Korea: Kim Jun-hyung
Chef Kim Jun-hyung founded Restaurant On, a small restaurant with only two tables in Seoul and captured our inspector's attention with his belief that food can become more delectable when you can understand the guest's emotions and communicate with customers. Recognised with the Young Chef Award in the 2023 edition of the MICHELIN Guide Seoul, chef Kim delivers classic French cuisine with a focus on the genuine taste of ingredients without compromising on essential parts such as broth and sauce.
Thailand: Davide Garavaglia
According to 33-year-old chef Davide Garavaglia of one MICHELIN Star Côte by Mauro Colagreco in Bangkok, his story of becoming a chef isn’t so romantic. At the age of 13, the young Italian wanted to become a pilot but had to abandon the dream as he couldn’t afford to go to school. Desiring to work in the travel industry, he ended up falling in love with hospitality in school, especially with food. Each moment in the kitchen — the smell, the dishes, the ingredients — reminds him of his grandpa. And he hasn't looked back since. The bright young star has honed his skills at MICHELIN Star establishments, including D'O in Milan with Davide Oldani, Sketch in London with Pierre Gagnaire and Mirazur in Menton with Mauro Colagreco before being assigned to spearhead Côte by Mauro Colagreco in Bangkok, where he earned the Young Chef award in the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Thailand.
Shanghai: Simon Wong
After making a pivot from medical school to culinary school in his early 20s, the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Shanghai's Young Chef awardee Simon Wong honed his passion for cooking, with a particular focus on innovative modern Chinese cuisine. Before opening the restaurant Obscura in 2020, Simon and DeAille Tam, his partner in life as well as work, conducted a research trip around China to explore the depth and breadth of the country’s culinary culture. Back in their kitchen, they love sharing their stories and travel experiences via dishes on the table, expressing the classic flavours of Chinese dining with equal measures of respect and innovation, Chinese culture and Western techniques.
Beijing: Haoquan WANG
Originally from Yantai in China's Shandong province, chef Wang is passionate about telling the world about cuisine from his hometown, and in particular, "Confucius cuisine", or cuisine inspired by teachings of the ancient Chinese philosopher. With many years of professional experience, he knows the food from his home province inside out — as seen in his exacting handling of live seafood shipped in daily from Jiaodong Peninsula. His dishes combine bring together the best of both Beijing and Shandong culinary traditions, and also demonstrate his understanding of ingredients, traditional taste, modern cooking techniques, as well as international presentation. Under his leadership, his kitchen team at Lu Shang Lu was newly recognised with one MICHELIN star in the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Beijing as well.
Guangzhou: Tommy Zhang
Chef Tommy Zhang has been working in renowned chef Stefan Stiller’s team for years, in the kitchens of both his three-MICHELIN-starred Taian Table in Shanghai as well as its two-MICHELIN-starred sister restaurant in Guangzhou. Later, chef Zhang took the reins at Stiller restaurant with a different dining concept altogether. Stiller restaurant is casual yet sophisticated, where the dining experience kicks off with a personalised cocktail at the bar or the lounge area, followed by a menu of seasonal offerings alongside some German-inspired dishes in a dining room outfitted with comfortable couches. As the Young Chef award winner in the 2022 edition of the MICHELIN Guide Guangzhou, chef Zhang shows exceptional creativity and great attention to details in his culinary creation, while displaying excellent leadership skills in the kitchen.
Penang: Lim Yan You
Just 32 years old, chef Lim Yan You is the Malaysian-Chinese chef de cuisine at one-MICHELIN-Starred fine dining restaurant Au Jardin in Penang. He has worked with owner Kim Hock Su for eight years and is a graduate from Penang’s local culinary school. Au Jardin sits inside a bus depot-turned-art-space; a distressed building clad in corrugated metal panels. However, the interior is miles apart from the exterior, boasting a modern and sleek look. The menu changes monthly and showcases sophisticated European fare with subtle local twists. Every item served has been well thought out — the homemade sourdough with tomato butter is always a highlight. Even the palate cleanser surprises in pleasant ways.
Singapore: Louis Han
2022 was a big year for Louis Han, chef-owner of one-MICHELIN-Starred Nae:um along Telok Ayer Street in Singapore. Apart from his restaurant being recognised with its first MICHELIN Star in the same year, the 32-year-old also bagged the Young Chef Award in the recent MICHELIN Guide Singapore Star Revelation 2022. Upon stepping inside Nae:um, the ambiance is bright and is furnished in a cream and birch colour scheme, providing diners with a sense of calm and warmth. The Korean word “naeum” refers to a fragrance that evokes memories; and for Han, his restaurant’s menu tells the story of his favourite food memories around the world, but with Korean food culture at its core.
Taipei: Johnny Tsai
Johnny Tsai (right, ©T+T) of Taipei’s One-MICHELIN-Starred restaurant T+T began his career in the kitchen after graduating from culinary school. His experience at Justins Signatures led by Singaporean reputed chef Justin Quek, now defunct Restaurant Andre in Singapore, as well as the Teppanyaki Restaurant at MICHELIN-recommended hotel Regent Taipei all helped to shape his culinary journey and creativity. At T+T he combines his strong background in Western cooking and Asian flavor, showcasing the food culture around Asia on the menu through unique interpretations. The signature dish at T+T, Truffle/Foie Gras/Wheel Pies, is a perfect example by wrapping mushroom duxelles and foie gras terrine inside the traditional Asian snack wheel pie. “I love cooking and cuisine, so everything feels fresh to me even during the most challenging times when first joining the industry” he shares. This seemingly shy and yet bold and determined chef’s film belief is that by doing things right and doing the right thing, will eventually lead to a long way.
France: Mory Sacko and Coline Faulquier
In 2021, MICHELIN Guide is thrilled to honor two young, talented individuals with the Young Chef Award presented by Blancpain. One winner is 28-year-old Mory Sacko, chef-owner of One MICHELIN Star MoSuKe in Paris. He has already made a name for himself with a highly accomplished style of cuisine combining Central and West African influences — Sacko is of Senegalese and Malian origin — with a distinctively Japanese touch, on a foundation of French culinary techniques. Another is 31-year-old Coline Faulquier, whose Marseille restaurant Signature also received its first MICHELIN star this year. She is known for constantly designing creative, refined dishes made with exquisitely selected ingredients.
UK and Ireland: Kray Treadwell
The winner of the Young Chef of the Year Award is Kray Treadwell of 670 Grams in Birmingham. The sign outside labels the restaurant 'Modern Abstract Fine Dining' and there’s no doubt that Treadwell's cooking is highly original, playful, and creative. The 10-course tasting menu changes daily, delivering some intriguing flavour combinations. Contrasts of texture and temperature are a recurrent theme. Dishes enjoyed by the Michelin Inspectors include ‘lamb + dressed + mutton’, which features rich, crispy lamb neck on a bed of pickled cabbage, and ‘lemon curd + burnt white chocolate + bacon’, an intriguing dessert in which the bacon adds some crunch and a welcome salinity.
Belgium & Luxembourg: Manon Schenck
The warm brown colour scheme of Manon Schenck’s establishment, La Table de Manon, is stylish. A lobster tanks takes pride of place indoors, which is no coincidence. The Alsace-born chef has a weakness for lobster, which she happily serves with fish and meat, to the delight of our tastebuds. Her food is rich in bold touches (Breton lobster medallion, crushed raspberries, vinegar cabbage and ginger; market fish, grilled white asparagus, seaweed dauphine and yuzu; inverted pavlova, meringue, Elsanta strawberries and rose whipped cream).
Switzerland: Marie Robert
Marie Robert, chef/co-owner Le Café Suisse, received the MICHELIN Young Chef Award in the 2020 Switzerland MICHELIN Guide. Deeply passionate and committed, Marie delivers quite feminine, sometimes cheeky, modern and very creative cuisine which is detailed yet never loses sight of the products. She and her entirely female brigade concoct an excellent label red salmon from Scotland in a green and yellow dress, Aquitaine caviar and Vodka pearls and tasty snail balls in parsley, ham from frogs' legs, soft garlic mousseline. Do you dare opt for the restaurant’s surprise menu, which the regulars adore ? As fun as it is tasty: a guaranteed trip to gastronomic land.
Italy: Antonio Ziantoni
Ziantoni’s first solo adventure, at Zia, comes after three training experiences in high-level institutions in France, the UK, and Rome. His dedication and talent has impressed the most sensitive palates. "I try to work with patience, humility, and conscience,” he says. “[These are] three qualities that I consider essential for any young person who wishes to undertake this type of professional course.”In the enchanting setting of Trastevere, Zia, which Ziantoni runs with his partner Ida Proietti, stands out for its elegance, professionalism and, above all, its cuisine. The focus is on seasonal Italian produce, with influences from France and further afield, and showcases dishes that demonstrate expert techniques, precision and seemingly unstoppable research.
Germany: Philipp Stein
Stein’s Traube has been in Philipp Stein’s family for six generations, and now the 31-year-old is at the helm. There is no question that he can cook, and you’ll find neither show nor gimmicks in his dishes. What may seem simple at first glance is very complex in taste and harmony, but always accessible. The cooking is done with restrained elegance and the necessary portion of courage in the right places. We particularly appreciated tataki of veal, with king oyster mushrooms, mushroom dashi, prune, and seaweed ; sole with beans, tomatoes, chives, Pata Negra, and brown butter; and macadamia cake with Tasmanian pepper, caramelized banana cream, and coconut sorbet.
Dubai: Solemann Haddad
The half French, half Syrian chef of MICHELIN-selected restaurant Moonrise finds inspiration for his menu from growing up in Dubai.
Describing his food as Dubai cuisine, Haddad sees Moonrise as a “culinary manifestation of Dubai,” which tells the story of his upbringing in Dubai, from the signature flatbread that encapsulates the essence of flatbreads from different cultures in Dubai to Spicy Hamachi, a rendition of Spicy Tuna, an all-time Dubai favourite.
The omakase-style restaurant is a 8-seater, multi-course experience where Middle Eastern flavours are reinterpreted with Japanese techniques and the chef’s creativity.
Abu Dhabi: Luigi Stinga
Luigi Stinga of newly-minted one-MICHELIN-starred Talea by Antonio Guida grew up watching and helping his mother and grandmother cook homey Italian food before starting his career at Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890, one of the first restaurants to be awarded two MICHELIN Stars in South Italy. After completing his stints at some of the most respected MICHELIN-starred establishments in Italy, Stinga moved to Milan to join chef Antonio Guida for the opening of Seta in 2015, which received its first MICHELIN Star after 4 months and Two MICHELIN Stars in the following year.
As the chef de cuisine of Talea by Antonio Guida, Stinga is praised by MICHELIN Guide Inspectors for his eye for detail, impeccable style, generous approach and natural confidence, while the newly-stinted one-MICHELIN-starred restaurant is a reflection of chef Antonio Guida who made and cemented his reputation in Milan, celebrates family-style – or ‘cucina di famiglia’ – cooking.
