Save
Christian Puglisi (Denmark), Jonas Lundgren (Sweden), Charles Tjessem (Norway) and Pekka Terävä (Finland) will from the jury for the Scandinavia region in the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 contest - a global talent search to find the world’s best young chef. They will judge ten semi-finalists from across the region, selecting just one talented young chef to go through to the grand final in Milan in October 2016.
Christian Puglisi joins the team as both judge and mentor, from his Danish restaurant Relae located in Copenhagen. His name, like his food, reflects the poles of his heritage. A Dane of Sicilian-Norwegian origin, Christian F. Puglisi has made his indelible mark on the Copenhagen food scene with first two and soon four food establishments catering for a wide range of budgets and tastes. He stays true to his culinary philosophy and concepts evident in his Relæ restaurant which is entirely organic and seemingly the first Michelin starred restaurant to be so. He will be responsible for helping the young chef winner for the Scandinavia region to hone and perfect their signature dish right up until the grand final.
Jonas Lundgren has worked at The Square in London (**), Pierre Gagnaire in Paris (***), The French Laundry in Napa Valley California (***), Swissotel and the Stamford in Singapore, and Bagatelle (**) as head chef in Oslo for more than 3 years. After more than 10 years abroad he decided to return home to Sweden. He was awarded the accolade of a silver medal in the Bocuse D’Or in 2009. He is currently creative leader and head chef at Yolo.
Charles Tjessem is currently chef and owner of the restaurant Charles & De in Sandnes which was winner of Bocuse d'Or in 2003. He was coached for the Bocuse d'Or by Odd Ivar Solvold, and has previously trained under Bent Stiansen, and Eyvind Hellstrøm during two years at Bagatelle. He has also worked as a daily manager for Gastronomisk Institutt in Stavanger, as a chef for the petroleum companyStatoil, and was captain of the Norwegian national chef team in the period 2000 to 2004.
Completing the team of four is Pekka Terävä from restaurant Olo. The restaurant was chosen as the 'Restaurant of the year 2009' by the Finnish Gastronomic Society and received its first Michelin star in 2011. Terävä graduated as a chef from Suomen Joutsen restaurant school in 1987 and has been working as a cook, chef and kitchen manager since at numerous restaurants. Terävä was elected Chef of the Year in 1995. He has achieved success in many international culinary competitions both alone and as a member of the Finnish national chef team.
Please note: The mentor will be chosen following the announcement of the regional finalist to ensure geographical proximity to the winner.
Don't miss any of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 updates: news, videos, interviews and much more!
