Emilia Montz is best cooking talent

• Emilia Montz from the "Troyka" restaurant in Erkelenz impressed the jury and took the title.
• Patrick Ködel ("Hallo Emil" in Stuttgart) won the prize for the best sustainability approach in a dish.
• Marc-Dominik Stern ("The Charles Hotel Munich") wins the audience award.
• Yvonne Rauscher ("Landhaus Bacher" in Mautern an der Donau, Austria) wins the prize for the best dish that combines culinary traditions.

COLOGNE: Emilia Montz has won the regional preliminary round of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Awards. Her signature dish "Russian Ballet" left the competition in the dust. Emilia Montz is therefore the best talented chef from Germany and Austria. The 24-year-old has also secured her ticket to the 2025 world final in Milan.

It could hardly have been more exciting. Yesterday, ten up-and-coming chefs went head-to-head in a culinary race. They all cooked for victory in the regional preliminary round of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Awards. The winner: Emilia Montz. With her dish "Russian Ballet", the chef de partie from the "Troyka" restaurant in Erkelenz made it through to the world final in Milan. A decision that was not easy for the renowned jury. Heinz Reitbauer (Steirereck**, Vienna), Rosina Ostler (Restaurant Alois - Dallmayr Fine Dining**, Munich), The Duc Ngo (893 Ryōtei, Berlin and others), Julia Komp (Sahila*, Cologne) and Daniel Gottschlich (Ox & Klee**, Cologne) were impressed by the skills of the up-and-coming chefs. In the end, however, Emilia Montz came out on top. She was best able to implement the three "golden rules" of the jury - technique, creativity and personal credo. "I bring my favourite ballet Swan Lake to the plate. It's the ideal combination of my passion for ballet and my culinary signature," says the winner. For the jury it was clear: "Your dish is a very beautiful way of bringing culinary art to the plate. The whole thing with technical perfection and feeling, just like in ballet," explained The Duc Ngo.

Like a small wholesale market: over 400 different ingredients provided

The preliminary round took place in Cologne. There, the S.Pellegrino team transformed a cookery school in the Ehrenfeld district into a competition-ready location. Among other things, an entire room was transformed into a small wholesale market. "We provided over 400 ingredients, some of them very unusual, for the ten dishes," explains Anna Liebethal, Senior Brand Manager S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. No wonder. Because the cooking was at star level. The winner was then announced in the evening at Ox & Klee, the restaurant of judge Daniel Gottschlich. There, the ten participants were duly celebrated at a culinary kitchen party.

In addition to Emilia Montz, other participants were delighted to receive awards, as three special prizes were also awarded. What are they all about? The aim of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy goes far beyond the competition: S.Pellegrino wants to show that gastronomy has the power to make a positive difference - even beyond the kitchen. Patrick Ködel, Marc-Dominik Stern and Yvonne Rauscher have impressively achieved this.

• S.Pellegrino for Social Responsibility Award: This award is presented by the "Food Made Good" organisation, which is dedicated to sustainability in gastronomy worldwide. The dish "Heart of the Mountain" by Patrick Ködel ("Hallo Emil" in Stuttgart) best represented the claim to cook sustainably and responsibly.
• Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award: Marc-Dominik Stern ("The Charles Hotel Munich" in Munich) was honoured by the "Fine Dining Lovers" community. The readers of the online magazine present this award to the talented chef whose culinary philosophy is best reflected in the signature dish.
• Acqua Panna for Connection in Gastronomy Award: This award recognises the ability to prepare a signature dish that combines tradition and modernity and builds a bridge between different cultures. It is chosen by the chefs' mentors. Their choice fell on the dish "Colourful Waldviertel" by Yvonne Rauscher ("Landhaus Bacher" in Mautern an der Donau).

Rosina Ostler as mentor for the finalist

Emilia Montz will meet 14 other up-and-coming chefs who have also qualified in their regions at the world final in 2025. At this Grand Final, an international jury will once again judge the 24-year-old's signature dish. Before and during the final, Emilia Montz will be supported by Rosina Ostler as her mentor. Together, they will once again work intensively on the competition dish.