Thirty-year-old Arturo Gomes won the San Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award.

Chef Artur Gomes, 30, from Tavira, won the San Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award, the most prominent international competition for young chefs, making him the first Portuguese to win the prize.

“It is an honour and with great pride that I receive this recognition, which was my main objective in this competition. Throughout this two-year journey, I had the opportunity to demonstrate my vision of what haute cuisine and so-called fine dining can be, firmly believing that true sustainability is based on three pillars: Environmental, Financial and Social”, wrote the chef on Facebook.

The international competition, in which 15 young chefs participated, is characterised by the combination of gastronomy and sustainability. Artur Gomes was the first Portuguese chef to receive the distinction, which is one of the three additional awards of the Grand Final of the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2022-23, which will take place in Milan, Italy, between October 4 and 5, 2023.

According to the organisation, the prize won by Artur Gomes is “given to the chef whose dish best reflects the principle that food tastes better when it results from socially responsible practices, conveying a message of sustainability”.

“It is the first time that a Portuguese person receives a world prize in the most important and influential gastronomic competition dedicated exclusively to young chefs, and is therefore even more of a reason to be proud, to represent Portugal”, confessed Artur Gomes on Facebook.

The winning dish was Celery “Vale das Lobas”, a recipe created by Artur Gomes that took almost two years to develop and was mentored by Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa.

“Social responsibility must be a collective commitment that goes beyond our restaurant. With my dish, I wanted to show that sustainability must start with our communities, artisans and region. I hope that through sustainable construction, regenerative agriculture and resource management, we are also regenerating soils and communities, ” said the chef.

According to Juliane Caillouette Noble of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, this dish won first place “for championing hyper-local ingredients and showcasing the regenerative agricultural processes being introduced with soil and climate health in mind”.

Artur Gomes is a consulting chef for the Nestlé group who boasts experience at restaurants such as Celler de Can Roca in Spain, Noma and Noma Lab in Denmark, Belcanto in Lisbon, and Vale das Lobas in Fornos de Algodres.