Follow Me Foodie to the Bocuse d’Or 2013 Recap!
The Winners, Results, Photos & More!
The 14th bi-annual Bocuse d’Or competition in Lyon, France has finally come to an end. Now everyone can get some sleep! In a nutshell it is often described as the Culinary Olympics meets the Superbowl with a little bit of the Oscars (the trophy looks like one too).
It was an intense 2 days of cooking at one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in the world. 24 of the very best chefs had 5.5 hours to create a fish and meat dish using “black box ingredients” they were told about in late November. These two courses (1 plate, 1 platter) were presented to a panel of 24 highly acclaimed international chefs (representing each participating country) acting as judges. Each chef was accompanied by their coach and commis or assistant chef who must be under the age of 22. The teams have dedicated the last 2 years of their lives to represent their countries at Bocuse d’Or 2013.
Congratulations to all winners and teams! I’m sure I speak on behalf of all your countries when I say you made us proud to be in the Top 24! And if I knew you personally I would say even before the Top 24… but because I don’t, that would be weird.
French Chef in Lyon and culinary legend who is the founder of the Bocuse d’Or, Mr. Paul Bocuse and his famous pose! (Age 86)
And the Bocuse d’Or 2013 winners are…
Bocuse d’Or (Gold): France
Bocuse Silver: Denmark
Bocuse Bronze: Japan
Best commis: United Kingdom’s Kristian Curtis
Special Fish Prize: Norway
Special Meat Prize: United Kingdom
Best Promotion: Guatemala
Best Poster (online vote): Hungary
I like this pose better! Look at that pride! How can you not be happy for him?
Being Canadian I was rooting for Chef Alex Chen, but to be honest, seeing France win was like watching Canada win Gold in men’s hockey Olympics 2010. They brought the trophy home… well technically the trophy never left since the birthplace of the competition is in France.
This is the 6th time France has been on the podium, the 5th time for Denmark and the 1st time for Japan. Japan is only the second non-European country to make it onto the podium and Chef Rasmus Kofoed of Denmark won the last Bocuse d’Or – see my post on Bocuse d’Or 2011. The highest ranking of a North American chef is 4th place which is held by Bocuse d’Or Canadian Chef Robert Sulatycky in 1999.
Eep! How nervous does this make you?!
Canada’s Bocuse d’Or representative Chef Alex Chen.
The Competition & Criterion
- The teams will be notified of the theme in late November, and no longer in June.
- Major new feature: contestants will not be allowed to bring all their ingredients with them. On the eve of the contest, they will have an hour and a half to go to and buy seasonal products to be used in two or three imposed accompaniments.
- To illustrate their chefs’ culinary heritage and encourage diversity, the third accompaniment must be typical of their home country.
- Accompanied by their coach and commis, contestants must devise and write down the recipe for their dishes the evening before the contest after buying the ingredients.
- Turbot and European Blue Lobster were the mandatory ingredients for the fish course and Irish Beef was the primary ingredient for the meat platter.
- To reproduce real restaurant conditions, applicants must prepare 14 servings: 12 for presentation to the fish judges, 1 for the presidents’ table and 1 for the official photograph.
- Fish dishes are plated individually for each judge to represent restaurant presentation and meat dishes are presented in platters.
For the first time, the tasting panel will also give a mark for specific geographical origin and originality, in addition to the mark for taste and presentation. This new mark will concern the entire meat dish and only the typical accompaniment in the case of the fish dish.
Information from Bocuse d’Or press kit.
All photos from Jeff Nalin of Le Fotographe.
Bocuse d’Or 2013 Final Standings
1/France
2/Denmark
3/Japan
4/United Kingdom
5/Norway
6/Sweden
7/USA
8/Iceland
9/Canada
10/Hungary
11/Belgium
12/Finland
13/Switzerland
14/Estonia
15/Australia
16/Netherlands
17/Singapore
18/Guatemala
19/China
20/Italy
21/Sri Lanka
22/Brazil
23/Morocco
24/Mexico
Team Australia
Chef Shannon Kellam of The Brisbane Club and commis Richard Pascoe with Coach Franck Putelat at Restaurant Le Parc. Team Australia placed 15th.
Australia Fish Course - I didn’t catch all of it, but it was along the lines of Turbo fillet with quinoa flakes, chia seeds, lobster with coconut cabbage, popcorn shoots and about 10 other components.
Australia – Meat Course
Team Belgium
Chef Robrecht Wissels of Belgocatering and commis Mathijs Vanheule with Coach Patrick Spiessens at Belgocatering.
Belgium – Fish Course
Belgium – Meat Course
Team Brazil
Chef Fabio Watanebe of Watanabe Eventos Gourmet and commis Alvaro Gasparetto with Coach David Jobert at L’atelier du Cuisinier.
Brazil Fish Course - Tenderloin and oxtail with watercress, crispy banana, nut emulsion, creamy violet potato ball and about 10 other components I missed.
Brazil – Meat Course
Team Canada
Chef Alex Chen of Moxies Bar & Grill and commis Jack Beers with Coach Dan Olson at Railtown Cafe. Team Canada placed 9th.
Canada Fish Course - Roasted Bone-in Turbot, Saffron Potatoes, Butter Poached Lobster, Lobster Hollandaise, Cauliflower Puree, Lobster Vinaigrette, Canadian Giant Clam Chowder, Canadian Caviar and about 10 other components.
Canada Meat Course - Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Bone Marrow Roulade, Seared Foie Gras, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Ox Tail Gratin, Shaved Black Truffles and about 10 other componants.
Team China
Chef Jian Ping Sun of Stiller’s Restaurant and commis Wei Xu with Coach Jingshen Shi at Stiller’s Restaurant in Shanghai.
China Fish Course – I just remember them making a “modern Xiao Long Bao” (XLB) and the judges cutting it to try it. They inquired right before tasting whether or not it should be eaten whole and the chef said it was up to them.
China – Meat Course
Team Denmark
Chef Jeppe Foldager of HRS and commis Christoffer Brink with Coach Jakon de Neergaard at Rossini Organics. Team Denmark placed 2nd (Bocuse d’Or – SILVER).
Denmark Fish Course - Turbo and blue lobster, lobster hollandaise, potato Danish garnish, caviar, leek garnish, turbo tartare and about 10 other components I missed.
Denmark – Meat Course
Team Estonia
Chef Heidy Pinnak of Egoist and commis Ari Thor Gunnarson with Coach Ragnar Omarsson at Hotel Nordica Reykjavik.
Estonia – Fish Course
**Missing photo – Estonia’s Meat Course
Team Finland
Chef Mike Palonen of Villa Storsvik and commis Juho Ekegren with Coach Henry Tikkanen at Villa Storsvik.
Finland Fish Course - Turbot with Finnish caviar, lobster and rose jus, carrot flan with ginger, lobster beignet and about 10 other components I missed.
Finland – Meat Course
Team France
Chef Thibaut Ruggeri of Lenotre Paris and commis Julie Lhumeau with Coach Fabrice Prochasson at Lenotre Paris. Team France won 1st (Bocuse d’Or – GOLD).
France Fish Course – Turbot with lobster, “herbal pearls” and cromesquis, a croquette with a liquid center and about 10 other components I missed.
France Meat Course - Tartar of Irish beef shoulder with leek, truffle and vinaigrette, accompanied by garnishes like puréed potato Duchesse, bacon and wild thyme and about 10 componants I missed.
Team Guatemala
Chef Marcos Saenz of Refectorio Casa Santo Domingo and commis Rodrigo Aguilar with Coach Jorge Lamport at Camille Restaurante y Escuela.
Guatemala – Fish Course
Guatemala - Meat Course
Team Hungary
Chef Tamas Szell of Onyc/Gerbeaud and commis Adam Garai with Coach Zoltan Hamvas at Onyx/Gerbeaud. Team Hungary placed 10th.
Hungary – Fish Course
Hungary – Meat Course
Team Iceland
Chef Sigurdur Haraldsson of VOX and commis Hafsteinn Olafsson with Coach Thrainn Freyer Vigusson at Kolabrautin Restaurant.
Iceland – Fish Course
Iceland – Meat Course
Team Italy
Chef Alfio Ghezzi of Locanda Margon and commis Sebastiano Cont with Coach Frederic Garnier at Alain Ducasse Entreprise.
Italy – Fish Course
Italy – Meat Course
Team Japan
Chef Noriyuki Hamada of Hotel Bleston Court and commis Masanori Sakashita with Coach Romuald Fassenet at Chateau du Mont Joly. Team Japan placed 3rd (Bocuse d’Or BRONZE).
Japan – Fish Course
Japan – Meat Course
Team Mexico
Chef Miguel Quezada of Le Cordon Bleu Mexico and commis Axel Garcia with Coach Patrick Martin at Le Cardon Bleu Mexico.
Meixco – Fish Course
Mexico – Meat Course
Team Morocco
Chef Issam Jaafari of Es Saadi Gardens & Resort and commis Anas Ifiss with Coach Sebastien Bontour at Es Saadi Gardens & Resorts.
Morocco – Fish Course
Morocco – Meat Course
Team Netherlands
Chef Martin Ruisaard of De Fuik and commis Rosite Nietvelt with Coach Leendert Klaassens at Stenden University.
Netherlands – Fish Course
Team Netherlands – Meat Course
Team Norway
Team Norway – Meat Course
**Missing photo – Norway’s Fish Course
Team Singapore
Chef Eng Tong Yew of The Cliff Restaurant and commis Kok-Chuen Tam with Coach Wee Bin Khoo at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy.
Singapore – Fish Course
Singapore – Meat Course
Team Sri Lanka
Chef Buddhika Samarasekara of Spoons Restaurant, Hilton Colo and commis John Rashen with Coach Alan James Palmer at n/a.
Sri Lanka Fish Course – I just remembered them using a lot of tea in their components.
Sri Lanka – Meat Course
Team Sweden
Chef Adam Dahlberg of Adam & Albin Matstudio and commis Lindor Wink with Coach Peter Jelksater at Gastronomi Sverige. Team Sweden placed 6th.
Sweden – Fish Course
Sweden – Meat Course
Team United Kingdom
Chef Adam Bennett of Simpsons Restaurant and commis Kristian Curtis with Coach Nick Vadis at Compass Group UK & Ireland. Team UK placed 4th.
United Kingdom Fish Course - Troncon of Label Rouge turbot with blue lobster and seaweed, jellied eels, Scottish smoked salmon, caviar and cucumber ketchup with potato filled with creamed leeks and rolled in espinette butter and salad of pickled vegetables with mustard seed, apple and celery puree.
United Kingdom Meat Course - Roast fillet of Irish beef, cooked over English oak, mushroom and bone marrow farce, Hampshire truffles, braised oxtail & cheek with pickled walnuts & root vegetables, onion puree, “Boiled Beef & Carrots” – Scottish carrots filled with salt beet and mustard, potato cake with pickled mushrooms and red wine jus.
Team United States
Chef Richard Rosendale of Greenbrier and commis Corey Siegel with Coach Gavin Kaysen at Cafe Boulud. Team USA placed 7th.
United States Fish Course - Slowly Cooked Turbot with Virginia Ham and Tennessee Black Truffles; Lobster Mousse with Butternut Squash Cooked in Cider; “Mushroom Explosion”; Twice Baked Potato & Leek Cigar; Vin Jaune Emulsion
United States Meat Course - Hickory Grilled Beef Filet with Asparagus and Horseradish; Fried Hollandaise; Beef Oxtail “Yankee Pot Roast” with Spiced Red Wine Sauce; Potato Dumplings, Bone Marrow and Thyme Infused Beef Broth with Crispy Beef Filet; Slowly Roasted Carrots
**Missing photos from Team Norway’s fish course and Team Estonia’s meat course.
Please feel free to comment if you can help me fill in the blanks regarding standings, photos or descriptions of dishes.
Looking froward to Bocuse d’Or 2015!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow such a great nice INTERNATIONAL foods event…Remember to vote Mijune followmefoodie Vancouver Social Minda Award 2013 Good-Food Good-Health go…go for 10 days
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Nice Post Mijune! It was amazing to be there.
@Dan Craig – I have to hear about it!!! I’m coming to visit you at EBO!
Hola from Barcelona! I’m with Chef Dan. Very nice article… you captured the event very well!
Final standings at Bocuse d’Or 2013
1/France
2/Denmark
3/Japan
4/United Kingdom
5/Norway
6/Sweden
7/USA
8/Iceland
9/Canada
10/Hungary
11/Belgium
12/Finland
13/Switzerland
14/Estonia
15/Australia
16/Netherlands
17/Singapore
18/Guatemala
19/China
20/Italy
21/Sri Lanka
22/Brazil
23/Morocco
24/Mexico
@Herman – really? I would have been able to capture it with so much more detail if I was actually there and not watching it on my computer lol. Thanks for keeping me updated Herman!
@Vincent Parkinson – Thank you so much for helping me out, Vincent! Honoured to have you comment. I’ve included it in the post! Congratulations to you and team Canada once again!
wow can you just imagine being there? i think you would’ve fainted
@linda – oh I would for sure!!
Ya please do. I’m back Monday from Vacation