Two chefs from Dutch kitchens in the running for the title of ‘World’s Best Young Chef’
It’s not just ‘our’ athletes who are making waves. We’re also doing very well internationally in the kitchen. This year, two chefs from Dutch restaurants are competing for the title of ‘World’s Best Young Chef’ in the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024/2025. Noah Wynants (De Librije***) and Victor Guitton (Ciel Bleu**) are hoping to take home a trophy at the international chefs’ competition, which is all about finding the greatest rising talent in gastronomy.
The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy is an international initiative that challenges culinary talents to explore the limits of their gastronomy. The competition connects more than 1,000 chefs from around the world, from young talents to renowned veterans of the profession. Through the competition, S.Pellegrino aims to support developments in gastronomy. And those developments begin with this new generation of chefs.
Global final
During this competition, participating chefs – all aged 30 or under – go through an intensive selection process for the global finals in 2025. Each develops their own signature dish with which they present their culinary vision on the plate. Every participant is guided by a mentor of their own choosing. Last year, Dutch chef Jet Loos (now at Flore**) made it to the global final of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, where Portugal’s Nelson Freitas took home the title. A previous regional finalist was Friso van Amerongen, chef at RIJKS*, with Joris Bijdendijk as his mentor.
World’s Best Young Chef
The Dutch finalists in this sixth edition of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition are Noah Wynants, senior sous chef at De Librije in Zwolle, and Victor Guitton, junior sous chef at Ciel Bleu in Amsterdam. During the Northern European final in the Netherlands, they will compete against eight other young chefs from Denmark, Estonia, Norway and Sweden. An international jury will decide who earns a place in the global final in 2025 with their signature dish—and who will ultimately take home the title of ‘World’s Best Young Chef’.
Noah Wynants
Noah Wynants (26) studied at culinary school in Belgium. After an initial internship at De Groene Lantaarn**, he joined the kitchen of three-Michelin-starred De Librije as an intern in 2015, aged just 17. Over the next nine years, he worked his way up to senior sous chef alongside Jonnie Boer and Nelson Tanate. During the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, Wynants wants to show what is possible with Dutch produce through a vegan dish. In his refined shiitake rendang, he uses only ingredients grown in the Netherlands, including aubergines, hazelnuts and passion fruit.
Victor Guitton
Victor Guitton (23) began his culinary career in France at the age of 14, where he studied and completed his first internships in the kitchens of Georges Blanc*** and Christopher Coutanceau**. His drive to improve takes him all over Europe: from France to London, back to France, and then to the Netherlands. Guitton held various positions at Roux at The Landeau and La Passagère*. Since 2021, he has been junior sous chef at two-Michelin-starred Ciel Bleu. In his signature dish for the competition, Guitton brings together the ingredients and inspiration he picked up from all the places he has lived on one plate. He combines simple ingredients he knows from his home village, such as potato and mackerel, with luxurious ingredients including langoustine and oysters.
The jury
During the Northern European final on 4 November 2024, Wynants and Guitton will cook for a place in the global finals in Milan. Chefs Soenil Bahadoer (De Lindehof**, known among other things for his wonderful vegetarian rendang), Adam Dahlberg (ADAM / ALBIN*, Sweden), Anika Madsen (Iris*, Sweden), Helena Puolakka (Savoy, Finland) and Søren Selin (A-O-C**, Denmark) will judge all the dishes.
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