6 MICHELIN Stars in the first edition of Chef Balfegó Benelux

• The competition, which already includes chefs from Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal, will this year be joined by chefs from the region of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
• The final of this competition, which rewards the chefs who best works with bluefin tuna, will be held on 28 October at the Le Cordon Bleu school in Madrid.

The CHEF BALFEGÓ international professional gastronomy competition, which rewards and recognises the chefs who best work with and prepare bluefin tuna and promotes the careers of young gastronomic talents, is looking for its first finalist from Benelux. The European region, which includes Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, is taking part for the first time in this competition, which is open to professional and active chefs working in restaurants located in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and, for the first time, Benelux, thus increasing the international weight of its 7th edition.

Six candidates will compete in the Benelux semi-final, which will be held on the morning of 2 September at the ROC van Amsterdam school: Floris van Straalen of VanOost restaurant; Rowin Geurts of Lindehof**; Nathan van Echelpoel of Nathan restaurant*; Brandon de Bruin of De Kromme Dissel**; Jan Tournier of Cuchara restaurant**; and Yoshihito Mizuno of Sushi & Sake Bar by Chef Yoshi restaurant.

The Benelux semi-finalists, who will have to create two recipes using Balfegó bluefin tuna, will compete in front of a jury made up of Nick Bril, from Restaurant The Jane**; Ron Blaauw, from Ron Gastrobar**, and Schilo van Coevorden, from Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam. The winner will be announced on the evening of 2 September at a gala event preceded by a kaitai ceremony, ending with a cocktail dinner accompanied by music. The winner will become the Benelux representative at the international grand final of the competition and will also receive a cash prize of €1,000.

With the incorporation of Benelux along with Italy, Germany and Portugal, the 7th edition of Chef Balfegó becomes the most international to date, bringing together the same number of Spanish and international chefs. This is the result of the relevance and global influence that the competition is acquiring, in which we hope to add more countries in each edition, to help relaunch the careers of young gastronomy professionals from all over the world.

Thus, this year, four Spanish chefs will compete in the grand final of the 7th edition against the aforementioned international representatives on 28 October at the Le Cordon Bleu school in Madrid.

A star-studded jury and more than 20,000 euros in prize money

The jury of the seventh edition will be chaired by Martín Berasategui -eight Michelin Stars and gastronomic ambassador of Balfegó- and made up of chefs of renowned prestige in the world of gastronomy and catering. It is worth noting that in the 2023 edition, sitting alongside Berasategui were Fina Puigdevall (Les Cols** Restaurant – Girona); Diego Guerrero (DStage** Restaurant – Madrid); Benito Gómez (Bardal** Restaurant – Málaga), and Erwan Poudoulec, chef and technical director of the Le Cordon Bleu School of Haute Cuisine.

In addition to the corresponding trophy, the winning chef will receive 6,000 euros in cash and a trip to Japan for two people to discover the gastronomic and cultural richness of the Japanese country. The second-placed chef will receive a prize of 3,000 euros, and the third-placed chef will receive 1,000 euros. All three will also win a blanket of special Japanese knives for cutting fish and participation in an audiovisual report.

It is worth remembering that the winners of previous editions were: Juan Carlos Reyes, winner of the first edition and representing ABaC***; Alejandro Polo, from the restaurant Bardal** -the youngest of the edition-; Alejandro Serrano and Rafel Muria, the latter later receiving their first Michelin Star; Gianluca Monni, the Italian chef who won in 2022 and Alberto Montes, second chef of the Restaurant Atrio*** in Cáceres, who was the Chef Balfegó 2023.

Our exceptional sponsors

Once again, Chef Balfegó has first-class partners who help us make the entire event and gala possible. On this occasion, we are joined by: Estrella Galicia, TheFork, Fagor Professional, Le Nouveau Chef, Caviaroli, Porto Muinos, Minami Cuchillos Japoneses, Bayo, Aceites Oro Bailén, Yamaaoi, Vallformosa, Imperial Heritage Caviar, Maison Gillardeau Adri & Zoon, Ad Bibendum Fine World Wines and Fromagerie Guillaume.