At Sunday’s grand dinner in Dublin’s Ballsbridge’s InterContinental hotel, Victor Erisay from Chapter One restaurant was crowned as Euro-Toques Ireland’s Young Chef of the Year 2024. The award was given to the French national after a six-month deliberative process, where he was pitted against six equally skilled chefs working at top-notch Irish restaurants.
Before the award ceremony, all finalists, below 28 years of age, participated in a cooking challenge reflecting the theme “Inspiring Regeneration,” embodying the Euro-Toques principle of sourcing seasonal, local, and homemade ingredients. In only three hours, they had to showcase extraordinary culinary skills to prepare two distinctive dishes using Skeaghanore duck and its organs, McNally heritage beetroot, and heritage carrots. The panel assessed the contestants on their work execution, flavour and taste, and presentation.
Under the guidance of Mickael Viljanen, Chapter One restaurant’s patron, Erisay prepared a unique starter of fluffy Skeaghanore duck organ parfait, heritage beetroot, cassis, smoked duck stroopwafel. His main course featured a complete roasted Skeaghanore duck, carrot and bergamot mash, glacé heritage carrots, citrus fruit, and orange sauce.
Erisay shared this intense competition with Anna Hevers (Goldie), Bryan Bridgeman (Homestead Cottage), David Harte (The Sea Rooms at Kelly’s), Marcell Pálfalusi (Thyme Restaurant), Nell McCarthy (dede), and Tom Donohoe (Orwell Road). After the announcement of the final seven in June, their culinary journey took them across Ireland and overseas to learn more about the highest-quality artisan produce. This journey included a tour of North Dublin and the Boyne Valley, where they visited the McNally Family Farm, Ballymakenny Farm in Co Louth, Fairy Trees Winery in Dunleer, and Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese. They also lunched at Michelin two-star Moor Hall in Lancashire hosted by Mark Birchall during their UK tour.
The awarding ceremony saw Michelin-starred chefs such as Mark Birchall from Moor Hall, UK, Kenneth Culhane from The Dysart Petersham, UK, and Stephen Hayes from The Bishop’s Buttery, Co Tipperary, as part of the judging panel. These celebrated chefs were joined by industry giants like Gareth Mullins of Anantara, The Marker, Dublin, Conor Halpenny from Square, and Domini Kemp from Lottie’s. Kwanghi Chan, of Bites by Kwanghi, took the helm of the kitchen, with former victor Shauna Murphy offering her proficiency. The winner was announced by La Rousse Foods.
Manuela Spinelli, the leader of the Euro-Toques Ireland community, gave an inspiring talk during the grand dinner. She highlighted the continuous engagement of young and senior chefs in the Euro-Toques community. She mentioned the invaluable links and assistance afforded to the community by the successful careers of previous winners and participants.
The lavish dinner at the InterContinental was catered by prominent Irish chefs such as Graham Neville of Dax, Sunil Ghai of Pickle, Ahmet Dede of dede, Keelan Higgs of Variety Jones and Shauna Murphy, the 2023 champion. Previous victors of this prestigious event include Neven Maguire and Mark Moriarty, the latter of whom went on to claim victory in the 2015 San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition.