Chef Balfegó announces its 8 finalists for the 2025 edition

The semi-final for the prestigious culinary competition took place this morning at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, bringing together 15 top European chefs, and in which 8 finalists were selected to compete in the upcoming final round.

Chef Balfegó 2025 already has its 12 finalists. Today, during the semi-final held at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, fifteen of Europe’s most promising culinary talents competed by presenting their most innovative creations, with Balfegó bluefin tuna as the star ingredient.

After an intense deliberation, the jury – made up of eight European chefs holding a total of 18 MICHELIN stars – selected the eight finalists who will compete in the Grand Final in Madrid on October 27th, 2025, which were revealed during the evening gala at the Newcap Event Center, after a traditional Japanese tuna-cutting ceremony (kaitai) ceremony.

The eight candidates elected today for the final are:

• Andrea de Carlo (Bavarie by Käfer, Germany)
• Berjen Wijling (Ron Gastrobar*, Netherlands)
• Davide Polli (Pramerl & The Wolf*, Austria)
• Diego Duarte (The Yeatman**, Portugal)
• Franz-Josef Unterlechner (Schwarzreiter, Germany)
• Léo Besnard (Le Lion d’Or, Switzerland)
• Shaurya Manchanda (L’Atelier des Augustins*, France)
• Athinagoras Kostakos (Noema, Greece)

These eight chefs will join the four winners of the Spanish national round — Guillermo Chávez (Amelia, San Sebastián), Riccardo Radice (Fishølogy, Barcelona), Angelo Duarte (Brugarol, Barcelona), and Piero Aponte (El Molino de Urdániz, Navarra) — to compete for the title of Chef Balfegó 2025.

The final winner will receive prizes worth over €20,000, including a trip for two to Japan, a set of high-end Japanese knives, professional audiovisual coverage, and other exclusive rewards that underscore the prestige of the competition. The international professional cooking competition reached today one of its most significant milestones with the celebration of the semi-final at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. For the first time, the French capital hosted the event for the whole European continent.

The competition began with an initial round in which participants submitted a recipe and a photograph. From over a hundred applications, the jury selected the entries that stood out for their technique, presentation, and originality. Fifteen semi-finalists from countries including France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria presented this morning their dishes in Paris, once again featuring Balfegó bluefin tuna as the star ingredient.

The 15 contestants for this edition’s semi-final featured chefs from some of the most prestigious restaurants across Europe, including Anthony Gerbeau (L’Artimon, France), Athinagoras Kostakos (Nõema, Greece), Francisco Silva (Vila Foz*, Portugal), Jean Paul Tossens (Le Monastère de Saint-Mont, France), Enrico Mantovanelli (Bistrot al 5, Italy), Lucas Vital (Vista*, Portugal), Diego Duarte (The Yeatman**, Portugal), Franz-Josef Unterlechner (Schwarzreiter, Germany), Valeria Dell’Amico (Il Narciso, Italy), Martijn Wetsteijn (Fred**, Netherlands), Berjen Wijling (Ron Gastrobar*, Netherlands), Shaurya Manchanda (L’Atelier des Augustins*, France), Léo Besnard (Le Lion d’Or, Switzerland), Davide Polli (Pramerl & The Wolf*, Austria), and Andrea de Carlo (Bavarie by Käfer, Germany). They each had one hour to prepare their dish, and plate it for the jury to taste.

The jury, made up of eight renowned European chefs who together hold 18 MICHELIN stars: Christopher Coutanceau, (Christopher Coutanceau***, La Rochelle), Paolo Casagrande (Lasarte*** Barcelona), Heinz Reitbauer (Steirereck***, Viena), Viki Geunes (Zilte***, Amberes), Daniel Schimkowitsch (L.A. Jordan**, Deidesheim), Rui Paula (Casa de Chá da
Boa Nova**, Leça da Palmeira), Domenico Stile (Enoteca La Torre**, Rome), judged the dishes and decided which eight finalists will advance to Madrid.

The grand finale will take place at Le Cordon Bleu Madrid on October 27th, 2025, where the new Chef Balfegó will be named. A total of 12 chefs will compete for the title: the eight winners from today’s semi-final in Paris and the four finalists from the Spanish nationa round — Guillermo Chávez (Amelia**, San Sebastián), Riccardo Radice (Fishølogy*, Barcelona), Angelo Duarte (Brugarol, Barcelona), and Piero Aponte (El Molino de Urdániz**, Navarra). The winner will receive prizes worth over €20,000, including a trip for two to Japan, a set of high-end Japanese knives, professional audiovisual coverage, and other exclusive rewards that underscore the prestige of the competition.