THE BIANNUAL Bocuse d’Or culinary competition in Lyons has ended on a familiar note: a chef from Norway won again.
Geir Skeie, a 28-year-old chef at Midtaasen restaurant in Sandefjord, received the golden Bocuse d’Or statue – made in the likeness of the contest’s founder, legendary chef Paul Bocuse – and €20,000.
“This has been my dream for 15 years, since I was 13-years-old,” Mr Skeie said. “You can hardly imagine how I feel, it has been my best day ever.”
Sweden’s Jonas Lundgren, who has cooked at top restaurants in Paris, Napa Valley, London and Oslo, received a silver statue and €15,000 for second place, and Philippe Mille of France took bronze. In the 11 contests since 1987, a Frenchman has won the gold medal six times, a Norwegian has won three times, and chefs from Sweden and Luxembourg have won once. The only female chef, South Africa’s Diane Kay, came 22nd. The American entry, Timothy Hollingsworth of Napa Valley’s noted restaurant, The French Laundry, came sixth. Ireland was not represented.
Over the two-day contest, chefs from 24 countries competed in front of an audience of screaming fans wielding horns, cowbells, clackers and pompoms. Each chef had five hours and 35 minutes to prepare two elaborate platters – one with seafood and one with beef.
But the most bitter disappointment was felt by France. Many expected Philippe Mille (34), sous-chef at the three-star Paris restaurant Le Meurice, to win the gold. But his fish dish came out a minute late, costing the French team 12 points.
The Norwegian team’s seafood creation included a loin of cod with lightly smoked scallops and cod belly, green peas and a brandade of peas, prawns and onions. That was accompanied by red beet cubes with Jerusalem artichokes and black truffles; potato and leeks with quail egg; and a Riesling and horseradish emulsion.
For the meat course, the Norwegians served beef ribs with duck foie gras; tenderloin with black truffles and celeriac; parsley root with spinach and glazed ox cheeks; green beans and artichokes; a brown onion pyramid; potato, black truffle and bone marrow; and a beef reduction with bay leaf and parsley.
Mr Bocuse, the 82-year-old patriarch of nouvelle cuisine, had his hopes pinned on the US and Japanese contestants in particular, in the interest of attracting more recognition, as well as better competitors, from the US and Asia. But Americans still have to play catch-up.
Mr Skeie said he trained for two years and performed 35 practice runs to prepare for the contest.
– ( LA Times-Washington Postservice, additional reporting AP)