The World Paella Day Cup begins its preliminary phase with the participation of 36 international chefs

Paella stoves around the world have been lit. Following the announcement of the second edition of the World Paella Day Cup, chefs have donned their aprons to demonstrate their culinary skills by cooking the worlds most internationally renowned dish, paella. A total of 36 chefs from 20 different countries have gone through to the preliminary phase to compete for a place in the final on 20 September during International Paella Day.

Paella in its most international form

Chefs from Russia, China, the United States, Latin America and Europe have all put forward their candidates to take part. 

From Spain, a total of eight chefs and cooks from different parts of the península include 

• David Domingo from Teruel, also the current Valencian paella world champion after winning the last edition of the Sueca Valencian International Paella Competition.
• Héctor Medina Fernández, a foodie and a passionate about rice dishes. 
• Ibán Soriano, a chef with a great journey between stoves. 
• José Zafra, an amateur researcher on the history of paella since its origins. 
• Josetxo Pajares who has participated in previous contests came in third place in the Alicante International Competition, Ciudad del Arroz 2019. 
• Marcos Gómez, a young chef who has multiple restaurants in the city of Valencia, two of them with their star dish, the Valencian paella. 
• Noelia Pascual who is also known as the chef del fuego and belongs to the 4th generation of a matriarchal business. 
• Susi Bernat, a Catalan cook, whose restaurant has been distinguished by Wikipaella.

• Damien Campos will represent France. Campos is 41 years old and has been the head of “Paella au feu de bois” in France since 2018. A chef with more than 20 years of experience, he started in the world of cooking at the French school.
• Fernandino Campaniello will represent Italy. Campaniello found his passion working in the Valencian Community area. 
• Giansante Sam will compete on behald of Belgium. Sam is the current chef of the Samëlla Visé restaurant where he cooks paellas and tapas. He was previously the creator of the restaurant "Les Granges" in 2018.

Latin America occupies an important part of this competition with a total of 14 chefs from Venezuela, Uruguay, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador or Argentina. Countries such as Canada, China, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Russia or the United States will also be represented in this second edition of the World Paella Day Cup.

The next steps to win the World Paella Day Cup

The oficial website is home to the bespoke videos of the 36 chefs who will fight for a place in the final and public votes are open until 15 August. Contest followers and paella lovers this year can send a song, in the purest football style, to the contestant they support under the hashtag #WorldPaellaDayCup. A jury made up of professionals appointed by the World Paella Day organization will take into account the votes, their professional career, the songs of support and the videos of those who compete to créate their finalist list. 

A second edition loaded with news

This year, if circumstances permit, the eight finalists will be invited to go to Valencia to compete live and in person on 20 September 2021.

The winner will receive a prize trophy made by a fallero artist, which will accredit him / her as the winner of the II Edition of the World Paella Cup. In addition, the participants will receive a personalised jacket and a certificate noting their status as finalist.

All the details of the competition will be announced on www.worldpaelladay.org and the contest's official social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.