Arlen Oretega and Nicolas Fagundes have been nominated for the prestigious award.

Two Irish chefs Arlen Oretega and Nicolas Fagundes, are amongst the 135 finalists from 12 regions to be nominated for this year's S. Pellegrino Young Chef competition.

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Oretega from One Pico in Dublin and Fagundes from Chapter One, also in Dublin, were both selected from more than 2,400 chefs all around the world as finalists.

Over 2,400 young chefs from all over the world applied for the prestigious S. Pellegrino Young Chef competition before the candidates were whittled down to the best 135 chefs from 12 regions. 

The intimidating application process saw candidates submit their signature dish for tasting by experts, which included Jess Murphy of Kai in Galway, at the World’s Leading International Educational and Training Centre for Italian Cuisine, ALMA. The dishes were critiqued on three key elements: technical skills, creativity and personal belief in the transformative power of gastronomy as a device for positive change in society.

Speaking about this year's competition, General Manager of ALMA Andrea Sinigaglia said: “We have had the pleasure of collaborating with S.Pellegrino Young Chef since the very first edition, and every time we are amazed by the variety of ideas and the great passion shown by the candidates. For this edition, we selected 135 young talents and we are excited to see how they will perform first on a local, and then on a global scale. Good luck to all of them!”

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To advance to the next stage of the competition, the candidates will compete in regional challenges in front of a local jury of independent chefs. By the end of December, the chefs that advance through the regional challenges will go on to compete in the Grand Finale in June 2020. Ahead of the finale, the finalists will train with mentor chefs to refine their signature dishes.

To check out the full list of finalists for the S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2020 competition, head here.

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Have you ever dined at Arlen Oretega's or Nicolas Fagundes's Dublin restaurants? Let us know in the comments!