The young chef Andreas Dermatis won the second prize, representing the South Aegean region at the competition held in Braga, Portugal. Andreas prepared the Rhodes’ dish “lakani” in its traditional and innovative version, at the municipal market of Braga in Minho, and he impressed the jury.
Since 2016, the South Aegean region has won two first prizes and another second price at the European Chef Award competition, in collaboration with the Dodecanese and Cyclades Chefs Club.
Andreas Dermatis’ mentor in this successful effort was Dimitris Kontaratos, a chef, with a rich cooking experience and important culinary points in his career, including NOMA in Copenhagen, and food technologist, with a vast experience in the food safety and hygiene.
Andreas Dermatis was born in 1996 in Rhodes and his first cooking lessons were by his grandmother who taught him about the local traditional cuisine, and by his mother who made cakes for special occasions.
This was the reason Andreas went on to study cooking and then completed various culinary seminars all over Europe. He has gained great experience, for his age, in the hospitality sector, has offered his expertise as a volunteer in various events and in culinary seminars. He is an unstoppable young chef seeking new experiences, techniques and ingredients, but is always focused on the traditional way of cooking he learned at home.
What drives the chef is the dream of having his own restaurant one day, where he can present to his customers his idea of cooking, combining local, seasonal, healthy, tasty and innovative food.
Espen Laumann from the Trondheim-Trøndelag region of Norway, that has now been declared European Region of Gastronomy 2022, won the first prize at the European Young Chef Award 2021, while Frida Jensen from the region of Aarhus-Central in Denmark, won the third prize.
The Young Chef Award is organized and promoted by the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Art and Tourism (IGCAT) in collaboration with culinary arts institutes in the Regions of Gastronomy. It is a competition with participants from all over Europe, judged by star chefs and international experts, that aims to promote innovations on traditional cuisine, highlight sustainable food cultures and create future ambassadors for local food products.
Governor of the South Aegean Region, George Chatzimarkos, commented on this success: “Andreas Dermatis made us proud by winning the second prize in the European Young Chef 2021 competition. Since 2016, when the competition was first established, through the Regions of Gastronomy, our region has had a leading role, winning distinctions, as a result of the great work of the young people that represent us each year, as well as the great chefs of our islands, who help in the selection and preparation of the contestant for the competition”.
