Norway's Gier Skeie wins Bocuse d'Or competition

Norwegian chef Gier Skeie has won the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition in Lyons, with UK representative Simon Hulstone finishing 10th out of the 24 competing nations.

Hulstone, chef proprietor of the Elephant in Torquay, who received a late call-up to represent the UK, told Caterersearch: "The standard was higher than anyone was expecting this year so I am semi-happy with my finish."

The highest placing the UK has reached at the Bocuse d'Or was eighth, achieved by Eyck Zimmer in 2003.

Asked whether he'll try to better his finish when the competition returns in 2011, Hulstone said: "Ask me again next week".

Despite his modest appraisal of 10th place, the achievement caps a successful six months in which Hulstone has also won the Knorr National Chef of the Year and led the British team at the Culinary Olympics to a haul of 35 medals.

Norway's victory comes on the back of Skeie's gold medal at qualifying competition Bocuse d'Or Europe, which took place in July, and is the fourth time the Scandinavian country has won the overall trophy, which includes prize money of €20,000.

Jonas Lundgren, representing Sweden, finished second, while Philippe Mille, representing France, took bronze, the eighth time the host nation has finished on the podium since the biennial competition's inception in 1987, and ends a sequence of two consecutive gold medals in 2005 and 2007.

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By Tom Vaughan

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