
Secret weapon: Italy is hoping its candidate Martino Ruggieri will be the first Italian chef to win gold at prestigious cooking competition Bocuse d'Or in 2019.

Top contender: Ruggieri emerged the victor during a live cooking race as part of Italy's national Bocuse d'Or selection process.

Food art: The vegetarian dish that helped him win symbolizes the cultural mix of Italy's south, featuring a patchwork of bright spices, pumpkins, oranges and mayonnaise.

Tough competition: He impressed tough jury of Michelin-starred chefs and beat out three fellow Italian chefs to represent the country.

Signature dish: The chef's meat Trulli, which is something of a work of art, won him huge cheers from the crowd.

High hopes: Ruggieri will compete at the European competition in Turin in June 2018. If he's successful there, he'll go straight to the world contest in 2019 in Lyon.

Main rival: France has won Bocuse d'Or seven times, most recently with chef Thibaut Ruggeri in 2013.

Current champion: 2017 winner Mathew Peters with chef Enrico Crippa, who is president of the Italian academy.

Idyllic location: Ruggieri will train in Italy's brand new academy, which is based in the UNESCO-listed Langhe region renowned for premium white truffle and rich Barolo wine.
![<strong>Fighting chance: </strong>"Somehow we never took it [Bocuse d'Or] seriously. But now, thanks to this new academy, our champion will get all the support he needs", says fellow chef Matteo Baronetto.<br />](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/171108133626-training-pits-silvia-marchetti.jpg?q=w_1600,h_900,x_0,y_0,c_fill/h_447)
Fighting chance: "Somehow we never took it [Bocuse d'Or] seriously. But now, thanks to this new academy, our champion will get all the support he needs", says fellow chef Matteo Baronetto.


