysw Ruelas Díaz
Ruelas Díaz is, according to Forbes, one of the 100 most powerful women in Mexico, alongside the country’s foremost politicians, CEOs, doctors and musicians. The 2021 global finalist also received the Chef Revelación award from Guía México Gastronómico, a guide to the country’s best restaurants. In addition to being hugely influential, she finds time to run the Xokol restaurant in Guadalajara alongside chef husband Óscar Segundo, dedicated to elevating indigenous Mexican cooking.
Paolo Griffa
2015 global finalist Griffa quickly gained a Michelin star after opening his first restaurant, Paolo Griffa at the Café Nazionale in Aosta, Italy and his star continues to rise with appearances on MasterChef Italia. He has been both a judge and cooked on the show, preparing his signature ‘Gold and blue rice’, a risotto inspired by painter Marc Chagall. Couple that with four-hand dinners, congress appearances and more and you have one busy chef.
Pippa Lovell
Based on the Isle of Man, UK, Lovell, a global finalist for the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award in 2021, is a chef whose every move is driven by a desire to be more sustainable. At her restaurant, Versa, all ingredients are sourced locally, with Lovell foraging many invasive species to put on the plate. It’s getting her noticed: she recently picked up a UNESCO biosphere award for engagement for her sustainability work and was named as one of the 100 most influential women in UK hospitality by Code.
Grégoire Berger
Dubai’s Michelin-starred Ossiano must be one of the most talked about restaurants in the world right now, landing the highest new entry at number four on the MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 list. And who is at the helm? None other than 2016 global finalist and 2019-21 local juror Gregoire Berger, a testament to the raw talent of the Academy. Originally from France, Berger travelled the world perfecting his culinary craft, working under the likes of Pierre Gagnaire, before settling in Dubai at Atlantis, The Palm’s famed underwater restaurant.
Vusi Ndlovu
Ndlovu, a global finalist in the 2018 Competition, has a remarkable story of how he came to the industry, which you can discover in the podcast below. The chef, who co-founded the African Culinary Library, dedicated to preserving and promoting African food culture and cuisine, was most recently to be found cooking at his Edge culinary concept pop-up in Cape Town, taking diners on a thrillingly delicious tour of the African continent across a relaxed fine-dining menu. His new restaurant, Boma on Bree, also in Cape Town, looks set to continue that success.
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