Guest Judge for the Young Chef of the Year Finals Announced

We are delighted to announce that Paolo Casagrande from Restaurante Lasarte, a three Michelin-starred restaurant in Barcelona, Spain, will be a guest judge at the finals of the Young Chef of the Year Competition 2023, presented by La Rousse Foods. The finals are scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 8th. 

Paolo, an Italian native, has been passionate about cooking since a young age. He studied at Alfredo Beltrame School of Hospitality in Vittorio Veneto, Italy and worked in various restaurants in Italy until the age of 20. He then honed his culinary skills at prestigious fine dining establishments in London and Paris, including Les Elysées du Vernet** with renowned chef Alain Solivérès and Taillevent***. 

Paolo’s journey led him to Martín Berasategui of Lasarte Restaurant with whom he has worked for 18 years building many successful restaurants. 

Since February 2016, Paolo Casagrande has been in charge of the entire gastronomic project at Monument Hotel in Barcelona, which houses Lasarte Restaurant*** and Oria Restaurant*. Under the direction of Berasategui, Paolo has shown depth of commitment, coherence, perseverance, effort, respect and passion for cooking.  

As a judge for the young chef finals, we welcome Paolo’s expertise. The Young Chef competition is now internationally recognized as Ireland’s premier cooking awards for young chefs. The aim is to educate and nurture young talent. Paolo Casagrande joins an esteemed list of guest judges such as Michel Roux, Clare Smyth, Nathan Outlaw, Elena Arzak and many more who have contributed to identifying Ireland’s cooks of the future.  

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