Benelux region, the new country invited to Chef Balfegó 2024

• The competition, which already has chefs from Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal, invites Benelux in its seventh edition, the region that includes Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg.

• Registration will be open until March 15 for chefs from these countries who work with Balfegó bluefin tuna.

Benelux, the union of Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg, will be the region invited to the seventh edition of the Chef Balfegó, our international gastronomic competition. The contest will feature this year the participation of four Spanish chefs and one from each invited country (Italy, Germany, Portugal and Benelux) who will compete on October 28 at the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Madrid.

The registration period closes on March 15. Registrations are for active professional chefs from restaurants located in the participating countries who work with Balfegó bluefin tuna.

Chef Balfegó rewards and recognizes the chefs who best work and prepare bluefin tuna, and encourages innovation around a species of great culinary versatility. The chefs classified for the final must prepare in front of the jury a first original and own recipe with the bluefin tuna loin, and a second with another part of the tuna of their choice. The competition is based on originality, presentation and cooking techniques used and is valued, in this order, flavour, aroma and texture (40 points), presentation (30 points), balance of ingredients (15 points), and the preparation and correct treatment of the product (15 points).

Jury and prizes

The jury of the seventh edition of Chef Balfegó will be chaired by Martín Berasategui –eight Michelin Stars and gastronomic ambassador of Balfegó– and made up of chefs of recognized prestige in the field of gastronomy and restoration.

The winning chef will receive 6,000 euros in cash and a trip to Japan for two people to discover the gastronomic and cultural wealth of the Japanese country, in addition to the corresponding trophy. For its part, the chef who comes in second place will receive a 3,000 euros prize, and the third will receive 1,000 euros. The three will also win a blanket of special Japanese knives for cutting fish and participation in an audiovisual report.

Winners

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