Cooking in the pantry

The most famous regatta that puts together sailing and cuisine in a single competition has reached its 13th edition and tomorrow will liven up the Venetian Lagoon: we’re referring to the S. Pellegrino Cooking Cup, an event organised by S.Pellegrino in collaboration with the historic Venetian yacht club Compagnia della Vela, that this year too will lower 10 sail boats together with 10 international crews who will compete against each other by means of sailing and food. Indeed, as while the sail crew will do their best to cover the 12 mile journey in as short time as possible (from Venezia’s Lido to the island of San Giorgio), the chef in the pantry will have to do his best in order to prepare the best dish that will award his sail ship some extra points in the race.

This is the most gourmand sail competition, including Inside the Cooking, a competition within the competition which will see 10 professional chefs from Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the US (here are all the competitors) compete against each other. How about Italy?Thirty-one-year-old Giuseppe Iannotti, once a computer engineer, today a talented chef at the Kresios restaurant in Telese Terme (Benevento), will represent our country: he will confront the waves of the sea in order to create, in the pantry, his dish to present to the jury. This will be formed by 10 great international chefs, namely Bruno Oger, two stars at Villa Archange in France, Ron Blaauw, two stars at Ron Blaauw Restauerant in Amsterdam, Richard Ousby, sous-chef at Quay in Sydney and winner of the last edition of the Cooking Cup (watch the video on Finedininglovers), Nino Graziano, executive chef at Academia Restaurant in Moscow, and Italian chefs Massimo Bottura, Davide Scabin and Andrea Berton, as well as Ottavio Missoni Jr, third generation of the Missoni family. The jurors will be coordinated by Franco Favaretto of Baccaladivino in Mestre (Venice) and directed by food-writer Francesca Barberini. They will have their place on board the Timoteo, an ancient burchio (a typical venetian cargo boat) owned by the Missoni’s.

Dishes will be judged according to four criterions: presentation, difficulty, taste and correct pairing with wine and water (the pairing will be with Acqua Panna or S. Pellegrino). The votes given to each dish will be combined with the times so as to determine the winners in the various categories, namely sailing, cooking, and combined sailing and cooking. Winners will be announced during the final ceremony which will take place tomorrow night at Teatro La Fenice, where all the prizes will be awarded (S. Pellegrino Cooking Cup, Inside the Cooking, Acqua Panna & S.Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year 2013 and People’s Choice)

Inside the Cooking will not be the only chance for the chefs involved to compete: on the eve of the regatta, on the occasion of the Young Chef of the Year dinner at Molino Stucky Hotel, each competitor prepares his trademark dish for both the jurors and all the guests. The votes are to be kept secret until tomorrow, when they will be added to the score obtained by each chef at the end of the race, in order to nominate the winner of the Premio Acqua Panna & S.Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year 2013.

You can follow the regatta live on Twitter (hashtag #cookingcup), or on S. Pellegrino’s Facebook page or on Finedininglovers.com, the web-community of culinary enthusiasts from all around the world.