Emilia Montz cooks her way to the world final
Emilia Montz cooks her way to the world final
“It's the ideal combination of my passion for ballet and my culinary signature”
Emilia Montz, winner of the award preliminary round
“Russian Ballet” – Emilia Montz brought her favorite ballet Swan Lake to the plate and cooked her way to the top in a head-to-head culinary race. By winning the regional preliminary round of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy award, the chef de partie from the “Troyka” restaurant punched her ticket for the international final in Milan in 2025.
Radiant winner
Technique, creativity and personal credo - Emilia Montz implemented the three “golden rules” of the jury perfectly and was able to shine with her signature dish “Russian Ballet” in first place at the regional preliminary round of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Awards. Jury member The Duc Ngo praised: “Her dish is a very beautiful way of bringing culinary art to the plate. The whole thing with technical perfection and feeling, just like in ballet.” For the chef de partie from the creative Russian crossover cuisine restaurant “Troyka” herself, it is also “the ideal combination of my passion for ballet and my culinary signature”.
Special prizes for sustainability, audience award and combining culinary traditions
However, the decision was anything but easy for the jury, with the ten up-and-coming chefs going head-to-head in a culinary race. Montz ultimately took the title, with the special prizes going to:
- S.Pellegrino for Social Responsibility Award: this award is presented by the “Food Made Good” organization, which is dedicated to sustainability in gastronomy worldwide. The dish “Heart of the Mountain” by Patrick Ködel (“Hallo Emil” in Stuttgart) best represented the claim to cook sustainably and responsibly.
- Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award: Marc-Dominik Stern (“The Charles Hotel Munich” in Munich) was honored by the “Fine Dining Lovers” community. The readers of the online magazine present this award to the talented chef whose culinary philosophy is best reflected in the signature dish.
- Acqua Panna for Connection in Gastronomy Award: This award recognizes the ability to prepare a signature dish that combines tradition and modernity and builds a bridge between different cultures. It is chosen by the chefs' mentors. Their choice fell on the dish “Colorful Waldviertel” by Yvonne Rauscher (“Landhaus Bacher” in Mautern an der Donau).
Cooking school as a competition venue
The preliminary round took place in Cologne, where a cooking school in the Ehrenfeld district was transformed into a location suitable for the competition. Among other things, an entire room was transformed into a small wholesale market. “We provided over 400 ingredients, some of them very unusual, for the ten dishes”, explains Anna Liebethal, Senior Brand Manager S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. No wonder: because the cooking had to be at star level - as judged by renowned chefs. The renowned jury for the preliminary round of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy award included:
- Heinz Reitbauer (“Steirereck”, Vienna)
- Rosina Ostler (“Restaurant Alois - Dallmayr Fine Dining”, Munich)
- The Duc Ngo (“893 Ryōtei”, Berlin and others)
- Julia Komp (“Sahila”, Cologne)
- Daniel Gottschlich (“Ox & Klee”, Cologne)
In the evening, for the announcement of the winner, the event moved to “Ox & Klee”, the restaurant of juror Daniel Gottschlich. There, the ten participants were celebrated at a kitchen party.
Grand Final in Milan
Montz will meet 14 other up-and-coming chefs who have also qualified in their regions at the world final in 2025. The 24-year-old's signature dish will once again be the focus, and she and her mentor, Rosina Ostler, will be working on the details of the competition dish until then. The dish will be judged by an international jury in Milan.
Our conclusion for the future
Emilia Montz not only impressed the jury at the regional preliminary round of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Awards 2024-2025 with her dish “Russian Ballet”, but also secured her ticket for the world final in Milan. Her signature dish, inspired by the perfection and elegance of the ballet “Swan Lake”, shows how culinary art and art can merge. The path to the world final in Milan is paved - and she has every chance of shining there once again.
