Asia’s regional winner Ardy Ferguson is being mentored by chef Vicky Lau of Hong Kong’s two Michelin-starred Tate Dining Room for the grand finals. The Indonesian-Canadian, who is sous chef at modern French restaurant Belon in Hong Kong, shared that the competition inspired him to delve deep into his Indonesian heritage, hence his competition dish of nasi tumpeng, a traditional Javanese plate of cone-shaped rice, meat and vegetables.
He added that input from his regional finals mentor, Belon’s head chef Matthew Kirkley, and interaction with other talented young chefs also “helped me to develop significantly, which I didn’t expect to do so in such a short amount of time.”
He said: “I was also very thankful that Kirkley allowed me to make my own mistakes. It gave me the freedom to truly explore and create something I was personally very happy with.”
Besides the competition, SPYCA, which has over 3,000 members, also organises online workshops and public events as well as create educational content to engage the wider culinary community on current issues.
San Pellegrino’s Asia Pacific Zone Director Roberto Caroni said: “At SPYCA, we’re constantly evolving to stay relevant to the challenges young chefs face today. Sustainability, for example, is an area we’ve explored before — and it’s one we plan to dive deeper into moving forward. It’s a pressing issue that continues to shape the way we source, cook, and think about food, and we see real value in helping young chefs understand how they can make a difference.”
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