Long before moving to Mallorca, I worked in the small press and publicity department of Crest Hotels, then owned by brewing giant Bass and comprising more than 40 hotels in the UK and on the Continent.

One of the many things I loved about my job was involvement in the chain’s annual UK Young Chef of the Year competition, for chefs aged under 22. Each year we invited a well-known chef to join the judging panel for the competition final – an exciting event for all involved.

Brian Turner, Bruno Loubet, and David Chambers were among the top chefs who kindly agreed to be that famous chef on the jury. Apart from tasting some delicious creations at the finals, what I remember most is how excited the finalists were to have such successful and well-respected chefs judging their food.

Protur Chef Mallorca 2017

Fast forward to March 16th-19th, 2017: 20 young chefs from cookery schools all over Spain will be similarly impressed to have a panel of well-known professionals judging their work at Protur Chef. This event is the first national culinary schools competition and takes place at the 5-star Protur Biomar Gran Hotel & Spa in Sa Coma, on Mallorca’s east coast.

The Protur Chef judging panel includes (among others) chefs with a sprinkling of Michelin stars between them who are sure to impress the young contestants: Koldo Royo, Tomeu Caldentey (Bou), and Marc Fosh (Marc Fosh) from Mallorca, and Fran López and twins Javier and Sergio Torres, from the Peninsula. A mighty line-up!

Unlike the Crest competition, Protur Chef welcomes the public. You could be seeing Spain’s foremost chefs of the future and enjoying some of the add-on events happening at the same time. These include gastronomy workshops, a cooking competition for children aged 8-12 (Protur Chef Kids), gourmet products market, tastings, and food trucks offering tasty street food.

Read about the day itself here and look out for the dates of Protur Chef Mallorca 2018.

©Jan Edwards 2016