We’ve always known that Melbourne is a foodie hot spot, but never more so than this coming weekend when the epicurean city will hold the Pacific region semi-finals of S.Pellegrino’s Young Chef 2018 competition.

In June this year, 10 semi-finalists from each of the 21 worldwide regions were chosen to participate in the prestigious event. They were picked from thousands of chefs aged 30 years or under with at least one year’s work experience whose applications were evaluated according to five the “Golden Rules” of ingredients, skill, genius, beauty and message.

Australia’s seven selected semi-finalists include: Matteo Toffano from Grossi Florentino, Parveen Prasad from the Intercontinental Hotel, John Rivera from Restaurant Lûmé, Dario Manca from Pilu at Freshwater, Zackary Furst from Ides, Mattia Aloisio from Osteria Ilaria, and Joshua Gregory from Exp. Restaurant.

Three Kiwis are in the running too: Robert Fairs from Roots in Christchurch, Jason Kim from Sidart in Auckland, and William Mordido from Buko, also in Auckland.

This weekend in Melbourne, each of the 10 chefs will prepare their signature dish in a live cook off in front of the Australia-Pacific culinary jury on 11 September, which includes Jacques Reymond, Andrew McConnell, Scott Pickett, Paul Carmichael and Christine Manfield.

Twenty-one year old Robert Fairs from Roots restaurant in Christchurch will be flying into Melbourne to recreate the potato dish that earned him a place in the semi-finals.

The signature dish has lots of different takes on the humble spud, including a vinegar-fermented potato chip. “My family’s English, and I was brought up on a lot of chips and vinegar,” said Fairs in a recent interview. “This dish was heavily influenced by that and it really means something to me.”

If Fairs is nominated as the most talented regional winner, he will have the chance to present his signature dish during the Grand Finale in Milan in 2018. And even better, in preparation for the moment each regional winner will be given mentorship by one of the chef judges.