In 2021, MICHELIN Guide is thrilled to honor two young, talented individuals with the Young Chef Award presented by Blancpain. One winner is 28-year-old Mory Sacko, chef-owner of One MICHELIN Star MoSuKe in Paris. He has already made a name for himself with a highly accomplished style of cuisine combining Central and West African influences — Sacko is of Senegalese and Malian origin — with a distinctively Japanese touch.

Another young Chef from France is 31-year-old Coline Faulquier, whose Marseille restaurant Signature also received its first MICHELIN star this year. She is known for constantly designing creative, refined dishes made with exquisitely selected ingredients.

Sujira “Aom” Pongmorn, Chef de Cuisine of Saawaan (Bangkok), was born into a family of cooks and grew up around food and professional cooking. Following her education at the OHAP, at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, she worked with a number of Michelin chefs, including Juan Amador and Thomas Keller, during their guest appearances at Le Normandie. She continued her fine-dining experience at Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin at the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, furthering her with molecular cooking techniques.

The winner of the Young Chef of the Year Award is Kray Treadwell of 670 Grams in Birmingham. The sign outside labels the restaurant 'Modern Abstract Fine Dining' and there’s no doubt that Treadwell's cooking is highly original, playful, and creative. The 10-course tasting menu changes daily, delivering some intriguing flavour combinations. Contrasts of texture and temperature are a recurrent theme.

The warm brown colour scheme of Manon Schenck’s establishment, La Table de Manon, is stylish. A lobster tank takes pride of place indoors, which is no coincidence. The Alsace-born chef has a weakness for lobster, which she happily serves with fish and meat, to the delight of our tastebuds.

Marie Robert, chef/co-owner Le Café Suisse, received the MICHELIN Young Chef Award in the 2020 Switzerland MICHELIN Guide. Deeply passionate and committed, Marie delivers quite feminine, cheeky, modern and very creative cuisine which is detailed yet never loses sight of the products. She and her entirely female brigade concoct an excellent label red salmon from Scotland in a green and yellow dress, Aquitaine caviar and Vodka pearls and tasty snail balls in parsley and ham from frogs' legs.

Last year, the 2020 MICHELIN Young Chef Award went to Chef Situ Jianquan from Lingnan House, whose rich and diverse work experience included roles at a renowned Cantonese food catering business and a Cantonese restaurant at a top-shelf hotel in Guangzhou, before he headed to the kitchens of Lingnan House. Michelin Inspectors praised his skillful techniques, as well as his picture-perfect presentation and developing new recipes.

Ziantoni’s first solo adventure, at Zia, comes after three training experiences in high-level institutions in France, the UK, and Rome. His dedication and talent has impressed the most sensitive palates. "I try to work with patience, humility, and conscience,” he says. “[These are] three qualities that I consider essential for any young person who wishes to undertake this type of professional course.”

Stein’s Traube has been in Philipp Stein’s family for six generations, and now the 31-year-old is at the helm. There is no question that he can cook, and you’ll find neither show nor gimmicks in his dishes. What may seem simple at first glance is very complex in taste and harmony, but always accessible. The cooking is done with restrained elegance and the necessary portion of courage in the right places.