Five top chefs compete for Team UK place at the Bocuse d'Or
Five top UK chefs are to compete against each other for a chance to cook for Team UK in the Bocuse d'Or, the culinary equivalent of the World Cup.
The five chefs to face off against each other in a cook-off lasting three hours and 45 minutes at the National Skills Show at Birmingham NEC on Saturday 18 November are:
- Adam Thomason, executive chef, Restaurant Associates, Deloitte London
- Chris Hill, premier sous chef, the Ritz, London
- Frederick Forster, executive chef, the Don restaurant, London
- Tom Phillips, head chef, Restaurant Story, London
- Tony Wright, senior lecturer University College Birmingham and Bocuse d'Or candidate 2016
No UK chef has ever reached the podium at the Bocuse d'Or world finals, which take place in Lyon in France every two years. However, the winner of the UK selection will get their opportunity to try, provided they make it through the European finals of the Bocuse d'Or in Turin, Italy on 11-12 June 2018.
At the National Skills Show, the chefs must prepare a fish dish using fjord trout and lobster as the main products and a meat platter using a short saddle of lamb as the main product.
The fish dish will be served as six individual plated portions with three different garnishes for each portion and a suitable sauce. The meat dish will be served on a silver platter with three different garnishes and a suitable sauce.
The jury will be led by UK team president Brian Turner and will include: vice president and Bocuse d'Or UK candidate 2013 and 2015, Adam Bennett of the Cross at Kenilworth; technical director of Team UK and executive chef of the Ritz, John Williams; Idris Caldora, former Bocuse d'Or candidate and coach of Team UK 2015 team; and Bocuse d'Or ambassador, Claude Bosi of Bibendum. Philip Tessier, who secured silver for Team USA in the Bocuse d'Or 2015 and went on to coach the winning team in 2017, will also join the jury.
Chair of the UK Academy Andreas Antona said: "We have learned a lot since our disappointment in Budapest, when we failed to win a place in the final and we have regrouped to become a stronger unit. With five fantastic chefs in the running, we're already in a stronger position than previous years. We now need to secure the financial support to give the candidate everything he needs to realistically achieve a place on the podium within the next four years."
If you would like to attend the final please email michelle@koyahpr.co.uk and to find out how you can support the UK team, please email as.labruyere@goustation.com.
Team USA's Bocuse d'Or victory should spur on UK >>
USA wins Bocuse d'Or for the first time >>
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