Riso Gallo’s UK & Ireland 2025 Young Risotto Chef of the Year competition has officially opened for entries. Aimed at young student chefs aged 17-23 years-old, who are in college education, entries are open until 31st March 2025.
Entrants are asked to produce, photograph and explain why they chose their risotto dish. Those selected will be asked to attend a regional heat to produce their recipe. Riso Gallo are keen to reduce food waste and hope to see the chefs use every part of their ingredients, where possible.
Jason Morrison, managing director of Riso Gallo UK, said:
“By reducing food waste, we can help to create a positive impact on climate change. Food waste is a solvable problem, and we encourage young chefs to answer to the call to action and take responsibility for their creations.”
Regional winners will have their dishes judged by professional chefs at the top of their game at the Grand Final in London at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 2nd June, where the winner will be named the Riso Gallo UK & Ireland Young Risotto Chef of the Year 2025.
Jacky Moss, YRCOTY competition manager, added:
“We’re expecting great things from our young chefs this year. Risotto is such a versatile dish and lends itself beautifully to every occasion – the standard is uniformly high in our competition and the proof as always will be in the tasting.
“We’ve made the decision to focus on those still in education this time to level the playing field and are also exploring options for a professional competition to see the creativity and innovation displayed by those already in service.”
The winner will receive an all expenses paid three-day work experience with renowned judging chef Fabio Pisani and his team at the Michelin starred Il Luogo Aimo e Nadia in Milan in Italy. The runner up will win a stage at the Italian Embassy in London.
Riso Gallo is supplying Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with its range of sustainable rice for use in their catering facilities. Tottenham Hotspur was named the Premier League’s greenest club following a study carried out by the UN-backed Sport Positive Summit.
Regional heats will take place at:
- Ireland – Catex – 20th February
- Northern Ireland – University Of Ulster – 16th May
- Scotland – ScotHot, Glasgow – 26th/27th February
- West Lothian College – 24th April
- North East – Leeds College – 7th May
- North West – Trafford College, Manchester – 29th April
- Midlands – Loughborough College – 25th April
- London – University Of West London – 28th April
- South East – North Herts College – 30th April