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Charmaine Mok

A chef in Hong Kong received the top honour in the sixth S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition and will represent Asia at the grand final in Milan, Italy, in October 2025.
The Asia Regional Final concluded in Hong Kong on October 28 with chef Ardy Ferguson, of French fine-dining restaurant Belon, beating nine other talented young chefs from Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, The Maldives, South Korea and Indonesia.
The competition is for chefs aged 18 to 30. Fifteen regional finals are held, the winners of which go forward to the grand final.
Former regional winner Kevin Wong, who represented Asia in the 2019-2021 grand final, now runs the one-Michelin-star restaurant Seroja in Singapore.

Ferguson, who was mentored by Belon’s Matthew Kirkley, secured his win with a dish called Archipelago Celebration, inspired by the Indonesian celebratory dish known as nasi tempong. The creation is a tribute to his Indonesian roots and acknowledges his adopted home of Hong Kong.
“While I pay homage to my Indonesian roots with this dish, my main Hong Kong element is the duck; the technique I use is very reminiscent of Hong Kong,” he says.
The dish required a multi-step process to achieve the sweet and smoky flavour he looked for.
“I scalded the duck, lacquered [it] in red wine vinegar to give it a nice colour and smoked our duck with sugar cane found down the road … That’s my take on Hong Kong roast.”
The dish impressed a jury comprising award-winning chefs from around Asia. They were Hong Kong’s Vicky Lau of Tate Dining Room, Vicky Cheng of Wing and David Lai of Neighborhood; Taipei’s Richie Lin of Mume; Johanne Siy of Lolla in Singapore; Chudaree “Tam” Debhakam of Baan Tepa in Bangkok; and Alessandro Guardiani of Muni Alain Ducasse in Kyoto, Japan.

Jurors were required to appraise each chef’s dish using three criteria: technical skills, creativity and how they showcased their “personal vision of the world of gastronomy and how it has shaped [their] identity and values”.
It was not the first competition win for Ferguson, who wowed the judges of the Young Chef Young Waiter (YCYW) awards held in Hong Kong in October 2023 with a three-course lunch that also paid homage to his roots.
“I believe [Indonesian cuisine] has a place alongside the emerging culinary scene of other Southeast Asian countries and it’s only a matter of time for Indonesia,” he said at the time.
Apart from crowning a regional winner, the S.Pellegrino awards also highlighted dishes by chefs Simone Scarparo of Luna By Clara in Bangkok; Aswin Kumar Karanat Subramanian of Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives; and William Yee of Labyrinth in Singapore.
Scarparo’s dish Hidden in the Beeswax, which cleverly repurposed discarded beeswax and used every part of a fish, received The S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award.

Keralan chef Subramanian received the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award for his dish Shells Break the Shells, a composition inspired by the story of a village in Kerala’s backwaters that was influenced by the spice routes.
“With this win, I hope to become a voice for my community, and to give young chefs from Kerala an example of success as a chef,” he said.
Yee was inspired by memories of family trips to Malaysia’s famed street-side stalls to create the dish Dai Pai Dong using pigeon, which ultimately won the Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award.
Ferguson will be mentored by chef Vicky Lau, a former global juror for the awards, in the lead-up to the grand final in 2025.


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Ardy Ferguson (centre, with award), winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25 Asia Regional Final, poses with San Pellegrino’s Roberto Caroni and other finalists in Hong Kong on October 28, 2024. Photo: S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy

Ferguson secured his win with his “Archipelago Celebration”. Photo: S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy

Ferguson celebrates with Tate Dining Room’s Vicky Lau, who will mentor him in the lead-up to the grand final in Milan. Photo: S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy

Simone Scarparo’s “Hidden in the Beeswax” received The S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award. Photo: S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy

Is Jay Fai retiring? Bangkok’s Michelin-star street-food legend hints at plans to stop

Thai street-food cook Jay Fai, awarded a Michelin star in 2018 and known for her crabmeat omelette, may be hanging up her signature ski googles as soon as next year. Photo: AP

Tourists from around the world wait in three-hour queues to sample Jay Fai’s legendary crabmeat omelette. Photo: AP

What is XO sauce? The popular Chinese condiment explained

XO sauce is typically made with expensive ingredients such as dried scallops, shrimp roe, dried shrimps and Jinhua ham. Photo: Catty & Tael

 A jar of XO sauce from Hong Kong restaurant Ming Court. Photo: Ming Court

Charles Cheung is the owner and chef of private kitchen Catty and Tael. Photo: Catty and Tael

Ho Wai-shing is executive chef of The Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: The Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant

Li Yuet-faat is executive chef of Chinese cuisine at Ming Court in Mong Kok. Photo: Ming Court

Hong Kong baker mixes her love of cakes and grandparents to help the city’s elderly

Karen Chu, founder of The Good Cake, says she wants to “build a community where young and old coexist” through her social enterprise, from which proceeds from baked goods buy rice for underprivileged elderly city residents. Photo: Edmond So

(From left) Chu’s chocolate cake smothered in Swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate brownies and chocolate-chip cookies at The Good Cake, in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Photo: Kylie Knott

Chu with her paternal grandparents as a child. Photo: Karen Chu

A three-tiered cake from The Good Cake. Photo: Karen Chu

Chu is rice partner for Hong Kong charity YWAM Tuen Mun, which supports vulnerable seniors. Photo: Karen Chu

The Good Cake offers tailor-made dessert tables for parties. Photo: Karen Chu

Chu, who currently shares her baking space with three chefs, says her dream is to one day open a place she can call her own. Photo: Edmond So

Hong Kong noodle history and the different noodle styles explained

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien from Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle in Hong Kong. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles from Yung Kee in Hong Kong. Learn about the different kinds of noodles served in the city, how they are traditionally made, and the foods they are typically paired with. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Wheat noodles originate in Northern China, while rice noodles have Southern Chinese origins, says Dr Siu Yan-ho, a lecturer in Chinese language and literature at Baptist University. 

Marco Li Ka-chi of Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle balancing on a bamboo pole to make noodles. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien at Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

 Cheung Wing Kee started making noodles in the 1950s, producing small quantities using labour-intensive methods.

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles. The thicker, neutral-tasting noodles are perfect for absorbing the flavours from the roast goose and broth. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Ardy Ferguson of Belon won the Asia final of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25 to book his ticket for the grand final


Ardy Ferguson of Belon won the Asia final of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25 to book his ticket for the grand final.


Hong Kong chefs

Hong Kong Fine Dining

Hong Kong