STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--S.Pellegrino announced today that renowned Chef Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food will represent the U.S. in the 14th Annual S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup, an exclusive cooking competition and regatta to be held June 13-15, 2014 in Venice, Italy. In addition, Chef Paul Qui, who competed in last year’s competition and took home the prestigious Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year Award, will return to serve as a member of the Cooking Cup jury.
The S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup, organized in collaboration with the historic Venetian yacht club Compagnia della Vela, brings together ten of the world’s most talented young chefs, as well as international sailors, skippers and fine dining lovers for an unforgettable weekend of culinary events. The regatta serves as the highlight of the festivities, during which the boats race from the Lido of Venice to the Island of San Giorgio. While seasoned crews are busy on deck, each of the boats’ on-board chefs will execute a signature dish to be judged by an esteemed jury of chefs and culinary experts.
“S.Pellegrino is committed to supporting both established and emerging chefs from all across the globe and the Cooking Cup event is a truly unique opportunity to celebrate extraordinary culinary talent,” said Karen Ress, Vice President and General Manager, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. “We are particularly excited to have Chef Bowien joining us as this year’s U.S. chef contestant as well as Chef Qui as a judge, two recognized leaders of innovative contemporary cuisine.”
Danny Bowien is the chef and co-founder of Mission Chinese Food, located in San Francisco and NYC, and Mission Cantina in NYC. A Korean-American raised in Oklahoma City, Bowien won the “World Pesto Championship” in 2008, was named 2013 Rising Star Chef of the Year by the James Beard Foundation, and also joined the ranks of Food & Wine’s Best New Chef list that same year. Bowien also recently participated in a different event presented by S.Pellegrino, Gelinaz!, where 28 of the world’s leading chefs came together to honor culinary luminary Wylie Dufresne at his restaurant wd~50.
Mission Chinese Food, originally established in San Francisco as a pop-up, has evolved into a shared restaurant with a unique philanthropic model. The restaurant donates $0.75 of each entrée to charity and has raised over $300,000 since 2010. In 2011, Mission Chinese Food was named one of the best new restaurants in the U.S. by Bon Appétit and GQ, and in 2012, The New York Times named it the best new restaurant in New York City.
“I am thrilled to compete in the 2014 S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup,” said Chef Danny Bowien. “The event is a distinct and creative opportunity to challenge myself and I look forward to three very exciting days in Italy working alongside this global team of culinary stars.”
2013 Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year Award winner, Austin Chef Paul Qui, is the co-founder and chef/owner of East Side King and qui which opened just a few days after last year’s competition. Born in Manila, Philippines, Chef Qui is trained in classic French and Japanese cuisine. Qui is the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 9, was a recipient of the 2012 James Beard Best Chef Southwest Award, is a member of the Bocuse d’Or Culinary Council, and was recently named to Food & Wine’s 2014 Best New Chef list. Chef Qui will be joined on the jury by a selection of the world’s most renowned chefs, all of whom have had their restaurants listed on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list sponsored by S.Pellegrino.
“Participating in last year’s S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup was certainly one of the many highlights of my career,” said Chef Paul Qui. “I am excited to return as a judge in 2014 and wish Chef Bowien and all of the other competing chefs the best of luck.”
The Cooking Cup weekend kicks off on Friday, June 13 with the Young Chef of the Year dinner where participating chefs present a signature dish to guests and judges. The following day during the regatta, the chefs are presented with the exciting challenge of cooking on board the racing boats as the skipper and crew work hard to make the best time. At the culmination of the regatta, the jury will rate each dish prepared on the boat and combine these scores with that of the dish prepared the prior evening to determine the winner of the Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year Award. This award, as well as The S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup Award, People’s Choice Award, and Critic’s Choice Award will be presented during a Gala dinner and ceremony on the final evening of the event at the magnificent Palazzo Ducale in Venice.
For more information on the event and these awards, visit www.facebook.com/SanPellegrinoUS or www.finedininglovers.com, the digital magazine for worldwide food enthusiasts proudly endorsed by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.
The 2014 competing chefs are as follows:
- Australia: Jacob Davey, est.
- Belgium: Thomas Troupin, La Menuiserie à Champagne
- Canada: Danny Smiles, Le Bremner
- Germany: Kirill Kinfelt,TrüffelSchwein
- Israel: Ahmad Salameh, King David hotel
- Italy: Luciano Monosilio, Pipero al Rex
- Korea: Kim Ho-Young, formerly with Jungsik
- Russia, Sergey Berezutskiy, As Eat Is
- United Arab Emirates: Christopher Graham, Atlantis the Palm
- USA: Danny Bowien, Mission Chinese Food
The 2014 jurors are as follows:
- Chef Gastón Acurio, Astrid y Gastón
- Chef Andreas Caminada, Schloss Schauenstein
- Chef Umberto Bombana, 8½ Otto e Mezzo
- Chef Ivan Li, Family Li Imperial Cuisine
- Chef Paul Qui, qui
- Chef Helena Rizzo, Maní
- Francesca Barberini, Italian television personality and food writer
- Charles Reed, Group Managing Director of The World’s 50 best academy
To experience Chef Paul Qui’s 2013 S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup adventure, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mf0okjHJxQ.
Follow the Cooking Cup conversation on Twitter and Instagram: #SPcookingCup.
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S.Pellegrino is proud to support a number of top culinary events such as The James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the Year Award, S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Aspen Food and Wine Classic, Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation, and Identità Golose. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/SanPellegrinoUS or www.finedininglovers.com.
