Young chefs, waiters and mixologists working in Monaco have until 23rd September to enter this year’s Young Chef Young Waiter Young Mixologist (YYY) competition, the national contest that showcases the Principality’s rising hospitality talent. The one-day final will be held at the Lycée Rainier III, Monaco’s hotel school, on 8th October, with the judging panel choosing this year’s finalists once entries close.

Open to hospitality professionals aged 28 and under who work in Monaco’s restaurants, hotels and bars, the competition is free to enter and, now in its third year, has become a fixture of the Principality’s hospitality calendar. It aims to uncover young talent and promote careers in the industry.

A place at the world final

The winning chef, waiter and mixologist will go on to represent Monaco as a team at the YYY World final in London, where the top prize is €15,000. The global competition, founded in the UK in 1979, brings together national winners from around the world.

Building on a silver medal

Monaco has form. Earlier this year, the team that won the 2025 national selection took second place at the world final in London: Clara Germain, a private chef and owner of Gioia; Clara Babkine, demi-chef de rang at Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse à l’Hôtel de Paris; and Eric Maccario, mixologist at the Buddha-Bar Monte-Carlo, finishing runners-up against dozens of competitors from nine nations.

Robert Lee Mulcahy, president of YYY Monaco, said the competition had become an important annual event for the Principality. “The aim is to support the industry, with a platform, for their young professionals to compete and show how they excel in their chosen career,” he said.

Entries can be submitted through the competition’s website, youngchefyoungwaiter.com/monaco.

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Photo source: YYY