Mauritian Sheriaz Ramputh is one of the ten qualified chefs for the regional finals at the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Academy in France. This will be held on Monday 30 January in Paris. The first four winners will represent France at the international finals in March in Milan, Italy. The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy is described as “the biggest competition dedicated to the search for the culinary talents of tomorrow”. For now, Mauritians can support their compatriot by voting for his signature at the link* at the end of this article.

Sheriaz Ramputh, 29, was inspired by the Mauritian lagoon and seafood to create his signature dish. “We each had to develop a recipe that reflected their origins, and I chose to highlight the richness of Mauritius. So he used sea urchin, smoked eel, salmon and tuna. The recipe is salty-sweet. In fact, the chef added a macaron made of smoked eel and a fennel mousse Coriander jelly and a sparkling drink made with S.Pellegrino mineral water, coriander and tarragon complete the dish.

It is almost a year since Sheriaz Ramputh has been chef de partie at Château de Vault-de-Lugny in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. “I was working at the Hotel Labourdonnais in Port-Louis when I met the Mauritian chef Franco Bowanee. He works for the gourmet restaurant at Château de Vault-de-Lugny and he was looking to recruit someone. So I got the interview,” says the young man from Mont-Ida. He always wanted to pursue a career in the kitchen.

After leaving school, he saved up for two years to take courses at the Sir Gaëtan Duval hotel school. He was then employed at the Hotel Labourdonnais and continued further training. In 2017, he represented Mauritius in the culinary competition Le Grand Cordon d’Or de la Cuisine Française in Monaco. He finished third. He then had the opportunity to work for a year and a half at a hotel in Austin, Texas, in the United States.

* https://www.sanpelle grinoyoungchefacademy.com/food-for-thought-award/france