Been hooked on South Korea's Culinary Class Wars on Netflix? A similarly thrilling competition just took place in Asia, resulting in the crowning of Hong Kong's Chef Ardy Ferguson as Asia's best young chef who will go on to represent the region at a global grand final in Milan next year.
Chefs from Bangkok, the Maldives, and Singapore were also recognised in three other categories at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition in Asia. Now in its sixth edition, it aims to nurture the most promising chefs under 30 worldwide.
Crowning Asia's best young chef of 2024-25
Indonesian-Canadian Chef Ardy Ferguson emerged as the overall winner, snagging the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Award (Asia). A chef at Michelin-starred restaurant Belon in Hong Kong, he paid homage to his Indonesian heritage with nasi tempung, a celebratory Indonesian rice dish that traditionally has boiled vegetables, tofu, tempeh, corn fritters, and fish.
Named 'Archipelago Celebration', Chef Ardy nodded to his training in Hong Kong by using duck instead of fish, which he scalded, lacquered in red wine vinegar, and smoked with sugar cane in a classic Cantonese technique.
He was awarded after a gruelling five-hour cook-off at the International Culinary Institute in Hong Kong on October 28. A panel of seven renowned judges scored his dish the highest based on three 'golden rules': strong technical skills, genuine creativity, and how their personal vision of gastronomy was showcased in the dish.
Standout chefs from Bangkok, Singapore, Maldives
Chef Ardy beat out some seriously stacked competition from the Maldives, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. And some of them walked away with prizes of their own.
Chef Simone Scarparo from Luna by Clara in Bangkok, Thailand was recognised with the S.Pellegrino Social Responsbility Award for his dish' Hidden in the Beeswax'. It features discarded beeswax and locally-sourced fish to showcase the sustainability and zero waste ethos that guides his cooking. The dish has been on his restaurant's menu since it opened, so you can head on over to try.
Singapore's Chef William Yee of Labyrinth won the Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award with his dish, 'Dai Pai Dong'. Featuring his favourite ingredient, pigeon, it's a modern twist on the familiar flavours found at Malaysian street stalls worthy of the award, which recognises the chef that bests bridges past and future in their dish.
Last but definitely not least is Chef Aswin Kumar Karanat Subramanian from Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives, who was awarded the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award. Having grown up in Kerala where chefs are not culturally supported, his dish 'Shells Break the Shells' is a celebration of Keralan culture and cuisine meant to inspire other young chefs in his country.
Chef Ardy Ferguson will now be mentored by former global juror Hong Kong chef Vicky Lau, in the lead-up to the big day: the global grand finale in Milan in October 2025. We're totally rooting for this young Asian talent – in the meantime, check out other food and drink stars like these Southeast Asian bartenders you haven't heard of yet.
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