Representing Asia on the global stage, Chef Ardy Ferguson takes home the top honour at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024–25 in Milan.
When Ardy Ferguson stepped onto the grand stage at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024–25, he carried not just the weight of his own culinary ambitions, but the spirit of an entire region. Representing Asia, with all its vastness and diversity, was no small feat. Yet the sous chef of Belon, Hong Kong took it in stride, channelling his heritage, experience, and emotions into his creation.
Reflecting on his journey, he explains how it all began. “We were asked to create a dish to apply, and then from that application, you get chosen for the regionals. And then, of course, the winner of the regionals goes to the grand finale here in Milan. So at first, I wasn’t necessarily thinking about how to represent Asia. It’s more like, how do I represent myself and my food. I wanted to do something that I was proud of, and it was kind of built from my experiences as a chef from Indonesia and now living in Hong Kong. So I wanted to blend those two worlds together – where you’ve got the rich spices with the amazing poultry that we get in Hong Kong.
He continues, “But when I won, of course, it became a bigger weight on my shoulder, because now I’m representing an entire region. Asia has billions of people with thousands of different cultures. I guess we share ingredients, but how we use them is incredibly different, even from city to city, let alone country to country. So I thought about it for a while… I don’t think any one dish you can make can represent Asia as a whole.”
He points out, “throughout the whole process, there was one thing that I believe we can all agree on for Asian cuisine – we eat to be together, be with our friends and family. Eating is a very celebratory occasion and of community and unity. And I thought my dish could represent that spirit of being together and that spirit of being in celebration. So that’s the way I went about it. You present your dish to the seven judges, and they all eat it at the same time. So that’s the spirit of Asian cuisine.”
It’s this sense of togetherness – of food as a bridge between memory, identity, and belonging – that defines Ferguson’s culinary philosophy. His formative years were steeped in the aromas of Jakarta where he grew up. “Indonesia’s food culture is incredible. My goal in the next couple of years is to travel around Indonesia and experience the food of our different regions, because I only know a little part of what the country has to offer, and I would love to expand my memory of it,” he shares.
For Ferguson, food and family were inextricably linked. “My mother cooked for us almost every single day,” he says. “What I really appreciated – and this was something I didn’t appreciate until later on – was that every day at 6pm, we would all sit down as a family to eat dinner. My dad would leave work early just so he could make it for dinner at six. And my mom would always cook and make amazing, beautiful dishes.
After he graduated from high school at 18, Ardy moved to Canada. Distance, it seems, deepened his appreciation for his mum’s cooking. As he built his career abroad, those flavours of home became his compass.
“For me, it wasn’t until I moved that I actually really explored that side of me. And even when coming up with this dish, I would text my mom. I have an idea, but I want to know what the flavours and the spices are…. because with Indonesian cooking, there’s no real [measurement]. My mom’s will say add a pinch of this, add a 1/3 finger length of that. I reworked it, of course, and started doing my own measurements. When I cook this dish, it kind of takes me back [home] – the flavours, the smells – they are all happy memories.”
When asked about the dishes closest to his heart, Ferguson doesn’t hesitate. “I love my family’s rendang which is a little on the drier side. We have this thing called daging merah, which is meat cooked in a lot of chillies, shallots and garlic. It’s very simple, but it reminds me of home.”
His culinary journey took a decisive turn when he moved to Hong Kong over four years ago. After a stint working in Canada, he longed to return to Asia — to be closer to the ingredients, flavours, and energy that first inspired him.
“My dream was always to come back. I just missed living in Asia. At first, I was looking at Australia because it’s close enough, but an opportunity came up to work at Belon in Hong Kong… it was a one-year working holiday visa. And then they extended my visa, and I’ve just been there since.”
The transition, he admits, wasn’t too jarring. “In Vancouver, I lived in Richmond, which has a very rich Cantonese community from Hong Kong. So for me, it wasn’t really a culture shock to move to Hong Kong because I’ve had all these food from roast goose and roast duck to dim sum.”
At modern French restaurant Belon, Ferguson honed his classical foundation — a skill set he believes is essential for creative expression. “I’ve always wanted to work in a French restaurant to get the basics [right]. And then my dream was to take these basic flavours and add our Southeast Asian influence.”
When asked how he finds the emotional thread between authenticity and artistry in his food, Ferguson is matter-of-fact. He first created the dish and subsequently thought about expressing that emotion. “I think I just spoke from the heart. The dish has to taste great first of all, and then the storytelling can elevate that experience for the guests.”
And perhaps that’s precisely what makes Archipelago Celebration so resonant — it mirrors a chef’s journey across Asia — a dialogue of memory, family, and the shared language of food