Xavier Pérez Stone makes it to the finals of the “Chef of the Year” competition.

By Yenny Gaona

Out of 12 contestants who fought for a pass to the grand finale of the 2011-2012 “Mexico Chef of the Year” Xavier Pérez Stone of Quintana Roo took first place in this tough competition, held on November 29th and 30th at the Universidad Tecnológica of the Riviera Maya (UTRM).

Xavier Pérez Stone

Eva García Cuervo, national director of the competition, mentioned that now in its third year, it has been more difficult than ever to choose the winner, as each year the competing chefs have better results in the kitchen.

The competition consists of providing the chefs their Mexican cuisine ingredients just as they enter the kitchen; therefore each chef must be agile and creative in order to achieve a new dish that places them as a finalist in each of the seven semifinals.

On this occasion, Enrique Olvera, president of the judging panel, indicated that the panel was very strict in qualifying the way that each chef made optimal use of the raw products.

Xavier Pérez Stone, chef of restaurant Cocina de Autor at Grand Velas Riviera Maya resort, first created an appetizer made of lionfish with pumpkin and a small amount of orange. He then prepared a main course of venison and achiote, and finally presented a dessert of chocolate with spices.

The winner indicated that after winning second place in the 2009-2010 Mexico Chef of the Year competition, he was provided with better professional opportunities and was motivated to continue to do his best day after day.

Next year Xavier Pérez Stone will participate in the grand finale of the competition, to be held in June in the Centro Banamex in Mexico City.

His goal: to win first place as a representative of the Riviera Maya during the grand finale.