Young Chef Young Waiter Young Mixologist (YYY) is Back for its Second Year in Hong Kong on October 11th 2024!

August 28th 2024

The international “Olympics of hospitality” has returned to Hong Kong!  Feste Group has brought back the Young Chef Young Waiter competition – with the addition of their newest category, Young Mixologist – to find the best young talent of 2024!

Open to all chefs, waiters, and mixologists aged 28 and under, this year’s edition of YYY is set to take place at the International Culinary Institute in Pok Fu Lam on October 10th & 11th.  The two-day final encompasses an afternoon of Masterclasses across all three categories on October 10th, and the full competition schedule in front of a live audience on October 11th.  The winners of their respective categories will be sent on an all-expenses paid trip to represent Hong Kong and compete as a team at the World Finals in Singapore this November 15th-17th, with a chance to win a grand prize of USD 15,000.

“We are so excited to bring back such an amazing competition that highlights all the young talent our city has cultivated, giving them a platform and community on a global scale to share their knowledge, passion, creativity, and enthusiasm.  And starting this year, we also have the special opportunity to shine a light on mixologists and the integral role they play in Hong Kong’s world-renowned bar scene.” - Abby Cadman, CEO of Feste Group and Waiter Judge 2024

While the four chef and waiter finalists will be decided by their category judges, Feste Group is pulling out the stops and hosting a Mixologist’s Semi-Finals in the form of a bar crawl along some of the city’s finest bars in Central on September 26th.  Nine semi-finalists, chosen from the open applications, will compete in one of the three challenges located at partner bars: Bar Leone (Asia’s 50 Best No. 1), Socio, and Kinsman.  The winners of each challenge and one People’s Choice winner will make up the four mixologist finalists competing with their fellow chef and waiter finalists on October 11th.

The Hong Kong finals see contestants undergo a series of challenges in their respective fields, culminating in a three-course dining challenge where one chef, waiter, and mixologist will get paired up into teams to complete their service and ensure a seamless dining experience.  The winners who will progress to the World Finals in Singapore will be announced at an awards ceremony on the same day.

One of the significant opportunities for the finalists is getting to learn and be mentored by some of the industry’s biggest and most respected names.  Shane Osborn of the Arcane Collective and Richard Ekkebus of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental are back on the chef judging panel this year with the new addition of ArChan Chan of Ho Lee Fook.  Waiter judges see the return of Lindsay Jang of Yardbird and Ronin, Kristina Snaith-Lense of The Upper House (World’s 50 Best Hotels No. 4), and Feste Group’s very own Abby Cadman.  Lorenzo Antinori from Bar Leone, Gavin Yeung of Kinsman, and Francis Ricafort of Carlyle & Co. and Quality Goods Club will round out our judging panel for the mixologist category.

Feste Group’s goal with YYY has always been to gather Hong Kong’s F&B community together to continue supporting, encouraging, and pushing our industry forward in every aspect with this new generation of hospitality trailblazers.  Backed by YYY Ambassadors of 2024, Isabel Wong of Proudly Asian, Jason Cohen of Nomad Caviar, and Fontaine Cheng of Tatler Dining – this is what makes YYY so unique to other competitions.

Applications to join the Hong Kong competition are still open until September 10th!  Visit www.youngchefyoungwaiter.com/hong-kong/ to apply.  Entries are free for all contestants aged 28 and under with a valid HKID or working visa.

For more information, please visit our Instagram page @ycywhongkong.

For our press release on YYY Asia 2024, please visit here.

For photos of last year’s 2023 competition, please visit here.

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS

For more information, please feel free to contact:

NATALIE FONG

Head of Brand & Marketing

natalie@feste-group.com