The S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup is Coming

The 13th edition of the S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup is nearly upon us as teams of passionate sailors prepare for the Venetian regatta and Awards.

An event that encompasses some of the quintessential values of Italian life - the art of dining, the pleasure of togetherness, sailing and, of course, the wonderful and romantic location of Venice.

Beginning on June 14th with the competition dinner among 10 chefs worldwide, the regatta takes place on the 15th with teams of sailors and chefs from around the world competing to not only be the first to race between Lido in Venice to the Island of San Giorgio, but also to gain points for preparing great food below deck.

Around 10 teams of chefs and sailors will combine forces to compete in the regatta. Dishes prepared during the race will be judged by a panel of guest judges including chefs Massimo Bottura, Bruno Oger, Ron Blaauw, Richard Ousby, Davide Scabin, Nino Graziano, Franco Favaretto and Andrea Berton. Ottavio Missoni Jr and the TV presenter Francesca Barberini will also be on the panel.

On top of all the action a number of events will take place for members of the public to sample the great flavors of Italy, including the Acqua Panna & S.Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year 2013 Award which will see all 10 of the chefs in the competition present their best signature dishes to judges.

It's a fun filled few days that mix, food, drink, great conversation and the adrenaline of a regatta race, all under the beautiful sky of Venice. The awards, including the People's Choice Award sponsored by Acqua Panna will be given out on Saturday June 15th during the gala ceremony at the Fenice Theatre. FDL will be there for the entire event bringing live updates to Twitter and Facebook so you can enjoy all the action at home.

Here are the 10 chefs competing for the Cooking Cup and other titles: 

Australia: Stewart Wesson, 25 years old, chef of Public in Adelaide. 

Austria: Rudi Jr Obauer, 24 years old, chef of Obauer in Werfen. Rudi is the winner of the best Austrian chef in the 2013 edition of the Kulinarische Auslese.

Belgium: Yannick Van Aeken, of restaurant Nede in Dublin. Yannick has been sous-chef of the Noma for three years. Read the interview with Chef Van Aeken on FDL. 

China: Ren Jie Liu, 30 years old, head of the Western Kitchen XiJiao State Guest Hotel in Shanghai. Read the interview with Chef Ren Jie Liu on FDL.

Israel: Haviv Moshe, sous-chef of restaurant Messa in Tel Aviv. Read the interview with Chef Moshe on FDL.

Italy: Giuseppe Iannotti, 30 years old. Chef of the restaurant Kresios in Talese Terme, Benevento. Read the interview Chef Iannotti on FDL.

Netherlands: Jeroen Trimbos, chef of his own restaurant Jerome of Valkenburg. Read the interview with Chef Trimbos on FDL.

Russia: Vladimir Mukhin, of the restaurant The White Rabbit in Moscow. Read the interview with Chef Mukhin on FDL.

Emirates: Dominic Petzold, 27 years old, sous-chef of The Westin-Le Meridian Mina Sehayi in Dubai. Read the interview with Chef Petzold on FDL.

USA: Paul Qui, 32 years old, co-founder and chef of the East Side King in Austin. Read the interview with Chef Qui on FDL.

Here's a video showing you all the action from last year's event.

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