San Pellegrino Cooking Cup 2009
Results of the Ninth Edition of the Annual Regatta Held in Venice
Jul 1, 2009
The ninth edition of the San Pellegrino Cooking Cup (SPCC) took place between the Lido and San Giorgio Island in Venice on June 27, 2009. In addition to professional sailing crews, ten teams from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, UK and United Arab Emirates competed for the annual competition and cooking challenge, which is considered one of the main calendar events in Venice that provides a platform for skilled sailing enthusiasts and young chefs. Although the rain threatened to put a damper on the event, the weather quickly cleared before the race's start allowing for a perfect day for sailing.
What is the San Pellegrino Cooking Cup?
Held in conjunction with the Compagnia della Vela (Yacht Club of Venice), the SPCC consists of professional sailing crews competing for first place in the regatta, which include teams from ten different countries that also have their representative chefs cook one dish during the time on board. This part of the competition is referred to as 'Inside the Cooking'.
Aside from the main regatta, the international teams can win one of several titles, which include: Inside the Cooking Fastest Boat, Inside the Cooking Winner (combining cooking and sailing skills) and - for the first time this year - the Young Chef of the Year award as all chefs participating were below 30 years of age.
Starting from 8am at the famed Rialto Market, the chefs first picked their ingredients (within a budget of 300 Euros) before they were ferried to San Giorgio to meet their crew. Officials are on hand to make sure ingredients are all fresh and not prepped in any way before the regatta begins.
At the end of the race the finished dish along with a matching wine and water (either Acqua Panna or San Pellegrino) is handed over to a jury who judge the dish on the basis of taste, difficulty of preparation, presentation and the right matching of the accompanying beverages.
This year the jury consisted of eight culinary professionals including Michelin-starred chefs Giovanni D'Amato, Massimo Bottura and Karl Obauer. Fashion designer Vittorio Missoni whose boat Timoteo is used by the jury every year was also an honorary juror.
And the winners are...
The regatta saw Città di Grisolera, Capricci Ricci and Stelle Olimpiche take the first three spots. For the Inside the Cooking contests United Arab Emirates were crowned the fastest boat and Italy walked away with the highest score for the combination of the chef and crew's performances.
South Africa's Henrico Grobbelaar was awarded the first Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year award for his tasting plate of flavours that included Cape Malai curry, Dukkah lamb, tuna tataki, scallop in pancetta and oyster on samphire.
The awards were handed out during a gala dinner at the 'Del Ridotto' Theatre.
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