^{Ten young chefs who battled it out to represent Southeast Asia in S.Pellegrino's Young Chef competition, and the six renowned panelists}

Early this year, S.Pellegrino began its new search for the best young chef in the world; and in Southeast Asia alone, it received over a thousand impressive entries. Ten semi-finalists were chosen from the pool of talent, based on their signature dishes and the dining_tatler_stories behind them.  

Three were from Singapore: Anti:dote Singapore’s head chef, Tryson Quek; Les Amis’ sous chef, Brian Lin; as well as Stellar at 1-Altitude’s chef de partie, Kim Seng Tan.

The rest were Jim Ophorst, chef de cuisine at Seafood at Trisara in Phuket; Jatu Anurantha, sous chef at Il’Ristorante Bulgari Resorts in Bali; Roberto Pina, head chef at Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa in Malaysia; Beno Wicaksana, sous chef at Kubu Restaurant at Mandapa, Ritz Carlton Reserve in Bali; Tarun Bhatia, chef de partie at EK Bar in New Delhi; Rounak Kinger, chef de cuisine at b Café, Shangri-La Hotel in Bangalore; and the only woman in the competition—Mandy Goh, chef de cuisine at L’titude Restaurant in Genting Club, Malaysia. 

The chosen ten were flown to Bangkok for a live cooking competition, which took place on 12 July at the Dusit Thani Hotel School. The chefs were given three hours to prepare their signature dishes, and what was at stake was not only the chance to compete in the global stage but to achieve a lifelong dream of becoming a world renowned chef.

As for the people they had to impress the most? They were Emmanuel Stroobant, chef-owner of Saint Pierre; Alvin Leung, chef-owner of Bo Innovation in Hong Kong; Umberto Bombana, chef-owner of 8 ½ Otto E Mezzo in Bombana, Hong Kong; Ian Kittichai from Issaya Siamese Club in Bangkok; Bo Songvisava from Bo.lan in Bangkok; and Will Meyrick from Sarong, Bali. 

^{Tarun Bhatia from EK Bar in New Delhi preparing his signature dish}

At exactly 11.30am, Kinger began the cook-off with his signature ‘Malabari Fish Curry’, and the rest followed suit with a 10-minute interval in between. The judges also took advantage of this moment to watch these young chefs in action witness how they dealt with this kind of pressure.

With his signature rockstar look and booming voice, one notable presence in the kitchen was Leung (aka The Demon Chef) who quizzed the participants about the ingredients or cooking methods. Other chefs such as Bombana and Kittichai observed how the dishes were shaping up, while Stroobant offered a few useful tips to improve the final product.

As soon as the three hours were up, the panelists took their spots at the judging table and one by one, each of young chefs presented their dishes. The first one who took the stage was Kinger, who aimed to impress with his traditional Indian dish, followed by Ophorst whose ‘Sharing the Gifts’ creation was inspired by his childhood memories and his current home, Thailand.

While the judges loved the story behind it, he got a lukewarm response with Leung saying that ‘I couldn’t taste the (fish) marinade’ and Bombana chiming in that ‘some herbs were overpowering’.

Some of the contestants had more positive responses, such as Singapore’s Quek, whose dish was inspired by his father’s hawker days. His ‘Neptune’s Catch’—made from cod, scallops and seaweed chips—got the nod with Kittichai and Songvisava praising his technique and skills.

^{The winning dish: Inspirational Daab Chingri}

But ultimately, it was Bhatia from EK Bar in India, who was named as the winner in southeast Asia’s S.Pellegrino Young Chefs semi-finals. While his ‘Inspirational Daab Chingri’—made from fresh prawns that are marinated in malai curry puree—wasn’t without any hiccups, all six judges agreed that with the right coaching, it may be the dish which can beat out the rest in the global competition this year.

Asked about the big win, Bhatia said it was a great honour to be chosen to represent India as well as Southeast Asia. Next on his agenda was to would go home to India to perfect his dish and aim for the S.Pellegrino world title.

Photos: S.Pellegrino