They said they would go to win, and they did. Raise your glasses for the National Italian Chefs who from Monday, May 30 to Thursday, June 2, were in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the Global Chef Challenge, a challenge at the stove between different nations and which Italy for the first time managed to win in the most important category, the Senior category, thanks to the duo composed of Marco Tomasi (Senior chef - Veneto) and Tommaso Capitani Bonseri (Lombardy).
But there was also silver in the Junior category, thanks to Giorgia Ceccato and also in the pastry category with the team formed by Antonio Dell'Oro (Pastry Chef - Lombardy) and Luca Bnà (Emilia Romagna).
Italy was the only one to fly to Abu Dhabi with three teams, a sign of the efforts made by general manager Gianluca Tomasi and his staff of technicians formed by Pierluca Ardito, Angelo Biscotti and assistant Luigi D'Antonio, as well as supported by Rocco Pozzulo, president of the Italian Federation of Chefs, to honor this important competition.
In order to raise the Global Chef Challenge trophy for the first time, Italy had to prepare very hard. The competition was repeatedly postponed due to the pandemic emergency, while also changing the venue and even the type of menu that the various teams of chefs would have to prepare. Italy meanwhile had also lost an initial member of the team, Andrea De Villano, who was forced to drop out due to work problems, but fortunately was effectively replaced by Giorgia Ceccato, who brought home an excellent silver in the Junior category.
The Italian team then trained for two years in Brescia, Lombardy, making exclusive use of the free time its members had available. In fact, in the Italian team, unlike other countries, such as those in Scandinavia, which are subsidized by their respective nations and have always been the teams to beat so far, along with the U.S. and Canada, the young team members had to take their vacation time to go to Abu Dhabi, and this gives even more honor and prestige to the Italian triumph.
Seniors Tomasi and Bonseri Capitani had five hours to serve a four-course menu with ingredients imposed by the international jury, a vegan dish, a meat dish, a fish dish, and a dessert.
Junior Ceccato, on the other hand, had to prepare a three-course menu for four people in three hours.
Finally, Dell'Oro and Bnà had eight hours to prepare a chocolate-based dessert for 12 people to be prepared with different techniques, but also 12 desserts.
In addition to taste (which was worth half the score), the jury also evaluated the preparation of the dishes, the cleanliness of the kitchen, and as well as the efforts to avoid food waste.
