The Bocuse d'Or (the ''Concours mondial de la cuisine'', World Cooking Contest) is a
biennial world
chef
A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...
championship. Named for the chef
Paul Bocuse
Paul François Pierre Bocuse (; 11 February 1926 – 20 January 2018) was a French chef based in Lyon known for the quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. Dubbed "the pope of gastronomy", he was affectionately nick ...
, the event takes place during two days near the end of January in
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, at the SIRHA International Hotel, Catering and Food Trade Exhibition, and is one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions.
[Chavich, Cinda, '']The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' (May 14, 2008)
Even chefs dream of statuettes
/ref>[Shore, Randy, ''The Vancouver Sun'' (January 9, 2009)]
/ref>[Appell, David, ''Los Angeles Times'' (July 23, 2008)]
Paul Bocuse could make French fast food the next nouvelle cuisine
/ref>[Stukin, Stacie, ''Time'' (January 18, 2007)]
/ref>[Abend, Lisa, ''Time'' (January 25, 2009)]
/ref>
The event is frequently referred to as the gastronomy
Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...
equivalent of the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
,[Smillie, Dirk, ''Forbes.com'' (June 5, 2007)]
French Toast
/ref>[Fabricant, Florence, ''The New York Times'' (May 28, 2008)]
/ref>[Lancaster, Deana, ''North Shore News'' (November 26, 2008)]
[Hallock, Betty, ''Los Angeles Times'' (January 26, 2009)]
American chef preps for cooking fame at France's Bocuse d'Or
/ref> though the International Exhibition of Culinary Art in Germany is more officially titled the Culinary Olympics and is separated by an olympiad
An olympiad (, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the Ancient Olympic Games, ancient and Olympic Games, modern Olympic Games.
Although the ancient Olympics were established during Archaic Greece, Greece ...
, 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 (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...
band, foghorns, cowbells, cheering and yelling from the stands, marking the beginning of a tradition of noisy spectator presence.[Hallock, Betty, '']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'': Daily Dish (January 27, 2009)
Tracking the Bocuse d'Or: Meet France's Philippe Mille
/ref> 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 eight occasions, while Belgium, Norway and Sweden have consistently finished in one of the top three placements.][Criscione, Valeria, '']The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' (September 4, 2009)
A League of Extraordinary Chefs
/ref> Léa Linster of Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
became the first woman to win in 1989, and Rasmus Kofoed of Denmark became the first multiple medalist with bronze and silver in 2005 and 2007, and the eventual gold medal in 2011.[''Bloomberg.com'' (January 26, 2011)]
Danish Chef Rasmus Wins Bocuse D'or as Gourmets Pick World's Best Cooking
/ref> Prior to finishing in second place in 2015 and winning the competition in 2017, the U.S. team had not placed higher than sixth as in 2003 and 2009,
/ref> while the highest ranking of a North American chef was the fourth-place result of Canadian Robert Sulatycky in 1999.[Pawsey, Tim, '']Vancouver Courier
The ''Vancouver Courier'' was a Canadian semi-weekly local newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by the Van-Net chain owned by Glacier Media Group. In 2007, it was Canada's largest distributed community newspaper, with a we ...
'' (January 23, 2009)
Dynamic duo invades France
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''.
The U.S. won second place in 2015 when Philip Tessier and Skylar Stover made history by becoming both the first Americans to mount the podium as well as the first non-European team to win silver. Coached by Gavin Kaysen, ]Thomas Keller
Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Found ...
, Jerome Bocuse and Daniel Boulud, this was an extraordinary milestone for a country that had competed every year since the competitions inception in 1987. In 2017 the U.S. won the competition, finishing ahead of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
in second place and Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
in third. The team's head chef was Mathew Peters and his ''commis'', or helper, was Harrison Turone. Both had previously worked at Keller's New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
restaurant Per Se
Per se may refer to:
* '' per se'', a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself".
* Illegal ''per se'', the legal usage in criminal and antitrust law
* Negligence ''per se'', legal use in tort law
*Per Se (restaurant)
Per Se is a New Amer ...
.
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, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
and Bocuse d'Or Europe in July 2008 in Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
. The inaugural winners were Yasuji Sasaki from Japan and Geir Skeie of Norway, respectively.[Holt, Morten, ''Horecanytt'' (August 15, 2008)]
Bocuse d'Or-nasjonene er klare
Skeie went on to win the 2009 world final.[Sciolino, Elaine, ''The New York Times'' (January 28, 2009)]
/ref>[
The inaugural Bocuse d'Or USA competition took place at Epcot 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, then sous-chef at ]French Laundry
The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingred ...
, coached by Roland Henin.['']Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
'' (September 28, 2008)
Bocuse d'Or USA Announces Winner
Paul Bocuse stated, "I hope he U.S. teamwill win because we'd really like this competition to cross the Atlantic".[ Ultimately, Hollingsworth also placed sixth.][Abend, Lisa, ''Time'' (January 28, 2009)]
No Medal for U.S. at Cooking Olympics
/ref>
The Bocuse d'Or USA 2010 took place at the earlier February 2010 date arranged at The Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a Private university, private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena, California, St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singa ...
in Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...
. The winner was James Kent who represented Team USA in Lyon in 2011, eventually placing tenth.[Gallagher, Aileen, ''New York Magazine'': Grub Street (February 7, 2010)]
New Yorker Will Represent U.S. at Bocuse d'Or
/ref>[Weiss, Jan, ''Dine Magazine'' (February 6, 2010)]
James Kent Wins Bocuse d’Or USA
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 ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
in June 2010 was won by Danish previous Bocuse d'Or bronze and silver medalist Rasmus Kofoed, who went on to win the 2011 world final.[
Ahead of the Bocuse d'Or 2013, the Bocuse d'Or USA regional final was arranged in late January 2012 again at The Culinary Institute of America, Richard Rosendale becoming the selected U.S. contestant, while the Bocuse d'Or Europe was arranged in ]Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
in late March 2012 with the gold medal won by Norwegian chef Ørjan Johannessen. The Bocuse d'Or Asia taking place in June 2012, again in Shanghai, was won by Yew Eng Tong representing Singapore.
Criticism
For the 2005 Bocuse d'Or, the Spanish delegation had chosen an innovative presentation inspired by Salvador DalÃ
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalà i Domènech, Marquess of Dalà of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalà ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
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 €
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
1 million to achieve a good result in the competition. However, the Spanish candidate finished in the next to last place (a cited reason was that the warm dish produced such condensation
Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor ...
to the inside of the egg that the judges were nearly 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
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve themselves. A form of '' service à la française'', buffets are offered at various places including hotels, restaurants, and many social eve ...
and catering
Catering is the business of providing food services at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio.
History of catering
The earliest account of major service ...
.
Controversy arose during the 2007 Bocuse d'Or, as allegations of cheating were raised against the winning chef Fabrice Desvignes, due to the late delivery of two metal containers leading to claims that these contained prepared precooked ingredients.[Bremner, Charles. Tourres, Marie. ''The Times'' (January 29, 2007)]
We were whipped by cheat chef, say the losing cooks
/ref> 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 and ''foie gras
; (, ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck, duck or Domestic goose, goose. According to French law, ''foie gras'' is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by ''gavage'' (force feeding).
''Foie gras'' i ...
'', not prohibited by the rules.[ Two days later the German daily newspaper '']Die Welt
(, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE.
is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...
'' 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.[Fiskå, Borghild, '']Aftenposten
(; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...
'' (May 5, 2008)
Et fransk narrespill
The controversy led 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.
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 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.][Houck, Jeff, ''The Tampa Tribune'' (September 24, 2008)]
A Top Chef Looks Ahead To America's Next Generation
/ref>[La Rose, Lauren, ''The Canadian Press'' (May 28, 2008)]
Canadian chef to battle for culinary honours
/ref> 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
Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
s made in advance.[Sciolino, Elaine; Katz, Basil, ''The New York Times'': Diner's Journal (January 27, 2009)]
Blogging the Bocuse d’Or Competition
/ref>
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, ]Ferran AdriÃ
Fernando Adrià Acosta (; born 14 May 1962) is a Spanish chef. He was the head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses, Girona, Roses on the Costa Brava and is considered one of the best chefs in the world. He has often collaborated with his b ...
, Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur.
Early life
Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...
,[ Eyvind Hellstrøm, ]Thomas Keller
Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Found ...
and past winners such as Fabrice Desvignes, Mathias Dahlgren and Léa Linster.
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 medalist receives €15,000, and the Bronze Bocuse medalist receives €10,000.][ Additional prizes are awarded for the best fish and meat dishes, best national culinary identity, best apprentice and best posters.][
]
2013 rule changes
Ahead of the 2013 event, a set of alterations to the rules were announced in November 2012. In contrast to previous years when the fish and meat themes were announced six months ahead of the finals, the announcement of the fish theme was withheld until two months before the competition in order to "encourage the chefs to display even more creativity and spontaneity."[Rodbard, Matt, ''Food Republic'' (November 26, 2012)]
Bocuse d’Or Competition Announces Fish Course, Other Top Cheffian Changes
/ref> At this time, other changes were announced concerning the allowed condiments, that "on the eve of the contest, the candidates will have 30 minutes to choose seasonal fruit and vegetables from the five continents market" to prepare two of the three garnishes in the contest, and the third garnish would be "typical of the candidates’ respective countries," with an aim to "highlight the different national culinary heritages and encourage diversity".[
Further changes describe that the candidates with their coach and commis, having acquired the ingredients, "will have one hour in which to design and write down the recipe for their dish".][ Finally, the competitions depart from the large tray presentation format of previous years as the candidates this time are required to prepare fourteen plates "in order to remain close to the actual restaurant environment."][
]
Medalists
References
List of prizewinners
; ; Bocusedor.com
;Footnotes
External links
Bocuse d'Or official site
{{in lang, fr, en
gastronomy
Cooking competitions in France
Recurring events established in 1987
1987 establishments in France