Bocuse d’Or Top Chef!
November 19th, 2009 | by |
What is Bocuse d’Or? Top Chef’s challenge tonight is based upon … Beaucop D’or, or Bocuse Dor, or Beaucopus D’or? The correct word is Bocuse d’Or!
Bocuse d’Or is the Olympics of culinary arts and tonight the final five get a challenge based upon the famed competition.
The Bocuse d’Or competition is described as follows:
“Chef Paul Bocuse created the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in 1987, in order to broaden the public’s understanding of the extraordinary dedication, hard work, practice and precision required to execute the very finest cuisine.
“The Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest is the most rigorous international culinary competition, held every two years in Lyon, France. Twenty-four countries are selected to compete, and each country’s team is comprised of one chef and one commis assistant.
“Each team is provided five and a half hours to create two elaborate platter presentations, one centered around seafood and one on meat, each accompanied by three original garnishes. The platters are presented before twenty four judges, each of whom is among the most esteemed chefs in his/her own country. The judges evaluate the overall harmony of flavors in the dish, the presentation of the platter, the techniques employed and the efficiency in which the teams work.
“The intensity of the spectator’s enthusiasm is unique. Thousands of fans attend the event and are seated in sections in front of their competitors’ booth, waving flags, singing national chants, and providing general encouragement. The noise level of the arena elevates as the candidates race to complete their presentations to the judges. Hundreds of international photo and film journalists canvas the location, broadcasting thecompetition live around the world.
“The day following the competition, Chef Bocuse hosts a breakfast at his Michelin 3-star restaurant in Collonges which includes a ceremony to honor the top three teams by installing a plaque engraved with their names and countries on the front walkway into the restaurant.
In the USA, the selection process is as follows:
“During the course of one day, sixteen, two member teams will present one protein dish to a panel of chef judges for evaluation of overall promise as a Bocuse d’Or team. The team will have approximately 2 hours for completion ofthe dish. The strongest eight teams will advance to a Finalist competition during the following two days. Based on competition performance, the top candidate and his or her commis will be selected to go on to Lyon in 2011 as the US representatives.
“The Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation will select 16 chef/commis teams from amongst all the applicants to enter the domestic Semi-final and Final competitions at the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park on February 4-6, 2010. Notification will be provided on December 7th, 2009. The Bocuse d’Or USA competitions will be hosted in a live public setting at the CIA before an audience of hundreds of spectators & press. “
Check it out online HERE
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