Food

Three finalists from Ireland at global young chef competition

Five-hour cooking session followed by 15 minute presentation to judges at Copenhagen Hotel & Restaurant School

Conor Halpenny's entry for the S.Pellegrino young chef regional final in Copenhagen. Photographs: Ruth Calder-Potts

Marie Claire Digby's face
Marie Claire Digby
Mon Oct 24 2022 - 05:50

Conor Halpenny, chef proprietor of Square restaurant in Dundalk, along with Lauma Jurkjane, sous chef at Kilronan Castle in Co Roscommon and Frank Imperial, sous chef at Orwell Road restaurant in Dublin, are among the 15 finalists taking part in the North Europe regional final of the S.Pellegrino global young chef competition in Copenhagen today and tomorrow.

The trio are competing against chefs representing Lithuania, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland for a place in the grand finale of the 2022/2023 biennial competition, which will take place in Milan in October next year.

Previously, Ireland was included in the UK regional final judging, however the boundaries were redrawn for this edition of the competition. In all, there are 15 regional finals taking place across the globe to select the chefs who will cook in Milan next year.

The competitors have five hours to prepare their dishes, at Copenhagen Hotel & Restaurant School, before immediately putting them forward for judging in a 15-minute presentation to the regional jury.

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Ireland’s representative on the jury is Mark Moriarty, who won the global final of this competition in 2015. He has developed a successful TV and media career since winning the competition, as well as being a member of the team that earned two Michelin stars at The Greenhouse restaurant. He will open his own restaurant in Dublin next year.

Conor Halpenny's Bò Chiarrai dairy cow, Riverside Farm celeriac, tart of cured heart and heritage pearl barley.

Halpenny is the most experienced of the Irish chefs taking part in the North Europe regional final, being a previous winner of the Euro-Toques Ireland young chef title. He is being mentored for the S.Pellegrino competition by Jordan Bailey, head chef of the Michelin two-star Aimsir restaurant in Co Kildare. He will be cooking Bò Chiarrai dairy cow, Riverside Farm celeriac, tart of cured heart and heritage pearl barley.

“With this dish, I wanted to shine a light on modern Irish cooking, a combination of traditions and modern techniques. The Irish culinary heritage is firmly rooted in sustainable produce, an aspect I wanted to highlight when writing this recipe. Farming has always been at the heart of the Irish way of living, so it seemed befitting to base my dish on an animal that encompasses heritage and sustainability.”

Lauma Jurkjane has opted to cook a vegetarian dish, called Synergy, which she says is inspired by her workplace’s garden. “Our own grown vegetables and salads combined with chefs’ knowledge creates Synergy,” she says. She is being mentored by her head chef Daniel Willimont. Frank Imperial will cook pork kare kare, inspired by his memories of his grandmother. He is being mentored by Orwell Road head chef Dan Hannigan.

The winner, going forward to the grand finale, will be announced at a gala dinner in Copenhagen on Tuesday evening.