Bocuse d'Or
Encyclopedia
The Bocuse d'Or is a biennial world chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

 championship. Named for the chef Paul Bocuse
Paul Bocuse
Paul Bocuse is a French chef based in Lyon who is famous for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine...

, the event takes place during two days near the end of January in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 at the SIRHA International Hotel, Catering and Food Trade Exhibition, and is one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions.

The event is frequently referred to as the culinary
Culinary art
Culinary art is the art of preparing and cooking foods. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking. A culinarion is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinarian working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are...

 equivalent of the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

, though the International Exhibition of Culinary Art
International Exhibition of Culinary Art
The International Exhibition of Culinary Art termed the Culinary Olympics, is a quadrennial chef competition, and the biggest culinary exhibition in the world...

 in Germany, is more officially titled the Culinary Olympics, and is separated by an olympiad, i.e. a period of four years.

History

Based on an event first arranged in 1983, when the Salon des Métiers de Bouche (Culinary Sector Exhibition and Trade Fair, later renamed Salon international de la restauration de l'hôtellerie et de l'alimentation, SIRHA) took place in Lyon as "an exhibition organised by professionals for professionals". Paul Bocuse, appointed Honorary President of the exhibition, conceived the idea of a culinary competition to take place during the exhibition, with preparation of all dishes taking place live in front of an audience. Several gastronomy contests were already in existence, however none of them presented a "live performance" and consequently one could not actually see the work performed in the kitchens of the chefs' restaurants.

The initial Bocuse d'Or took place in January 1987. The SIRHA, having grown to become one of the biggest and most sophisticated food and culinary arts fairs in the world, also arranges other contests of culinary skill, including the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie (World Pastry Cup) and in recent years Mondial du Pain (World of Bread Contest).

The audience atmosphere of the Bocuse d'Or evolved in 1997 when the support for the Mexican candidate included a mariachi
Mariachi
Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...

 band, foghorns, cowbells, cheering and yelling from the stands, marking the beginning of a tradition of noisy spectator presence. At first, the reigning champion nation was not permitted to participate in the following contest, but that rule was removed after the 1999 event when France was competing and did not win gold for the first time.

France, the invariable home team, has won gold on six occasions, while Belgium, Norway and Sweden have consistently finished in one of the top three placements. Léa Linster
Léa Linster
Léa Linster is a Luxembourgian chef, and a gold medal winner of the 1989 Bocuse d'Or, the first and to date only woman to accomplish this....

 of Luxembourg became the first woman to win in 1989, and Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed is a Danish chef and restaurateur who won the gold medal at the 2011 Bocuse d'Or, after previously taking the bronze medal of the 2005 and the silver medal in 2007 in the same competition...

 of Denmark became the first multiple medalist with bronze and silver in 2005 and 2007, and the eventual gold medal in 2011. The U.S. team has to date never placed higher than sixth as in 2003 and 2009, while the highest ranking of a North American chef yet is the fourth place result of Canadian Robert Sulatycky in 1999.

The 2007 Bocuse d'Or was featured in the documentary film, El Pollo, el Pez, y el Cangrejo Real. The U.S. effort leading up to the 2009 Bocuse d'Or is the subject of the book Knives at Dawn.

Semi-finals

After its 20th anniversary, the format was expanded, with the first Bocuse d'Or Asia contest taking place in May 2008 in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

 and Bocuse d'Or Europe in July 2008 in Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...

. The inaugural winners were Yasuji Sasaki
Yasuji Sasaki
Yasuji Sasaki is a Japanese chef, and winner of the 2008 Bocuse d'Or Asia, the inaugural competition of its kind. He represented Japan in the 2009 world final of the Bocuse d'Or....

 from Japan and Geir Skeie
Geir Skeie
Geir Skeie is a Norwegian chef, winner of the 2008 Bocuse d'Or Europe, and the 2009 Bocuse d'Or world final.-Career:...

 of Norway, respectively. Skeie went on to win the 2009 world final.

The inaugural Bocuse d'Or USA
Bocuse d'Or USA
The Bocuse d'Or USA is a biennial chef championship, where the winner is selected to represent the U.S. in the international Bocuse d'Or competition...

 competition took place at Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...

 in September 2008, and an escalated effort followed with Team USA provided with a preparation budget near $500,000 ahead of the 2009 finals, citing that many European nations often have budgets of more than $1 million. Team USA was represented by Timothy Hollingsworth
Timothy Hollingsworth
Timothy Hollingsworth is an American chef and current Chef de Cuisine at Thomas Keller’s restaurant French Laundry in the Napa Valley. Hollingsworth represented the United States at the Bocuse d'Or world final in 2009, after winning the Bocuse d'Or USA semi-finals, held at Epcot in September...

, then sous-chef at French Laundry
French Laundry
The French Laundry is a French restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. The chef and owner of the French Laundry is Thomas Keller....

, coached by Roland Henin
Roland Henin
Roland G. Henin is an American chef, and the corporate chef and chief culinary ambassador for Delaware North Companies. He is one of approximately 60 master chefs in the U.S. and has been recognized as an accomplished chef, culinary teacher and cookbook contributor throughout his career...

. Paul Bocuse stated, "I hope [the U.S. team] will win because we'd really like this competition to cross the Atlantic". Ultimately, Hollingsworth also placed sixth.

The Bocuse d'Or USA 2010 took place at the earlier February 2010 date arranged at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....

. The winner was James Kent
James Kent (chef)
James Kent is a chef and the winner of the Bocuse d'Or USA 2010. He and his commis Tom Allan went on to represent the U.S. at the international finals of Bocuse d'Or in Lyon, France in January 2011, where they placed tenth....

 who represented Team USA in Lyon in 2011, eventually placing tenth. The Bocuse d'Or Asia 2010 was again arranged in Shanghai in March 2010, won by the Malaysian all-women team of See Lay Na. The Bocuse d'Or Europe 2010 arranged in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 in June 2010 was won by Danish previous Bocuse d'Or bronze and silver medalist Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed is a Danish chef and restaurateur who won the gold medal at the 2011 Bocuse d'Or, after previously taking the bronze medal of the 2005 and the silver medal in 2007 in the same competition...

, who went on to win the 2011 world final.

Ahead of the Bocuse d'Or 2013, the Bocuse d'Or USA regional final is arranged in late January 2012 again at The Culinary Institute of America, while Bocuse d'Or Europe is arranged in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 in March 2012, and Bocuse d'Or Asia to be held in in June 2012 once more in Shanghai.

Criticism

For the 2005 Bocuse d'Or, the Spanish delegation had chosen innovative presentation inspired by Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....

 motifs, for the fish course a serving vessel in the shape of a one meter high crystal egg, as a part of an ambitious campaign at the cost of near
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

1 million to achieve a good result in the competition. However, the Spanish candidate finished in the next to last place, (a cited reason that the warm dish produced such condensation
Condensation
Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. When the transition happens from the gaseous phase into the solid phase directly, the change is called deposition....

 to the inside of the egg that the judges were near unable to see the presentation) producing heated reactions from the Spanish delegation who called the jury old-fashioned and outdated, and members of the Spanish media who claimed that the chauvinistic jury despised the creativity of Spanish cooking and called the Bocuse d'Or a competition for buffet
Buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...

 and catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...

.

Controversy arose during the 2007 Bocuse d'Or, as allegations of cheating were raised against the winning chef Fabrice Desvignes
Fabrice Desvignes
Fabrice Desvignes is a French chef, and winner of the 2007 Bocuse d'Or. Desvignes is currently a second chef at the Présidence du Sénat in Paris.Desvignes’s prize-winning dish was a volaille de Bresse truffée...

, due to the late delivery of two metal containers leading to claims that these contained prepared precooked ingredients. A contest director responded that the containers were delivered to Desvignes two minutes before he started work because snow delayed their overnight arrival, and these contained silverware
Cutlery
Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...

 and foie gras
Foie gras
Foie gras ; French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through gavage corn, according to French law, though outside of France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding...

, not prohibited by the rules. Two days later the German daily newspaper Die Welt
Die Welt
Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...

published the article "Gourmet-Skandal: Ist der weltbeste Koch wirklich ein Franzose?" (Gourmet Scandal: Is the World's Best Chef Really a Frenchman?), featuring testimony by the German assistant chef Khabbaz Hicham who described four men that brought black crates with prepared and semi-prepared ingredients, an hour and thirty minutes into the competition. The controversy lead to amendments to the rules for future Bocuse d'Or contests, with the addition of a Kitchen Supervising Committee to control the candidate products and equipment.

The U.S. effort also was impeded in the 2007 finals, with the unfortunate experience of the candidate Gavin Kaysen
Gavin Kaysen
Gavin Kaysen is executive chef at noted French chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud's New York City restaurant, Cafe Boulud....

. Upon presenting his second platter, a wheel-shaped ballotine
Ballotine
A traditional ballotine is a boned leg of chicken, duck or other poultry stuffed with a farce and other ingredients. It is tied to hold its shape and sometimes stiched up with a trussing needle. A ballotine is cooked by braising or poaching...

 of chicken, with chicken liver, foie gras and Louisiana crayfish, it was discovered that a French dishwasher had eaten two of the intended garnishes in the belief the food was rejected. Kaysen finished in fourteenth place.

Competition

The qualification format has seen changes over the years, with a restructured scheme ahead of the 2009 Bocuse d'Or. 24 countries compete in the world finals, having achieved entry through different means: The top 12 finalists of the Bocuse d'Or Europe qualify, from a pool of 20 nations; the top 4 finalists of Bocuse d'Or Asia qualify, from a pool of 12 nations; the top 3 finalists of the Copa Azteca Latin American competition qualify, from a pool of 12 nations. Furthermore 3 entrants are selected from national application, as well as 2 wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 selections.

Each team consists of two chefs, one lead chef, and a commis/assistant chef who must be under 22 years of age at the time of the competition. The team has 5 hours and 35 minutes to prepare two elaborate presentations, a meat dish and a fish dish. Taking place in an open "culinary theatre", fully equipped kitchens are lined up side by side, facing an area for the jury, members of the press and audiences, with spectator numbers limited to ca. 1,000 people. From the 2009 contest, a designated coach located on the outside of the kitchen area is permitted to communicate with the team. Also as of 2009, inspectors control equipment and products the backstage zone, as no vegetables may be pre-cut, although teams may pre-peel garlic, portion oil, salt, flour and other ingredients, and bring stock
Stock (food)
Stock is a flavoured water preparation. It forms the basis of many dishes, particularly soups and sauces.- Preparation :Stock is made by simmering various ingredients in water, including some or all of the following...

s made in advance.

The jury consists of 24 renowned chef judges who make their evaluations based on the level of perfection in the presentation, in terms of technical skill, cooking sophistication, creativity and visual beauty. The jury is divided into two groups of 12, each half to judge either the fish dish or the meat dish. The food's quality determines two-thirds of the score, 40 points; presentation determines 20 points. In the event of a tie, another 20 points will be awarded based on factors such as organization, teamwork, cleanliness and lack of waste. Judges have included Heston Blumenthal
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal OBE is an English chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire voted Best Restaurant in the UK by The Good Food Guide 2007 and 2009, and voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in 2005...

, Ferran Adrià
Ferran Adrià
Ferran Adrià i Acosta is a Catalan chef born on May 14, 1962 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. He was the head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava, and is considered one of the best chefs in the world.-Career:...

, Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions...

, Eyvind Hellstrøm
Eyvind Hellstrøm
Eyvind Hellstrøm is a chef and formerly the part owner of Bagatelle restaurant, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in the city of Oslo...

, Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997...

 and past winners such as Fabrice Desvignes, Mathias Dahlgren
Mathias Dahlgren
Mathias Dahlgren is a Swedish chef, who won the culinary championship Bocuse d'Or in 1997.Four times selected the Swedish Chef of the Year, Dahlgren ran the Stockholm restaurant Bon Lloc, which had one Michelin star, from 1996 to 2005. In 2007 he opened the restaurant Mathias Dahlgren in the...

 and Léa Linster
Léa Linster
Léa Linster is a Luxembourgian chef, and a gold medal winner of the 1989 Bocuse d'Or, the first and to date only woman to accomplish this....

.

The chef with the highest overall score is awarded the Bocuse d'Or trophy, a golden effigy of Paul Bocuse in his chef's outfit, receiving the grand prize of €20,000. The Silver Bocuse medallist receives €15,000, and the Bronze Bocuse medallist receives €10,000. Additional prizes are awarded for the best fish and meat dishes, best national culinary identity, best apprentice and best posters.

Medalists

Year Bocuse d'Or Silver Bocuse Bronze Bocuse
1987     Jacky Freon   Michel Addons   Hans Haas
1989   Léa Linster
Léa Linster
Léa Linster is a Luxembourgian chef, and a gold medal winner of the 1989 Bocuse d'Or, the first and to date only woman to accomplish this....

  Pierre Paulus   William Wai
1991   Michel Roth   Lars Erik Underthun     Gert Jan Raven
1993   Bent Stiansen
Bent Stiansen
Bent Stiansen is a Norwegian chef, who in 1993 became the first Scandinavian gold medal winner of the Bocuse d'Or....

  Jens Peter Kolbeck   Guy Van Cauteren
1995   Régis Marcon   Melker Andersson   Patrick Jaros
1997   Mathias Dahlgren
Mathias Dahlgren
Mathias Dahlgren is a Swedish chef, who won the culinary championship Bocuse d'Or in 1997.Four times selected the Swedish Chef of the Year, Dahlgren ran the Stockholm restaurant Bon Lloc, which had one Michelin star, from 1996 to 2005. In 2007 he opened the restaurant Mathias Dahlgren in the...

  
  Roland Debuyst   Odd Ivar Solvold
1999   Terje Ness   Yannick Alleno   Ferdy Debecker
2001   François Adamski   Henrik Norström   Hákon Már Örvarsson  
2003   Charles Tjessem
Charles Tjessem
Charles Tjessem is a Norwegian chef, and winner of the 2003 Bocuse d'Or. The victory was achieved over the French chef Frank Putelat by the smallest margin of points to date in the competition....

  Frank Putelat   Claus Weitbrecht
2005   Serge Vieira   Tom Victor Gausdal
Tom Victor Gausdal
Tom Victor Gausdal is a Norwegian chef, and silver medalist of the 2005 Bocuse d'Or. The margin separating Gausdal from gold medal winner Serge Vieira was one point. Gausdal had a period of apprenticeship at Statholdergaarden under Bent Stiansen and was from 1997 to 2008 a member of the Norwegian...

  Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed is a Danish chef and restaurateur who won the gold medal at the 2011 Bocuse d'Or, after previously taking the bronze medal of the 2005 and the silver medal in 2007 in the same competition...

2007   Fabrice Desvignes
Fabrice Desvignes
Fabrice Desvignes is a French chef, and winner of the 2007 Bocuse d'Or. Desvignes is currently a second chef at the Présidence du Sénat in Paris.Desvignes’s prize-winning dish was a volaille de Bresse truffée...

  Rasmus Kofoed   Frank Giovannini
2009   Geir Skeie
Geir Skeie
Geir Skeie is a Norwegian chef, winner of the 2008 Bocuse d'Or Europe, and the 2009 Bocuse d'Or world final.-Career:...

  Jonas Lundgren   Philippe Mille
2011   Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed
Rasmus Kofoed is a Danish chef and restaurateur who won the gold medal at the 2011 Bocuse d'Or, after previously taking the bronze medal of the 2005 and the silver medal in 2007 in the same competition...

  Tommy Myllymäki   Gunnar Hvarnes
Gunnar Hvarnes
Gunnar Hvarnes is a Norwegian chef, and the country's delegate to participate in the 2010 Bocuse d'Or Europe and the 2011 Bocuse d'Or international finals, where he won the bronze medal....



External links

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