After rounds of competitive cooking and outstanding displays of culinary prowess by some of the most talented young chefs in the Pacific region, S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy recognized ROBIN WAGNER as the winner of the 2022 regional final that took place on the 17th of October, 2022 at the Sydney Seafood School.
ROBIN WAGNER who emerged in the competition for his brilliant talent, beating 9 other talented chefs, will be participating in the Grand Finale that will take place in Milan, Italy in 2023.
ROBIN WAGNER won the renowned local jury of esteemed chefs including Jacqui Challinor, Executive Chef NOMAD, Josh Niland, one of the world’s top 100 chefs and multi-award-winning chef Peter Gilmore of Quay Restaurant, over with his signature dish of smoked celeriac/granny smith apple/crispy taro.
Today’s competition saw an incredible amount of talent, skill and passion in the kitchen. All of the competing chefs put forward world-class creative dishes and dining concepts, with Robin Wagner preparing a winning dish rich in culinary flavour and flair.
“What I think really impressed us about Robins’ dish was the depth of flavour and texture from simple and humble ingredients: celeriac, tarot and apple, that danced across the palette in a balance of textures, flavours and temperatures.
It’s an outstanding dish, the kind that you’d find in a restaurant and you’d come back to have it again and again,” says judge Peter Gilmore.
To help ROBIN WAGNER on his journey to the Grand Finale in Milan he has been assigned Scott Huggins as a mentor who will provide him with guidance on how to improve the signature dish and support him in their preparation for the international finals.
As with the 2019/21 edition, the current competition also plays host to three additional awards alongside the main prize: the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility voted for by the Sustainable Restaurant Association which runs the Food Made Good program, the Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy voted for by the competition mentors, and the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award voted for by Fine Dining Lovers readers.
Together with Robin Wagner who won the opportunity to compete for the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Award 2022-23, there are a further three young chefs were also awarded at the regional final:
● S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility – Alexis Belmas with his dish Western Breeze Over Oz
- Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy – Jackson Mehlhopt with his dish The Southern Kiwi Deer And Its Surroundings
Fine Dining Lovers Community Award – Leidy Carolina Maldonado Ramirez with her dish Ensalda de Payaso “Clown Salad”
.jpg){kind=tracking}
