The lights flashed, the music swelled and glittering confetti streamed down onto a stage filled with culinary luminaries. It was the moment of truth, the denouement of an intense, year-long and worldwide competition. And there in the spotlight, receiving the winner's trophy as S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2018 was Yasuhiro Fujio.
That May night in Milan, the 30-year-old Osaka native appeared stunned. And although he eventually managed to crack a smile for the cameras, he was unable to relax sufficiently afterwards to string more than a couple of tongue-tied words together in interviews. Three months later, he still seems equally astonished by his success, and barely more voluble.
"I was shocked," he admits. "I didn't expect to win, and I didn't know how to react. Looking back, it seems a long time ago. Of course I was happy to win. But now I am back here and I have a job to do, in the kitchen."
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