Albert Sastregener, will chair the 36th Catalan Young Chef Award

The chef from Empordà region takes over from Paolo Casagrande (Lasarte***) as president of the jury of the Catalan Young Chef Award that will take place on March 5, 2024 at the facilities of the Hotel Escola de Sant Pol de Mar with the participation of up to 10 catering, hotel and hospitality schools in Catalonia.

Albert Sastregener has become one of the most popular Catalan chefs in recent years, especially thanks to his work at the head of the Bo.TiC kitchen, which has two Michelin stars and two Repsol Suns. On March 5, 2024, he will be in charge of presiding over the jury of the 36th edition of the Catalan Young Chef Award, framed in the University Gastronomy Day, and which will also include the holding of the Young Cocktail Competition of Catalonia.

In addition to evaluating the contest participants, Sastregener will conduct a cooking master class where contest participants, jury members, press and EUHT StPOL students can attend. The chef will make and explain the execution of some of the usual dishes on the menu of his restaurant.

Updating traditional cuisine

The theme of the contest is the updating of traditional recipes or dishes of Catalan gastronomy with local and seasonal products. Up to 10 students from different cooking and gastronomy schools in Catalonia will participate and will have to rethink a typical dish from our cuisine, both originally and innovatively. 3 category prizes will be awarded: a second prize and an absolute prize that will be double. Moreover, every year the Catalan representative of the European Young Chef Award (EYCA) finale, which this year will be held in November in Sicily (Italy), is chosen among the contestants.

A regular collaborator

Albert Sastregener is also a regular contributor to EUHT StPOL. In recent years, he has continuously held an in-person master class at the school facilities for students of the Master in Culinary Arts, Innovation and Kitchen Management, and the Bo.TiC is an internship destination for many of our students of the Technical Degree in Gastronomy and Restaurant Service, both in kitchen and restaurant service.

A career behind the stove

A native of Torroella de Montgrí, he has been passionate about the cuisine of his country. He studied at the Girona Hospitality School and then worked in prestigious restaurants such as Àbac*** or La Cuina de Can Pipes*, among others. It was in 2007 when, at the age of 28, he opened the Bo.TiC restaurant together with his partner, Cristina Torrent, has become his great culinary project. Two years later they received their first Michelin star. In 2017, they moved to Corçà, their current location in an old carpentry shop that was renovated to make room for their restaurant. Three years later, they earned their second star. In 2022, Sastregener is confirmed as one of the emerging cooks of Catalan cuisine to receive the National Gastronomy Award, awarded by the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition, which described his gastronomic proposal as “innovative and with Catalan roots.”