20 countries will participate in the inaugural year of the competition, with each country sending a young chef (hand-picked by an expert panel) to the global final held in Milan in summer 2015.
Entries for the competition are now open for the UK and Ireland nominations, those wishing to enter should submit a CV, along with details of their signature dish, via the Fine Dining Lovers online platform by December 15th 2014.
ALMA, international education and training centre for Italian cuisine, will then select ten candidates from each country to take part in an initial cooking heat.
The criteria, against which the contestant’s signature dish will be judged, will follow five rules. The contestants must successfully select the finest ingredients the market has to offer; demonstrate technical skill, transforming the ingredients into a finished dish; use their culinary genius to explore new horizons in terms of cuisine style, ensuring creativity shines through in the food; deliver a simply beautiful dish; and communicate clearly to the judges their personal vision and message the dish should deliver.
The ten selected chefs will present their signature dish to a panel of industry experts from the UK market and one young chef will be selected to represent the UK and Ireland in the global final in Milan.
The competition also marks S.Pellegrino’s partnership with Vogue Italia. The fashion brand are pairing up and coming fashion designers with each of the 20 finalists to interpret the chef’s signature dish. All of the dishes and fashion designs will be showcased at EXPO Milan.
S.Pellegrino, founded in 1899, is distributed in over 120 countries across five continents and offers a range of mineral waters, non-alcoholic aperitifs, drinks and iced teas.