SINGAPORE — Eat List Star, the culinary talent search across Asia Pacific has received more than 250 entries from across the region.

Those who’ve qualified participants have now been issued their first challenge: To create a modern Asian dish that best represents them. They have until Jan 25 to upload a video of them introducing the dish.

Their entries will be assessed by the competition’s judges, which include award-winning chef Ryan Clift of Tippling Club; restaurateur Loh Lik Peng who owns and operates the Unlisted Collection group of hotels, restaurants and bars; food and travel journalist Cheryl Tiu; actor-host Uttsada Panichkul (Utt); and Mediacorp Class 95 deejay Simone Heng.

However, the public is also invited to vote for their favourites — yes, you can vote for more than one (you have until Jan 29 to do so).

It’s still a few more days until submission closes, but there are already some standout hopefuls. These include Jennifer Lee and her bun cha wonton soup, which is a Vietnamese twist on a Cantonese dish; and chef Zachary Tay with his ang zao pork belly dish served with a salad of heirloom carrot and fennel, purple sweet potato and ginger flower.

“I truly believe that Eat List Star will help to bring many brilliant chefs and home cooks into the spotlight, and highlight the calibre of culinary talent in the Asia Pacific. I hope that this encourages more people to consider a career in the F&B industry, which is an exciting and fast growing one in our region,” said Loh.

Participants who make it to the next round will face another challenge before the top 20 are chosen to compete in an intense five-day boot camp in Singapore, complete with tough training and cooking challenges.

The final three will have the chance to not only develop their culinary careers, but also secure long-term media and business development contracts with Mediacorp.

To view the video submissions and vote for your favourites, visit http://www.eatlist.sg.