Football-themed menu the key as two Kilkenny culinary students win at chef showdown

Two Kilkenny culinary students at SETU Waterford have achieved an incredible double win, with one college taking Gold in both competitions.

Rebecca Mahon, from Graignamanagh, and a graduate of Duiske College, was crowned Knorr Professional Student Chef of the Year 2026, where she prepared and presented two portions of a main course and dessert using a borderless cuisine concept.

Wiktoria Hybs, from Thomastown, a past pupil of Presentation Secondary School, took home the Gold Award in the Knorr Assistants Competition, which required competitors to demonstrate exceptional raw skill, precision, and accuracy in knife techniques.

As well as winning gold medals plus a set of professional knives and trophy, both students and lecturer Tina Walsh will receive an exclusive European culinary experience that will excite, educate and inspire.
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Both students were up against very strong competition from culinary programmes. After a two-hour cook-off that pushed eight of Ireland’s most talented young culinary minds to their limits, Rebecca was crowned Knorr Professional Student Chef of the Year 2026.

The competition challenged chefs to create a two-course menu inspired by the theme ‘Borderless Cuisine’. Rebecca’s winning menu drew its inspiration from the FIFA World Cup 2026, using it as a lens through which to explore migration, culture, and the way food evolves when traditions come together.

“The World Cup represents more than soccer,” said Rebecca. “It represents movement, migration, celebration, and the coming together of nations without borders. I wanted to translate that same energy into food.”

Her main course, Pork Hat Trick, was a masterclass in whole-animal craft and creative technique, a composed trio of pork dishes that showcased depth, balance and sustainable utilisation. The trio was finished with a pork jus infused with star anise, Viking Irish Cider and Highbank Organic apple syrup, a richly layered sauce that tied the plate together with elegance and precision.

For dessert, Rebecca delivered 'The Celebration', an indulgent tribute to American dessert culture in the form of a Mississippi Mud Pie: a crisp chocolate biscuit base layered with rich chocolate fudge, crowned with light bourbon cream and torched Italian meringue, and finished with a vibrant drizzle of lime-salted caramel. 

Rebecca explained the thinking behind her menu: "Each host nation of the 2026 World Cup reflects a layered cultural identity, French Canadian heritage and Indigenous influence in Canada; a United States built on waves of immigration from Ireland, Italy, Latin America and beyond; and Mexico's deeply rooted culinary traditions shaped by Indigenous and Spanish heritage. Rather than presenting three separate cuisines, my menu fuses techniques, ingredients and traditions, reflecting how cultures evolve when they meet."

This year’s judging panel was made up of renowned Irish chef Paul Flynn of The Tannery Restaurant and Cookery School in Dungarvan and multi-award-winning chef, Stefan Matz, Group Exec Chef with the iNua Collection and Cliste Hospitality and Audrey Crone, Executive Chef Ireland, Unilever Food Solutions.