The challenge thrown out to three young chefs on May 5 was to create a three-course meal using a mystery box of ingredients.

It wasn’t Anthony Daponte Sousa’s first cooking competition, but because he wanted to do well, he was nervous.

Up for grabs was the chance to represent Bermuda in the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition in Istanbul, Turkey in October. The 25-year-old was thrilled when he was declared the winner.

“It made me nervous, but nerves are actually good because it means I'm actually focused on what I’m doing,” said Mr Daponte Sousa. “Once the competition passed, it felt like a great relief once the clock stopped.”

The senior chef de partie at Hamilton Princess & Beach Club faced off against chefs Leanna Estis and Navar Dacosta of Huckleberry Restaurant.

His cured Dover sole with beetroot and a warm quinoa salad, seared duck breast with a red wine reduction and chocolate pomegranate marquis bowled over judges Shaun Ming, Josée Roy-Froncioni, Tenika Eve, Simon Carruthers, Philippe Froncioni, James Davis and Jack Rhind.

The mystery basket ingredients were chosen by Christopher Malpas and donated by wholesalers Butterfield & Vallis,

Although always interested in cooking, Mr Daponte Sousa didn’t consider it as a career until he enrolled at the Bermuda College and struggled as he pondered his future.

“I didn't really know what I wanted to do,” he said. “I couldn't really find a course that suited me or that made me really happy; something that I could do for the rest of my life.”

A counsellor asked him to think about what he enjoyed.

“I really enjoyed cooking at home. And from that day forward, it's just stuck with me,” said the chef who particularly loved helping his family on the grill every summer.

“I took [culinary studies] as a break from the academic part of the College to see what I really wanted to do and once I took the course I just fell in love with cooking. I could see myself doing it for the rest of my life.”

In his final year of study he entered a competition organised by the Hamilton Princess, Marcus Samuelsson and the Bermuda College.

His first place finish saw him join the celebrity chef in Marcus’, the restaurant he ran at the Princess from 2015 until 2022.

Mr Daponte Sousa thinks it is the training he has had since joining the Pitts Bay Road resort in 2018 that helped with his most recent success.

“Even from my internship up at the College I’ve had a great opportunity to work with a lot of great chefs that have come and gone,” he said. “They've all given me knowledge and I'm always taking whatever I can from people that can teach me.”

Adam Ashe, the executive chef at the Hamilton Princess, suggested he give the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs competition a shot. The challenge was offered to all local chefs under the age of 27.

“It was a black box competition so they gave us specific ingredients – ten ingredients that we had to incorporate in three courses,” Mr Daponte Sousa said.

The three chefs had 30 minutes to create a menu and four-and-a-half hours to cook the three courses, plate them and send them to the judges.

“I watch a lot of shows on YouTube, I watch a lot of great chefs because nowadays information is available anywhere, so I just study what they do,” he said. “I don't really stress on what I'm going to do or go with a game plan, I just want to be prepared for anything that gets thrown at me so I just keep my mind open to everything.

“The first five minutes was definitely a brainstopper where I had to look and then take a couple breaths and really place things together and start brainstorming. But once I started to put something together it became more of a flow and then I just used my past experience, it just helped me out.”

Although he was up against “great” competition, the chef “always felt confident” in what he was doing.

It’s the same attitude he plans to take to Istanbul this autumn. To prepare he intends to train with coaches at Hamilton Princess and Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and “just keep practising”.

“I’m going to keep going through time trials to get it down so I can be the most confident in myself and put out my best work so I get accustomed to finishing within the time period that the competition gives.

“I grew up on Iron Chef America, Chopped … they always had that mystery basket or mystery ingredients. I enjoyed watching those types of shows so it is exciting to be able to do it myself,” he added.

While cooking at home he enjoys pulling in dishes that celebrate both his Portuguese and his Bermuda heritage.

“I like to experiment with different things; I love to grill – that's one of my favourite things to do – but I like to mix it up between what I grew up eating and what my family's background is. The history of when I go back to the Azores.”

Having never been to Turkey before he is unfamiliar with the spices and cooking styles there but is studying so he is prepared.

Mr Daponte Sousa is grateful to have found his dream job and especially grateful for all the assistance he has been given. He is hoping to make Bermuda proud.

“The industry has given me so many opportunities – from giving me my first shot and giving me my first job in the kitchen – and I have great support from the people around me, pushing me and teaching me,” he said

For more information on the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition visit www.competitions.chainedesrotisseurs.com/