"BocuseDor" news and stories

Every two years the prestigious Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine contest is held in Lyon. (The next one is in 2011). James Kent, the sous chef at award-winning Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York City, has been selected to represent the U.S. and bring back the gold. His wingman will be Tom Allan, another sous chef at Eleven Madison.

Slashfood spent a few minutes talking with Kent about his recent nomination to the team.

How do you formulate a strategy?
JK: For the finals competition, Chef Humm of Eleven Madison Park was a great mentor in helping to steer us in the right direction. We focused on both taste and presentation and refined a bunch of dishes until we came up with a salmon and lamb platter that we felt great about. We are going to do the same thing for the international competition, but this time, with the support of the Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation, its Culinary Council and of course, Eleven Madison Park behind us. Once we determine the dishes, it'll be all about perfecting them and getting the preparation down to a science in 5 1/2 hours.

Have you heard of the Bocuse d'Or? A year or two ago, the answer would probably have been a firm no. But over the last couple of years, it's been popping up in the news and around the dinner tables of foodies more and more frequently.

Maybe you caught the "Top Chef" episode, where contestants competed in a Bocuse d'Or-inspired challenge. Or perhaps you've read about Andrew Friedman's just-released book "Knives at Dawn," which tells the tale of the most recent American team -- from the rigorous training to the big competition, which involves preparing two ridiculously complex dishes served on enormous mirrored platters.

The contest, often described as the Olympics of the culinary world, began in 1987 in Lyon, France, under the leadership of Chef Paul Bocuse, who Tim Ryan of the Culinary Institute of America described as "Elvis Presley and the Beatles rolled into one" at Monday's semifinals announcement. Despite America's recent thirst for cook-offs and throw-downs, the high-end culinary competition has been slow to gain recognition in the United States. But last year, heavy-hitters Daniel Boulud, also from Lyon, and Thomas Keller got behind the American effort to change all that.

Without further adieu here are the 12 semi-finalists bidding to represent the USA in 2011. Or as superstar chef and chairman of the board for Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation, Daniel Boulud simply put it, "Voilà."

1. Luke Bergman, the Modern, New York

2. Danny Cerqueda, Carolina Country Club, Raleigh, N.C.

3. Michael Clauss, Daily Planet , Burlington, Vt.

4. Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta, Ga.

5. James Kent, Eleven Madison Park, New York

6. Mark Liberman, Roxy's Black Sheep, West Palm Beach, Fla.

7. Christopher Parsons, Catch, Winchester, Mass.

8. Jennifer Petrusky, Charlie Trotter's, Chicago

9. John Rellah, New York Yacht Club, New York

10. Jeremie Tomczak, French Culinary Institute, New York

11. Andrew Weiss, the Chef's Workshop, Las Vegas

12. Percy Whatley, the Ahwahnee, Yosemite, Calif.

These semifinalists will compete on Feb. 6, 2010, at the CIA in Hyde Park, N.Y., to determine who will go on to represent the USA at the Bocuse d'Or competition in Lyons, France, in 2011.

I wrote yesterday about the high hopes for the American team at the Bocuse d'Or cooking competition in Lyon. Well, unfortunately the team, led by 28-year-old French Laundry sous-chef Timothy Hollingsworth, did not perform as well as expected, taking 6th place in the two-day competition. The Norwegian team took gold, the Swedes silver, and the French bronze.

The winning chef, 28-year-old Geir Skeie, will take home a golden statuete of Paul Bocuse in his chef's outfit along with 20,000 euros, or about $26,000.

For what it's worth, Hollingsworth menus look pretty darn good. Take a look:

Cod Menu:

Olive oil-poached loin of Norwegian cod enveloped in scallop mousse, preserved Meyer lemon and Sicilian pistachios with citrus mousseline and shrimp nage

Wild prawn and haas avocado tart

Fennel compote, chili peppers and yuzu gelee

Agrumato custard with shellfish bouillon

Toasted brioche, scallop tartare, Ruby Red grapefruit and candied orange zest

Yukon gold potato and bacon mille-feuille

Creme fraiche-enriched King Richard leeks, Hobbs bacon chip and Sacramento Delta Osetra caviar

Beef Menu:

Roasted Aberdeen Angus Beef Rib-Eye wrapped in Applewood smoked bacon with prune-enriched oxtail jus

Rosette of Scottish beef fillet

Perigord truffles, celeriac and oxtail-endive marmalade

Glazed beef cheeks a l'etouffee

French Laundry garden turnips and sweet carrots

Calotte bresaola fume a la minute

Granny Smith apples, Savoy cabbage and horseradish mousse

Truffled pommes dauphinoise

California chestnuts, pickled red onion and celery branch salad

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Excitement is building over the performance of the American team at the biannual Bocuse d'Or cooking competition in Lyon, France, sometimes called the Olympics of Cooking. French teams have won six out of the past 11 contests, Norwegian teams three, and Swedish and Luxembourgian teams one each. The Americans have never won.

In the contest, chefs from 24 different countries race to prepare 12 portions of an elaborate meat and a fish dish in five and a half hours, each team working in tiny cubicles before a live, flag-waving audience. Each chef gets one apprentice, who must be 22 or younger. The winner is determined by the quality and presentation of the food.

This year's American team is led by Timothy Hollingsworth, the 28-year-old sous-chef at the French Laundry. He's been training up to 50 hours a week in a replica kitchen, with his own personal coach.

The venerable French chef Paul Bocuse, for whom the contest is named, says he hopes the American team will win this year. "We'd really like this competition to cross the Atlantic," he said.

Check out their progress at the official Bocuse d'Or website.

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