She won Masterchef, he is Executive chef but they still want to learn

Cooking is like a journey where you meet different cultures and when they mix, they give rise to an infinity of flavours. Anna Zhang, winner of the 14th edition of Masterchef Italia, and Emin Haziri Executive chef of the Procaccini restaurant in Milan know this well. Two young professionals with an enthusiasm and passion that has already led them to achieve important goals. They recounted their experience on the final day of the Festival of Economics in a meeting entitled 'Cooking Dreams: Stories of Talents without Frontiers'.

Anna, born and raised in Italy, came to our country because her parents did not bow to the absurd Chinese one-child law and so they moved first to Rovigo and then to Milan. "I grew up on aubergines and soya, I have seen parmesan cheese in my fridge since I was born, as well as oregano and chives, and I can't stand the word fusion because this term seems to bring together different cuisines in a forced way, instead contamination is natural. With Covid, I have nurtured my culinary passion'. Emin, on the other hand, comes from Kosovo, a country his family abandoned after the war. 'I have very humble origins, the journey to Trieste, which is now my home, I did on foot. My mother would have liked me to be a doctor or a lawyer, but then I convinced her to let me attend the hotel school, where one of the cooking professors told me that I wasn't really cut out to be a cook'. Talk about foresight.

She is explosive, he is more introverted, they have two different stories behind them, but what unites them is the determination in their eyes, that of someone who has believed in their dream and has never given up. Yes, because to become a great cook you need tenacity, humility but above all a great desire to learn. And they have it. Now they both have plans: Anna dreams of an oasis with a kitchen where people can reconnect with nature not only through culinary activities but also artistic ones, such as painting with their hands and music with ancient instruments such as the Chinese harp (a way to get back to their origins).

Emil, however, has already achieved one goal: to change his parents' lives. He is now aiming to get a Michelin star and return to his country by bringing a culinary culture that is still not very developed there. "After finishing my studies, I immediately started working,' Emin explains. 'I worked with great chefs and went through the kitchens of many great restaurants. It is hard work that has no hours and without dedication you cannot do it. You have to start from scratch, study and gain a lot of experience and instead many young people leave after two days because they look at tik tok and think they can be immediately like Canavacciuolo and at the first difficulty they give up. But the great chefs we see on television have had a long and important apprenticeship'.

Anna shares this thought: 'I won a talent contest,' she adds, 'but I am an amateur cook, I still have to gain experience and learn culinary techniques that I don't have yet. I wouldn't be able to open a restaurant today. Social media only show the finished dish, which is usually beautiful, and don't allow you to understand the great work behind it or the variety of ingredients used. Information and knowledge are fundamental'. A recommendation from both is not to waste food, to choose it because it is good and not because it is beautiful. If it is in season, it is better.