East meets West at the eight edition of Pasta World Championship in Paris. Keita Yuge conquered the title of Barilla’s Master of Pasta with a classic Italian dish updated with traditional Japanese staples. His Penne Gorgonzola Profumo Giapponese dish, a creamy and savory pasta combined with oyster and “Sake, Sancho, Yuzu” aromas, won over the unanimous all-star jury, including celebrity chefs Davide Oldani, Simone Zanoni and Amandine Chaignot, Italian architect Paola Navone and Australian food photographer Ashley Alexander.
Yuge, a versatile chef with extensive knowledge in Italian cuisine that worked in the finest French and Japanese restaurants, is the second Japanese talent to win the title after Yoshi Yamada in 2012. His signature dish perfectly embodies the competition theme, “The Art of Pasta”, inspired by the concept that cooking a plate of pasta brings out the artist in anyone of us. Each piece of pasta is a small piece of design that can be continually reinterpreted and transformed to create a dish that, like in any form of art, never looks or tastes the same.
Paris, the first location to host the championship outside of Italy, was the perfect setting of this year’s theme thanks to its rich gastronomy culture and art heritage. Coinciding with Barilla’s fifty years in France, the two day event held on October took place at the Pavillon Cambon redesigned as an art gallery for the occasion. The two hundred and fifty international attendees watched the competition live hosted by Master of Ceremony Stéphane Rotenberg, French tv host of Top Chef. They were also entertained with talks about food, aesthetic and art, a live cooking show by French Chef Amadine Chaignot featuring the new Barilla Lasagnette of their Collezione Edition Gourmet range, and a music live performance The Sound of Pasta, by Food Ensemble and Chef Davide Oldani. The musical group performed Puttanesca with Horseradish, one of the four tracks of the album Spaghetti Symphony, created using sounds sampled by the chef’s preparation of different dishes.
Fourteen chefs from different countries, all under 35 years old participated in the single -elimination tournament, guided by starred Italian chef Lorenzo Cogo, this edition’s Master of Gastronomy. They competed in three timed challenging trials revealing their pasta skills. In the first, named The Masterpiece, they showcased their creativity and techniques presenting a signature pasta dish that is “Bello, Buono, Fa Bene”, or beautiful, tasty and good for the soul. Eight candidates were then invited to prove their talent the second day in The White Canvas contest, by combining creativity with a holistic concept of well-being with mandatory ingredients pre-defined by Barilla-chefs. Only three contestants made it to The Grand Finale, where they were required to improve their dishes to perfection following the judges’ comments. The winning dish was determined by taste, story, culinary style and aesthetics.
While receiving the prize, an original sculpture bronze sculpture inspired by the pasta die, Chef Yuge said he was proud to be the new Barilla Master of Pasta, and added: “I would like to transmit my knowledge and all the technical skills I have acquired during the years to the next generations.”