RED U-35, One of Japan's Largest Competitions for Young Chefs, Suspends 2026 Tournament

Announcement Page: https://www.redu35.jp/progress/year2026/notice/

The RED U-35 Executive Committee (Organizers: RED U-35 Executive Committee, Gurunavi, Inc.) has decided to suspend the 2026 edition of "RED U-35" (RYORININ’s EMERGING DREAM U-35), a competition aimed at discovering and nurturing young chefs aged 35 and under.

This decision positions the suspension period as a "run-up period for further leaps," building upon the progress made to date.

The committee is committed to restructuring the framework to allow the chefs who will forge the future of Japanese cuisine to shine even brighter.

Background of the Suspension and Future Outlook Since its inception in 2013, this competition has produced many talented young chefs and brought a fresh breeze to the culinary world. Over a decade since its launch, and amidst drastic changes in the environment surrounding food, we have decided to pause the competition to fundamentally update it, thereby strengthening the project's significance and evolving it into a sustainable platform.

Continuation and Strengthening of "CLUB RED" Activities Activities for "CLUB RED," which consists of young chefs who have achieved excellent results (Bronze Egg or higher) in past competitions, will continue and expand. We are also considering new initiatives aimed at solving essential food-related issues in various regions through chef tours and other means.

RED U-35 aims to return more powerful than ever, designing a future where chefs can maximize their talents.

<Appendix: Supplementary Material from the RED U-35 Executive Committee> Launched in 2013, RED U-35 is one of Japan's largest chef competitions, designed to discover the young talents of a new era.

For young chefs who hold the dream of cooking while facing difficulties and trial and error, RED U-35 has served as a stage to test themselves and a place to connect with peers and judges, creating new chemical reactions. With each passing year, its significance has grown.

Young chefs who have gained recognition or personal insights here have gone on to attract attention, shining as figures who lead the new era.

The 12th competition, RED U-35 2025, was held in official collaboration with Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, allowing us to scale up and announce the Grand Prix winner in front of a larger audience. Over the course of 12 competitions, a total of 5,467 young chefs have participated, 471 chefs have won awards and joined CLUB RED, and 11 have been awarded the Grand Prix (the red medal).

We feel that concluding RED U-35 2025 with such great success marked a significant milestone. To further strengthen the significance and potential of the RED U-35 project and make it more sustainable and powerful, we have decided to make 2026 a "maturation period." During this time, we will conduct various reviews with the goal of relaunching. Much like the resting time essential for making food delicious, we view this as one of the preparation steps to fundamentally rethink the nature of the competition and build a new RED U-35.

If you have ideas on how we can move forward in a better way, or if you would like to think together, cooperate, or provide support, we would be very happy to hear from you. The RED U-35 Executive Committee and CLUB RED will continue their operations, and we appreciate your continued support.

[Image 1 Description] One of Japan's largest chef competitions for young chefs aged 35 and under, aimed at discovering the talents of a new era. It is held to discover and support a new generation of chefs with new values who hold dreams and ambitions. https://www.redu35.jp/redu35/

[Image 2 Description] A creative lab for the next generation of chefs, consisting of 428 chefs who have achieved excellent results in past "RED U-35" competitions and 29 past jury members (as of the 2024 competition). https://www.redu35.jp/clubred/