The Latin America Regional Final of S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2019-2020 took place on September 17, 20 19, with an outstanding show of talent from some of the most gifted young chefs from Mexico , Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.
Cynthia Xrysw Ruelas
, a young chef from Mexico, was announced as the winner and will be representing the Latin America region in the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Finale that will take place in Milan in 2020 . Ruelas won the judges over with her signature dish, "Milpa y Mar."
The signature dish was made with using lisa , a native fish wrapped in lengua de vaca (a wild Mexican herb ) cooked over coal , served with grilled blue corn dough, a fish broth made with lisa fish, nixtamalized native corn , accompanied by a chilhuacle emulsion of red, yellow, and black chiles, Mexican dark chocolate and lechuguilla vinegars and lisa roe.
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The young chef from Xokol restaurant in Guadalajara , Mexico was guided by her mentor Francisco Ruano. Ruelas began her culinary career in restaurants such as El Delfín by renowned chef Betty Vázquez in San Blas, on the Riviera Nayarit; La Leche, gourmet store, in Jalisco; Bone Workshop of chef Alfonso Cadena, also in Jalisco, and Share of Michelin star chef Curtis Stone.
Moreover, chef Cynthia Xrysw Ruelas is the co-owner of Ajumú Cooking Workshop pop up. The Mexican chef is also interested in the consumption of Creole corn , which was the inspiration for Xokol Antojería , which also functions as a mill and tortillería .
"I am very happy. After all the effort and dedication these are the fruits and the proof that dreams can come true. Now, I will do everything to raise the awareness of Mexican cuisine ," said Cynthia Xrysw Ruelas .
The esteemed Regional Jury this year included Elena Reygadas ( Mexico ), Jefferson Rueda (Brazil), Carolina Bazan (Chile), Harry Sasson (Colombia), and Pia León (Peru).
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According to its website, S. Pellegrino truly believes in the “ transformative power of gastronomy ” and decided to praise those who are pioneers in the field:
“It is this belief, that led us to develop S. Pellegrino Young Chef, a constantly engaged talent platform that nurtures the future of gastronomy. And we are in good company, as we are joined by the most influential and renowned members of the Gastronomy Community in developing, discovering and promoting the next generation of culinary talent .
We passionately believe that talent should not be confined by ethnicity, gender or geography, which is why from 2019/2020 S. Pellegrino Young Chef has been re-defined to broaden the diversity of the participants. For the first time, 50 countries around the world are being represented in the competition and we will aim to have at least three woman chefs in each of the regional semi-finals.”
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