Nikolaj Schmidt Skadborg is the Scandinavia Finalist

Nikolaj Schmidt Skadborg, from Denmark, has been named Scandinavia's best young chef in the S.Pellegrino Young Chef global talent search for the best young chef in the world.

The young sous chef, from Restaurant Sletten in Copenhagen, competed against nine other semi-finalists in Oslo in front of the Scandinavian local jury of Christian Puglisi (Denmark), Jonas Lundgren (Sweden), Charles Tjessem (Norway) and Pekka Terävä (Finland).

His winning signature dish: Belly of pork in mead “bbq”, aged pork heart, dried herbs and flowers, oyster emulsion, baby broccoli, salted pears and pork jus with mead and smoked pork fat was enough to secure him a place at the grand finale in Milan in October. Supported by his mentor, Chef Christian Puglisi, he will perfect his dish over the coming months.

Commenting on his win Schmidt Skadborg said: “I’m thrilled to represent Scandinavia in Milan, the Grand Finale in October will be a great opportunity to meet and compete against other young chefs from all over the world.”