Giallozafferano, the most followed food media brand in Italy, and ALMA –La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana (The International School of Italian Cuisine) for culinary higher education – cement their partnership with an important contest aimed at discovering new talents in the world of chefs, capable of communicating cuisine in innovative ways.

Yesterday, at the ALMA headquarters in the Reggia di Colorno (PR), the first edition of the “Diventa Food Creator” competition aimed at graduates and students of ALMA ended. The chefs who took part in the initiative challenged each other by making a video reel where they prepared one of their recipes, inspired by Italian tradition, and a picture of the dish, one that could promote it from a social media perspective.

Andrea Santagata, Managing Director of Mondadori Media Area Digital and Polo MarTech said: “We are excited to support and promote young Italian culinary talent in partnership with ALMA. Giallozafferano brings together the best food creators in the Italian digital scene and is always looking for new talents who can integrate tradition and innovation, both in cooking and in the way they communicate it”.

From the many applications received, 10 finalists – who starred with their day’s dishes in ALMA – were selected for their ability to interpret contemporary cuisine in an original way and to engage the audience through the reels they made.

The finalists were evaluated by the jury, which was made up of representatives from ALMA and Giallozafferano, including renowned food creators Daniele Rossi and Lulù Gargari. The judges evaluated not only the culinary aspects of the recipes, but also the communication potential of the young chefs participating.

Jacopo Lanci and Elena Zeng were proclaimed joint winners of the first edition of “Diventa Food Creator”. Jacopo Lanci, a talented ALMA graduate, took first place with his dish “Filetto alla Rossini”, awarded for being able to create a great classic by presenting it with a modern twist. Meanwhile, Elena Zeng, another talented ALMA graduate, won first place thanks to her dish “Bao alla Norma”, and for her extraordinary ability in combining Asian influences and Italian tradition, pairing the two while also being entertaining.

The winners get the opportunity to collaborate with Giallozafferano to create a series of videos for the brand’s social media, with the chance of reaching the community’s audience that boasts more than 20,000,000 followers.

The General Manager of ALMA Andrea Sinigaglia said: “Thanks to the collaboration with Giallozafferano we offered our students the opportunity to participate in this challenge, where communicating the profession digitally is at the heart of the competition. ALMA explores new languages of communication without ever forgetting the professionalism that distinguishes every hospitality expert. We believe that, in an increasingly relevant and ever-expanding digital context, the content created by our school’s students can communicate technical skills and bring attention to subjects in contemporary language, while respecting the great tradition of Italian cuisine”.