The now traditional super-yacht Chefs competition took place on March 30 in the prestigious setting of the Yacht Club de Monaco. The Italian Chef Marco Tognon, who practices aboard a 73-metre M/Y Planet Nine, won this high-flying competition, whose jury was chaired by Yannick Alléno.
His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco presided over the awards ceremony, which marked the recognition of the professionals of the jury to the nine chefs who had come to do battle with seriousness, joy and good humor.
The nine competing chefs were:
Charly Raepsaet. M/Y Ali Baba
Hloni Tlhapuletsa. M/Y Apho
Giorgi Mitev. M/Y Coral Ocean
Finnbar Dewar. M/Y Aura
Viktoria Fenyo. M/Y Infinity Nine
Marco Tognon. M/Y Planet Nine
Enrique Antunes. M/Y Mochafi22
Tommaso Santoni. M/Y Paloma
Peter Barkoczy. M/Y Da Vinci
The candidates' proposals were evaluated by an exceptional jury:
Yannick Alléno - President. Triple Michelin star
Christina Bowerman - Only Michelin Starred Chef in Rome
Susana Perdiguero de Segovia - Shipowner
Benoit Nicholas. Meilleur Ouvrier de France. Teacher at the Ferrandi school
Nicholas Petit. Winner of the 2022 session. Chef M/Y/ Latitude
Duncan Biggs. Judge in "eco-responsibility". Co-founder of Ocean Wave Monaco
The program of this competition included for the first time the participation of the public, who could choose the mandatory ingredient that the chefs had to include in their dishes. We will highlight the impeccable organization of chef Joël Garault and his accomplice Frédéric Ramos, assisted by students from the Lycée Technique Hôtelier de Monaco...
The competition, hosted by Bernard d'Alessandri, General Manager of the Yacht Club de Monaco, is part of the activities of "La Belle Classe Academy", its training center which offers courses dedicated to the arts of service and hospitality, in partnership with Bluewater Yachting represented by John Wyborn, Training Director and co-founder.
The tireless Vincent Ferniot literally carried the highlights of the day from the playoffs to the final and the award ceremony in the midst of a very large audience!
Le Podium:
1er: Marco Tognon
2ème: Tommaso Santoni
3ème: Enrique Antunes
From left to right and from top to bottom, Marco Tognon, Tommaso Santoni, Enrique Antunes and the kiss to the winner by his charming wife!!! © Fabrice Roy
As Yannick Alléno pointed out, the level of the competing chefs was truly stunning, with several of their dishes claiming Michelin star status, especially since time was not the least of the constraints of this competition: the chefs had 40 minutes for a dish based on ingredients they discovered at the last moment.
As for them, the finalists had to produce a dish and a dessert with respectively 40 minutes and 30 minutes of preparation.
Marco Tognon wowed the jury with a ceviche of blue lobster from Brittany, caviar and parmesan avocado mousse accompanied by a vodka whipped cream and vanilla pod and a dessert based on poached pineapple on champagne and vanilla accompanied of a mascarpone cream.