Bocuse d’Or – the Chef’s Culinary Olympics

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There is probably no chef in the world who has not heard of Bocuse d’Or or the Concours mondial de la cuisine. After all, this is the most prestigious cuisine contest in the world. Bocuse d’Or is a two-day biennial world culinary championship which is usually held near the end of January in Lyon, France.

This has been celebrated annually for over many years. Needless to say, Paul Bocuse’ brainchild has been a resounding success.

Now, it is regarded as the springboard for extraordinary culinary talents all over the world. It has now become a huge media show – a highly anticipated event in the culinary industry. You can say that this is the Chef’s “World Cup”. You can probably liken the event to the Olympics where only the best competitors from their respective countries are allowed to join.

Joining the Bocuse d’Or

The Bocuse d’Or is geared towards creating an event that is designed to promote the driving philosophy that Paul Bocuse believed in. It is intended that this event should be “the ultimate springboard” for new culinary geniuses. The event is now open to more participating countries. Competitors are expected to present culinary savoir-faire that strongly represents their culinary culture and identity.

Over the past 20 years, the qualification format has been considerably changed. The participants are the finalists in continental Bocuse d’Or. So, you will find 12 finalists from Bocuse d’Or Europe, 4 finalists from Bocuse d’Or Asia and 3 finalists from Bocuse d’Or Latin America. Three entrants from national applications are also considered. The final participants are two wild card selections.

The Contest Proper

Each team consists of one head chef and one assistant chef. Both chefs must be under 22 years old in order to qualify. Each team is expected to create meat and fish haute cuisines.

The cooking theatre is fully equipped. It is open to the public and it is capable of holding up to a thousand spectators. The teams can also communicate to their designated coach. They are also expected to comply with the contest rules. For instance, they cannot pre-cut some of their ingredients; although they can cut and portion others. Each team is expected to observe a level of perfection in their preparation and presentation. Accordingly, judging will be done by 24 culinary experts who will critic the team for their skills, creativity and presentation.

The winners are awarded the trophy which is a golden effigy of the renowned Paul Bocuse and a cash prize of €20,000.

Bocuse D’Or 2009

Bocuse d’Or was held in Lyon, France last January 27-28, 2009. Like the past Bocuse d’Or, this year’s event had its own “mini-scandal”. It surely surprised everyone when the Norwegian team discovered that they had frozen prawns.

The explanation, however, was quite simple – there weren’t enough fresh prawns for all teams. It would have been quite costly to ship in fresh prawns and there was no assurance that the prawns won’t die en-route. The committee figured that frozen prawns will do. After all, “they’re just as good as fresh,” said Christian Bourillot, the head of the Bocuse d’Or Committee.

Bocuse d’Or 2009 marks the innovative stride towards a more global competition. This year event witnessed new competitors from Estonia, Malaysia, South Korea and Czech Republic. Ultimately, it was the chefs from Norway, Geir Skeie and Adrian Levold, who bagged the coveted trophy.

The Winner of Bocuse D’Or

Geir Skeie, a 28-year-old chef from Sandefjord, and Adrian Levold, his assistant, prepared a seafood creation based on cod and a meat course of beef ribs with duck foie gras. They worked for five hours to achieve the winning culinary creations and they ultimately won the trophy. My chef’s hat off to them!

You will find a number of images from the actual completion here:

http://tinyurl.com/c8uwb7

http://tinyurl.com/dcasne

http://tinyurl.com/dab77k

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