ABOUT YYY THAILAND

Promoting Hospitality as a career of choice, a profession and a vocation, Young Chef Young Waiter and Young Mixologist Thailand is a national competition open to all young professional Chefs, Waiters and Mixologists aged 28 or under working in Thailand’s Hospitality sector.

The Young Chef Young Waiter competition was established in 1979, in the UK in partnership with UKHospitality and the Restaurant Association to promote hospitality as a career of choice, a profession, and a vocation. Today, with this new revitalised format, Young Chef Young Waiter and Young Mixologist continues to honour the next culinary and service stars globally.

Young Chef Young Waiter and Young Mixologist Thailand competition took place for the first time in 2024 to chefs, waiters, and mixologists. The winning Chef , Waiter, and Mixologist team from Thailand joined at the World Finals where they compete against 8 other countries and came second place.

Meet the 2024 winners

2024 COMPETITION

Chefs and Waiters will battle it out for the title of YYY Thailand Winners 2024.

The winning Chef, Waiter, and Mixologist trio from each country joined for the World YYY Final competition, on Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th November 2024 in Singapore.

World Young Chef Young Waiter and Young Mixologist Thailand Competition:

  • 2024 entries are now closed on our online awards platform https://youngchefyoungwaiter.awardsplatform.com/
  • Entry is free for Young Chefs, Young Waiters, and Young Mixologists, who are 28 years old and under and working in the hospitality industry in Thailand.
  • YYY Thailand took place on 9th October.
  • The winners were announced after taking part in a one-day live final.
  • After the YYY Thailand competition an awards ceremony took place to announce the 2024 YYY Thailand winners.
  • The YYY Thailand final and awards ceremony took place at the Pullman Bangkok Hotel G

CLICK HERE TO ENTER YYY – NOW CLOSED ON OUR AWARDS PLATFORM

 

Judges - Thailand

Chef Judges

Judges - Thailand

Chef Ian Kittichai

Chef and Restaurateur

Chef Ian Kittichai has a storybook career - from street food to fine dining. As a child in Bangkok, he pushed a cart through his working-class neighborhood to sell food he made with his mother. Later, on a scholarship, he was trained in haute cuisine in England and Australia, followed by significant professional experiences in France, Spain, the United States and Japan. At only 30 years old, he became the first Thai national to be appointed the Executive Chef of a five-star hotel. Today he is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and television personality. read more Chef Kittichai is well known for his unique approach to classic flavors and ingredients with varied cooking techniques. “Kittichai combines authentic culinary roots with a unique global insight into contemporary hospitality.” (Monocle Entrepreneurs Guide)

He has founded and partnered in diverse restaurants and concepts around the world, including the ground-breaking Kittichai restaurant and multiple Spot Dessert Bars in the New York; Issaya Siamese Club, Khum Hom, and Akanee in Bangkok; Soi Social in Singapore and Coast in Taipei.

In addition to his growing stable of award-winning restaurants he has an international food and beverage consulting and content production firm, Cuisine Concept Co. Ltd., an R&D kitchen, private dining atelier and a number of high-profile television shows, including the Emmy-nominated MasterChef Thailand.

Distinctions & Highlights:
- First Asia Geographical Indication Ambassador (awarded by FAO United Nations, Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property and the Agence Française de Développement)
- Officier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole (bestowed in 2015 by the French Ministry of Agriculture)
- 2014 - 2018: Issaya Siamese Club: Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Sponsored by S. Pellegrino and Aqua Panna
- 2019 – 2023: First Thai chef collaboration with Qatar Airways on signature first and business class menus

Chef Sylvain Royer

Managing Director & Chef de Cuisine of R&B Lab, the F&B Division of GCP Hospitality

Chef Sylvain Royer is the Managing Director and Chef de Cuisine of R&B Lab, the F&B division of GCP Hospitality. R&B Lab is currently operating multiple restaurants across Asia and Australia including: read more - Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant in Bangkok
- Scarlett Café & Wine Bar in Hong Kong
- Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar in Singapore
- Babett Eatery & Bar in Yangon
- The Yard Eatery & Swim Club in Melbourne
- 25 Degrees Burgers, Wine & Liquor Bar in Singapore and Bangkok

R&B Lab Limited, a F&B division of GCP Hospitality | randblab.com

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The award-winning Chef oversees the operations of over 10 restaurants, their culinary approach, and service standards. His dedication to this work has gained him much success in the culinary world, having worked in Michelin starred restaurants and 5-star hotels across the globe.

Born in Reims, France in 1972, Chef Sylvain was raised by his father, a Charcuterie chef. At an early age, he developed the passion for gastronomy and followed his dream by completing an apprenticeship at “La Garrene” Restaurant with National Diploma as a qualified cook.

In 1993, Chef Sylvain entered the hospitality industry and has since successfully run the culinary operations of Sheraton Brusssels Airport, Le Meridien Damascus Hotel in Syria, Grand Hotel Mercure Alfa in Algeria and Sofitel Thalassa Porticcio in Corsica, Pullman Bangkok King Power, The Landmark Hotel in Bangkok and Pullman Bangkok Hotel G.

With a vast amount of culinary experience in Europe, Middle East and Asia, Chef Royer understands modern day expectations for gastronomy internationally and serves it with excellence. Ingredients used are often organically and locally grown, with the exception of French items like cheese, cold cuts and oysters, in which case he then uses only the finest of imported products. He does this by regularly inviting cheese masters and suppliers of cold cuts and oysters to display and explain their specialties and qualities at his restaurants.

In 2019, Chef Sylvain received the prestigious Maître Cuisinier de France, award a high distinction from the French association “Master Chefs of France,” which was created in 1951 with a mission to preserve French culinary art and tradition by expanding its influence and providing for its future through a careful selection of the best products, strive for creativity and perfection while acting as an Ambassador of the association.

Kunanun "Mike" Lertpisitkul

"Kunanun "Mike" Lertpisitkul is a mechanical engineering graduate from Imperial College London, who decided to call it quits and become a chef. He enrolled at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and after graduation gained work experience in Michelin-starred restaurants like Frantzen in Stockholm, Sweden, Benu in San Francisco and Chambre Separee in Ghent, Belgium to name a few. read more Chef Mike is the Chef patron of Chenin natural wine bar, and is on a mission to reinvent what a restaurant/wine bar can mean and what it can contribute to the current culinary landscape of Bangkok/Thailand.

Chenin is a test kitchen where local talents can express themselves through pop-ups and use as an incubator before they go on to achieve great things with their skillset in the future whether it be opening their own restaurant, championing indigenous cooking, advocating for food justice, or improving food in schools and hospitals, and the possibility is endless."

Andrea Accordi

Executive Chef Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

My career really started here, so this is like coming back home for me. Only this time, I’m bringing so much with me. read more Four Seasons Tenure

Since 2007
First Four Seasons Assignement: Executive Chef, Four Seasons Hotel Prague
Employment History

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong; Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg; Four Seasons Hotel Prague; Onice Lounge & Restaurant, Villa La Vedetta, Florence; Hotel Laudinella, St. Moritz, Switzerland; Residence de la Pinede, St. Tropez, France; Le Royal Meridien, Phuket, Thailand; Regent Hotel, Bangkok; Toto’s, Knightsbridge, London; The Regent Palace Hotel London
Birthplace

Nogara, Italy
Education

Secondary School Degree, Catering School, Istituto Professionale Servizi Alberghieri e della Ristorazione (I.P.S.A.R.), Bardolino (Italy)
Languages Spoken

Italian, English, Thai and basic French
“I’m giving my soul to Bangkok,” says Andrea Accordi, musing on his role as Executive Chef of Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River before adding, “and a lot more.” Indeed, from his well-practiced knowledge of a range of international cuisines, to his talent for teaching the skills to excel in the kitchen, to his experiences at Four Seasons openings and established properties alike, Accordi has quite a bit to give.

There’s a lot on Accordi’s plate in Bangkok, including a riverfront Italian, French brasserie and Chinese destination restaurants; a Latin American-inspired social club fashioned as a backdrop for spectacular original cocktails; and an expansive banqueting operation with a wedding-friendly ballroom with a terrace overlooking the Chao Phraya at its core.

“We’re catering to clientele who want a relaxed, unhurried lunch, as well as those for whom dining is an event,” he explains. “Either way, there’s an excitement here, with everything coming together to create a food-and-beverage destination all its own.”

“The Thai are like Italians: They grew up with food,” he continues. “You can’t go 10 feet on the streets here without running into a food stall.”

Accordi knows quite a bit about the Thai palate. Though born, raised and schooled in Italy and now travelled all over the world, he has long had a soft spot for Bangkok and the country beyond. It’s where he first shook off the coils of European cuisines, arriving early in his career for a food promotion to demonstrate “The Perfect Pasta” – “it was perfect because I made it the old fashioned way” – and getting immediately hooked.

“I was only 19 at the time, and it was such a beautiful country. As soon as I returned to my job in London, I started seeking out opportunities across Thailand.”

It worked. At age 20, Accordi headed first to a luxury address in Bangkok and then moved on to a beach resort on the island of Phuket where he spent three years as a fine-dining chef working on his culinary skills. Though assigned to the resort’s Italian restaurant, he spent mornings in the Thai kitchen to learn the techniques, textures and flavours of Asian cuisine. He swam everyday, and also had a chance meeting with a lovely gift shop attendant. “Two people really fuelled my passion for cooking in Thailand,” he remembers, “my executive chef at the time, and my wife Korrakod.”

After returning to Europe intent upon further polishing his skills, Accordi achieved his first Michelin star in Florence at age 25 and then landed as Executive Chef of Four Seasons Hotel Prague. He was a local sensation, renowned for blending Far Eastern flavours such as Chinese anise, Szechuan pepper, cardamom, citronella, liquorice, ginger and lemongrass into modern Italian fare. His signature dish, suckling pig, was all over the map, prepared Italian-style with Asian influences, or “the Czech way”. Diners were duly impressed and critics were, too: Just eight months into Accordi’s operation, the Hotel’s signature restaurant earned a Michelin star, the first-ever awarded in Eastern Europe.

That success behind him, in 2012 Accordi was tapped to open Four Seasons first property in Russia at Lion Palace in St. Petersburg. It was a challenging but rewarding experience. “We discovered something new day-by-day, we grew together, and what we achieved was phenomenal,” he says, recalling that the Hotel’s Italian restaurant Percorso, one of three dining experiences onsite, was full from opening day.

There was one last stop for Accordi en route to Bangkok: Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, where as Executive Chef for nearly three years he was integral to the history-making moment when the Hotel’s food and beverage operation was honoured with an unprecedented eight stars from Michelin Guide 2019 Hong Kong-Macau, the most Michelin stars found in a single hotel anywhere in the world.

“I so enjoyed my time in Hong Kong,” he says in reflection, adding with a smile, “I got my foot back into Asia and left with stars in my eyes.”

Whatever the destination, Accordi gives all he’s got and gets what he can in return. The same holds true this time around in Bangkok. “Learning to cook is a never-ending story, with so many cuisines and cultures to discover,” he says. “My career really started here, so this is like coming back home for me. Only this time, I’m bringing so much with me.”

WAITER JUDGES

JUDGES - THAILAND

Choti Leenutaphong

Co-founder & Managing Partner, Foodie Collection

Prior to co-founding Foodie Collection, a multiple award-winning Bangkok-based F&B group, in 2013, Choti was an automobile executive-turned diplomat-turned online entrepreneur. Yet, the passion in food & drinks have always been there from a young age. He is Foodie Collection's concept man, in charge of strategy & general management, marketing, and turning creative concepts into reality. read more Currently, the Group owns and manages 4 highly-acclaimed brands in Bangkok including:

* 80/20 - Innovative interpretation of Thai cuisine & local ingredients. (1 MICHELIN Star 2020- 2024, no. 47 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020 & Time Magazine's the World's 100 Greatest Places 2019)

* Vesper Cocktail Bar (Asia's 50 best Bars 2016 - 2024, No. 55 in The World's 50 Best Bars 2023, Bar Team of the Year by BKK Bar Show 2023)

* La Dotta Pasta Bar (Travel + Leisure Best of 2017 Thailand, BK Magazine Bangkok's best new restaurants of 2017, MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2019 - 2024) - currently serving in 2 branches

* 4th Wall Cocktail Bar (Langsuan’s retro-future neighbourhood bar, Time Out's Best New Bars 2023)

In addition, the Group also provides consulting services in all areas related to food & beverage. Our past clients include The Peninsula Bangkok Hotel, San Pellegrino, Bulgari and W Samui Hotel.

Choti graduates MBA at London Business School, and has lived in Boston, Bangkok, Paris and London. He was also part of Asia Tatler's 50 Groundbreaking Gastronomes from around Asia and BK Magazine's 50 most important people in Bangkok food and drink.

Shane Giles

Founder & Managing Director at Bluesalt

Career culinarian starting in the industry in Brisbane, Australia in 1985. Shane worked in Chef Hatted restaurants in Brisbane such as Chevaliers, Faces & LA 454 before entering int hotel chains like Beaufort Heritage & Sheraton. read more Shane moved abroad to Penang in 1992 and now has over 30 years experience in Asia. He has held various F&B senior leadership roles in IHG corporate offices in Asia Pacific & Middle East for over 15 years before opening Blue Salt consultancy in late 2017. Shane and team has successfully developed and launched over 60 restaurant & bar venues over the past 6

years including several owned and operated venues like TokioJo & LaPoPo.

Giovanni Pitton

General Manager F&B Operations : Blue by Alain Ducasse / Blue Bakery Boutique / Le Café Louis Louis Vuitton Bangkok

Giovanni Pitton is an accomplished hospitality professional with a distinguished career focused predominantly on Michelin-starred and luxurious establishments. As the General Manager of Blue by Alain Ducasse in Bangkok, Giovanni has been instrumental in leading the restaurant to new heights, including securing a Michelin Star in 2024 and earning a place on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, ranking at #63. In addition to Blue by Alain Ducasse, Giovanni oversees the operations of Blue Bakery Boutique Iconsiam and Le Café Louis Vuitton - LV The Place Bangkok, ensuring each venue delivers an unparalleled luxury experience. read more A proud Ducasse alumnus, Giovanni's journey with Alain Ducasse’s prestigious restaurants began in Monaco, where he served in key roles at the legendary Le Louis XV *** - Alain Ducasse à l’Hôtel de Paris. His expertise and commitment to excellence carried him through to Singapore, where he successfully launched Osteria BBR by Alain Ducasse at Raffles Hotel as the Restaurant Manager. Now, in Bangkok, Giovanni continues to uphold the high standards synonymous with the Ducasse name.

Giovanni is also recognized as one of the most proactive service representatives in the Bangkok hospitality industry. He is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of hospitality professionals, helping them develop the skills needed to excel in the industry. He played a key role in establishing an exchange program, initiated by G Hospitality Consultancy, which allows young service professionals to receive advanced training and experience different environments.

Giovanni's career is marked by his leadership in some of the world’s most esteemed culinary institutions, including roles at, Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo's Odyssey by Heinz Beck, and Cheval Blanc's Le 1947 by Yannick Alléno in Courchevel. His deep understanding of fine dining and luxury hospitality, coupled with his passion for delivering exceptional guest experiences, has consistently driven the success of the venues under his management

Pichaya Soontornyanakij - Chef Pam

Chef and Global television personality

Asia’s Best Female Chef 2024, Chef “Pam”, Pichaya Soontornyanakij, has opened a string of successful restaurants and bar. Chef Pam is the first ever and youngest Thai Female Chef to receive both Michelin Star and “Opening of the Year” awards from the Michelin Guide in the same year. She is also voted to be in world Best Chef Award. read more Chef Pam becomes a critically acclaimed chef and global television personality (Top Chef Thailand, Top Chef Arab World, World Cook Competition, Maverick Academy, and many more) and is one of the most recognized faces in culinary of Asia’s today.

MIXOLOGIST THAILAND - JUDGES

MIXOLOGIST THAILAND - JUDGES

MATTEO CADEDDU

Bar Manager of Opium Bar Bangkok

Meet Matteo – our Bar Manager and the smile behind the bar, happiest when the bar is at its busiest. Originally from Italy, before moving to Amsterdam and developing a career in Australia, Singapore, and Mumbai; finding love for crafting and creating cocktails. read more Matteo’s found us and became a key member of Opium Bar where he found a passion and flair for creating and developing unique cocktails. He is a very sociable person, outgoing, creative and always experimenting with unusual flavor combinations.

Surreal reality. Real surreality. Imagination Opium.

“Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.”

Above the busiest road of Yaowaraj and lavish restaurant, hidden our secret room “OPIUM BAR”. Here we highlight a flawlessly curated mixed drinks list, enlivened by the concept of “Liquid Surreality” while instituting an intimate and vibrant bar that soaked with the memory of the building. Located on the 4th and 5th floor of POTONG building, we combine the concept of opulent New York hangout space and the spirit of the late-night Chinatown Bangkok. The bar menu covers an impressive range over more than 15 pages that include something for everyone – from aperitifs, digestifs, and classic cocktails to modern twists.

Opium has achieved a numerous accolades since its opening on December 2021, individual price and as a team

For a post-dinner tipple, customers who want to drink their dessert can opt for FF, a gin-based drink that comes with gorgonzola blue cheese, citrus and an opium fig cordial sprinkled with chocolate bits. The glass is finished literally on fire inside a smoker box to add a lingering fragrance and flavor. If sour cocktails are more to taste, definitely try the Naughty Red Riding Hood which comes heavy (and naughty!) with salted butter mezcal while the juicy, tangy notes owe to an opium raspberry cordial. Mystique is there, too, thanks to tiny truffle oil drops. Fancy something spritzy? Wine-based cocktails like the Opium Spritz could easily be a new favorite for the tartness and sweetness of ruby red grapefruit-dominated Pampelle matched with prosecco, opium seltzer and Thai-Chinese remedy Porkun Eabor, which is produced by the pharmacy itself. Don’t get too hung up on colors, especially when you’re drunk. Let’s Say It’s Red actually arrives with a canary yellow-hued gin drink packing a few punches that combine opium jackfruit syrup, yellow chartreuse, egg white and quinine-flavored Cocchi Americano.

Paul Robinson

Chief Creative Officer NEFT Vodka

read more

Philip Bischoff

Beverage Manager

Hospitality is not a 9-5. It’s about mutual respect and the understanding that serving is something great. Making people happy makes me happy. Bartending was my way into this amazing industry. read more Four Seasons Tenure

Since 2015
Employment History

Regent Singapore (formerly a Four Seasons hotel), Amano Berlin, Le Lion – Bar de Paris
Birthplace

Berlin, Germany
Accolades

Asia’s 50 Best Bars, World’s 50 Best Bars, Mixology Bar Awards
Languages

English, German
Born in Berlin, Germany, Philip Bischoff’s first foray into bartending came at the age of 23. He began learning mixology at catering events, then honed his craft behind the bar at nightclubs.

“Bartending, for me, is all about passion. I discovered mixology at a young age and found myself really liking it. I also enjoy being the person behind the bar, being a part of creating special moments in other people’s lives. That’s what made me go into this 100 percent,” says Philip.

By the age of 27 Philip was turning out cocktails at Le Lion – Bar de Paris, which was awarded the Best New International Bar at Tales of the Cocktail. He was also at the helm of Amano in Berlin when it earned the prestigious title of Best Hotel Bar and Bar Team at the Mixology Bar Awards in 2013.

In 2015, Philip joined the award-winning Manhattan at Regent Singapore (formerly a Four Seasons hotel), as Bar Manager. He played a key role in setting up an in-hotel rickhouse to expand the menu, introducing signature single-cask cocktails and a selection of handcrafted solera-aged Negronis. He was also instrumental in launching the Manhattan’s American Whiskey Embassy Program in 2017, which shone a spotlight on unique spirits from the United States. In addition, Philip spearheaded the Friends of Manhattan Series, an initiative to encourage collaborations between industry partners, guest distillers and bartenders from around the world, offering a platform for trade professionals and cocktail aficionados to share their knowledge and passion for the craft.

The fruits of his labour were indeed sweet as Manhattan claimed the number one spot in Asia’s 50 Best Bars for two consecutive years and was named among the world’s top three bars in the World’s 50 Best Bars list.

When asked about his success, Philip says, “At the end of the day, it comes down to the overall experience at the bar – the drinks are part of a bigger picture. You’ve got to understand the vibe and tune in to people’s preferences. It isn’t just about getting the cocktails right. It’s as much about the ambience, the service, the people and the food.”

Along with cycling, diving and great food, Philip also loves travelling. “I love to go to new places and meet new people – it’s what inspires me. And Asia, especially Bangkok right now, is the place to be to get things started,” he says. “Bangkok is putting its stamp on the world cocktail map, and I want to be right at the heart of it all – at the forefront of global mixology innovation and craft.”

At Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, Philip oversees all bar operations with a focus on creating exceptional guest experiences through the Hotel’s beverage program. He is also Beverage Ambassador for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific, providing concept direction, mixology training and menu guidance to Four Seasons hotels across the region.

DAVID WONG

CEO of F&B Matters

David Wong is the CEO of F&B Matters which is a Hospitality Consultancy company based in London. Previously he was the Executive Director for the Wynn F&B Academy for both Wynn properties Wynn Palace and Wynn Macau. He also writes a regular Travel, Food and Wine column for Macau Closer https://macaucloser.com/en read more His deep knowledge of Macau’s culinary delights is captured in his cookbook, The Art of Modern Portuguese Cuisine, which won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2012 and now in its second edition. David is also the founder of the Macau Culinary Association.

Born in Hong Kong but grew up and studied in the UK since the age of four and graduate with a Master of Art in Hospitality Management from Birmingham University.

David has worked in restaurants and hotels around the globe, including with the late Jean Bordier (M.O.F and Chairman of the Master Chefs of France) at the L’Aubergade in France, Anton Mosimann, London and Rick Stein in Padstow, UK. Stages with Raymond Blanc, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and 90 Park Lane Grosvenor house Hotel.

Hotel experiences includes the Mandarin Oriental in Macau, the Westin Banyan Tree in Bangkok, the Dusit Thani, Bangkok, the Luxury Collection Sheraton Grande in Phuket, Thailand, and the Macao University of Tourism.
David has also written for South China Morning Post (SCMP) and Macau Daily Times and was on the panel for Asia 50 Best Restaurants and World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

He counts among his accomplishments – cooking at the legendary James Beard House in New York.

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