France reveals their jury for S.Pellegrino Young Chef Local Competitions 2017

UPDATE 14/05/2018: The wait is over - the winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef has finally been crowned! Discover which rising star took home the honour of winning S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 and watch all the young chefs of the competition in the 4 live streaming episodes covering the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 Grand Finale: a true display of extraordinary passion, skill and determination of the new talents in the world of gastronomy.

The names of the three chefs forming the jury for France in the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Local Competitions 2017 were announced during the Bocuse d’Or Finale 2017 in Lyon this week.

Christophe Bacquié, Frédéric Anton and Philippe Mille, will form the trio of chefs representing the excellence of French gastronomy with the challenging task ahead of them of selecting the most promising young chef in France.

Triple Michelin starred chef Frédéric Anton, from Le Pré Catelan in Paris, is the honorary chair of the French jury as well as mentor. Speaking about the jury’s role he commented “our decision will be not only based on the final dish but also about what happens before in the kitchen: the technique, the savoir-faire and the timing.”

The acclaimed chef will guide the eventual young chef winner of the local final up until the world final, helping them to perfect their signature dish and presentation along the way. Anton specified that they hope to find a young chef “best able to represent France” who will need to be equipped with both “a strong character” and to “not buckle under pressure” whilst being able prove the extent of their technique”.

Chefs Philippe Mille and Christophe Bacquié were selected by Anton to complete the jury, not purely as friends but also as “talented chefs with their very personal style of cuisine.”

Philippe Mille, chef from two Michelin star hotel restaurant Le Parc at Les Crayères hotel in Reims, mentioned that he had followed the previous young chef competitions with “great interest.” He went on to explain that for him, the final French winner will have to prove "the basics of cooking, cooking techniques, products, etc ...", but above all to surprise and innovate. "We must find the flavors of our childhood, transformed with creativity and modern technique."

Christophe Bacquié, chef at the two Michelin star restaurant Christophe Bacquié in Le Beausset completes the jury line-up.

The talented trio will have the demanding task of selecting the most promising young chef in France, from 10 candidates, to represent the region at the international S.Pellegrino Young Chef Grand Finale in Milan in 2018.