Fernando Guadalupe Hernández, from Graciosa, from the Santa Brígida Hotel School of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is aspiring to the XI Promises Award for haute cuisine. Le Cordon Bleu Madrid has just published on its official Facebook page the video recipes of the students who are competing for the Award. As in past editions, people who wish to do so can vote for their favorite proposal and thus be part of the popular jury.
Fernando Guadalupe already has another award to his credit when he proclaimed winner in 2022 of the seventh edition of the Canary Islands Young Chefs Championship 2022, a gastronomic event organized by the Tenerife Trade Fair Institution (IFTSAU) and the company InterIdeas.
Apart from Guadalupe Hernández, who can be voted for here, the selected Canary Islands students are David Hernández Trillo, from the Santa Brígida Hotel School of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; and Carlota Mallorquñin Hosp, Christian Rodriguez Sánchez, Fátima Lucía Aguiar Acosta, Gara Morales Álvarez and Sara De Vera Martín from the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Hotel School.
The votes obtained through the social network will constitute 15% of the assessment of the participants, and will be added to the votes of the professional jury, composed of chef professors from the School. The voting period will be open until February 20. Subsequently, on February 22, Le Cordon Bleu will announce the 10 finalists who will participate in the grand final of this eleventh edition.
In the video recipes, of 5 minutes maximum duration, the students, demonstrate their culinary skills and imagination with a proposal based on a common preparation: aiguillette of sea bream with white wine sauce and vegetable ravioli. As part of the test, they must also play with their creativity including free techniques and ingredients from their regions, differential factors that may help them qualify for the grand final.
The 10 finalists must prepare and present their dish to a prestigious jury that, in the previous edition, was chaired by Jesús Sánchez, chef of the Cenador de Amós restaurant in Cantabria, with three Michelin stars and three Repsol suns. In previous years, it has also been chaired by great celebrities of gastronomy, such as Joan Roca, Diego Guerrero, Martín Berasategui or Andoni Luis Aduriz.
Andalusia with 12 candidates and Catalonia with 8 are the Autonomous Communities with the highest representation in this edition. Other autonomous regions such as Galicia, Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Community of Madrid, Asturias, Valencian Community, Castilla-la Mancha, La Rioja, Navarra, Region of Murcia and Castilla y León will also be present in this phase of the contest.
11 years promoting the chefs of the future
Le Cordon Bleu Madrid celebrated the first edition of the Promesas Award in 2012 and, since then, every year supports the work and effort of the teaching of gastronomy schools throughout the country and rewards its most outstanding students.
A clear example has been the case of the chef winner of the first edition of the Promesas Award, Cristóbal Muñoz, who two months ago received a double recognition of the highest level: Young Chef Award 2023 from the Michelin Guide, in addition to obtaining the green distinction of the guide and renewing the Michelin star of the restaurant he runs, Ambivium (Peñafiel, Valladolid).
In this same line, in 2022, the Jerez native Rafael de Bedoya, winner of the fourth edition of the Promesas Award, has been awarded his first Michelin star for the Aleia restaurant (Barcelona), which he runs together with chef Paulo Airaudo.
The Promesas Award for haute cuisine is aimed at young people up to 25 years old who are in their last year of training in any Spanish cooking school. These 11 years of celebration of the contest have been possible thanks to the support of the schools that encourage their most outstanding students to participate to continue training. In addition, the Validation Plan that was launched in 2017, allows all those students who have the Higher Degree in Kitchen Management to access intermediate levels of the programs.
