At just 21, chef Lucy Field of New York City’s fine-dining bastion Per Se was the youngest competitor. Her dish, “Pekin Duck, Cherry, Plum,” was a study in restraint with only six components.
Chef Marcus Osorio, chef de cuisine at Living Room in Los Angeles, drew inspiration from his Salvadoran and Indigenous roots for his “Tamal de Pollo.” The dish featured corn sourced from Somos Maíz, the company founded by his mentor, chef Ron Oliver, and a mole poblano the two developed together. Judge Isabel Coss noted the challenge of preparing a mole with such limited time, but the judges were impressed by Osorio’s ability to marry European cooking techniques with soulful Indigenous ingredients and flavors.
Chef Nickolas Abbott hails from the small Appalachian town of Waynesville, North Carolina, and leads Chop Shop Butchery in Asheville. At the competition, he told the story of his community on a plate. His “Smoked Pork Loin, Fennel & Cheese Slaw, Sweet Potato, Asparagus, Fried Sausage, Pork Sauce Robert” reflected the people who shaped him, particularly his grandmother, his greatest inspiration as a chef.
Los Angeles–based chef Natasha Daniels of Providence showcased her vegetable-forward, zero-waste approach with “The Whole Bird, The Whole Garden.” The dish incorporated every part of a chicken across four preparations, alongside an array of vegetables and herbs inspired by her time working at The Chef’s Garden.
Daniels received two honors: the Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award and the Fine Dining Lovers Award. Voted on by regional mentors, the Acqua Panna award recognized the dish that best demonstrated a connection between culinary traditions. Daniels’s approach also resonated with Fine Dining Lovers insiders, who selected her for their award that honors “a chef’s expression of personal belief.”
With only minutes to spare, chef Nicolas Lopez of 888 in Nashville arrived with “Pozole or Chawanmushi…?” Combining pozole, corn, and langoustine, Lopez connected his upbringing in Mexico with a culinary journey that has been shaped by Scandinavian ingredients and Japanese techniques. Although the judges could have used more time to explore the dish, they were intrigued by his influences and impressed by his technique.
