Ardy Ferguson named winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25

The Jury for the sixth edition of the competition also consisted of acclaimed chefs Christophe Bacquié of the two-Michelin-starred La Table des Amis in France; Antonia Klugmann of the Michelin-starred L’Argine a Vencó in Italy; Mitsuharu ’Micha’ Tsumura of Maido in Peru; Niki Nakayama of the Michelin-starred n/naka in the US and Julien Royer of the three-Michelin-starred Odette in Singapore.

When asked which judges’ comment was his favourite, Ferguson told The Caterer: “All of them had very positive comments, but the most memorable one for me was when chef Julien Royer asked me about how you treat the duck and chef Jeremy Chan asked me how I cooked the rice and even asked me for a recipe. These are very established chefs that I respect and admire and to ask me about my process was mind-blowing.”

He added: “Representing Asia was such a daunting task because I wanted to represent Asia properly. It’s where I was born, it’s where I grew up, it’s where I became a chef. I really just want to carry the spirit of Asian cuisine forward. There’s no one dish that I can say is Asian, but I can carry that spirit with me.

“This means a lot to me and I’ve got to let it sink in. I’m happy I got to work with San Pellegrino and I’m just excited to see where it goes.”

Joining Ferguson on the podium were runners-up Antonis Avouri, who represented France with the signature dish, ‘The Consequences of Our Actions’, and Noah Wynants, who represented North Europe with the signature dish, ‘Dutch “Rendang”’.

Ben Miller, sous chef at the two-Michelin-starred Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal in London, represented the UK with his signature dish, ‘Ode to Sam Yee’, a refined plate featuring crowned roasted duck breast with Szechuan jus and garlic choi sum, confit leg rice under brown butter sabayon, and a foie gras “Siu Mai” in Alsace bacon consommé, paired with MingCha jasmine blossom tea.

Judge Reygadas said of Miller’s cooking, which paid homage to a significant past relationship: “Thank you for being so honest with how you feel. Cooking with your feelings is a very beautiful thing and it doesn’t happen too much. It will really make you unique when you are really cooking with your feelings.”

The awards ceremony also recognised Zanté Neethling (Africa, Middle East and South Asia) with the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award; Nicolás A. López (USA) with the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award; and again Wynants (North Europe) with the Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award.

The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy was established in 2015 and has since involved more than 50 countries, over 5,000 young chefs and over 350 mentor chefs, taking place every two years.

Full coverage of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25 will be appear on The Caterer next week.