Pablo Donadio Falcon from our restaurant, became the winner of the regional final of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy 2024 competition.

Congratulations Pablo, we are proud of you!

On Tuesday, the young chef achieved extraordinary success in the competition in Malta, where he was mentored by the head chef of Hiša Franko, Yvonne Melee Simon. He presented his work with a dish he named Haiku to the mountain. He dedicated the dish to his mother, a poet, and with it he wanted to capture the flavors and feelings of the mountains of the Soča Valley.

"I'm still trying to grasp this incredible achievement. I think it's an extremely important step in my career and for my future. Preparations for the competition were demanding, but I felt even more confident when I arrived in Malta. The fact that they rated my dish and performance so highly means an immense honor to me," said the young chef, full of emotions.

Among the judges was Igor Jagodic from the Ljubljana restaurant Strelec. He emphasized that there was no doubt about the winner: "The judges evaluate the competitors in several categories. If the results are very close, a discussion usually follows, but this time, at the regional final for Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean, there was no such thing. We made the decision unanimously right away after the competition," explained Jagodic.