Killian Crowley to represent UK and Ireland at S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 global final

The UK and Ireland’s regional competition took place earlier this week at London event venue and cookery studio Aveqia. The jury included Michelin-starred chefs Angela Hartnett, Phil Howard, Alyn Williams and Mickael Viljanen of The Greenhouse, Dublin.

With his signature dish of turbot, kohlrabi and sea purslane, Killian finished ahead of nine other British and Irish contenders that were selected by the ALMA, an international educational and training centre for Italian cuisine.

The dishes were evaluated based on their adherence to the competition’s five “Golden Rules”: ingredients, skill, genius, beauty and message.

Killian’s CV includes a number of Michelin-starred restaurant in Europe. He currently cooks at Ireland’s Aniar, which is described as a terroir restaurant using local and wild produce.

“I’m very happy to represent Ireland and the UK; I have spent a long time practising and sourcing all the produce. It’s not just me though, I have a great team behind me. So many people have been supporting me and I can’t believe that I have now actually won. I’m just over the moon,” he says.
“The calibre of dishes we tasted tonight was very impressive. Killain’s dish was a superb piece of cooking, it really ticked all the boxes – delicious food, perfectly executed with simplicity at the heart. The winning dish was a no brainer, all four judges put it as their number one dish – it really shone tonight,” says Hartnett, who will now mentor Killian through the next stage of the competition.

The full list of the competition’s 21 finalists will be announced at the end of the year.