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France Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Eric Lavertu, President of Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka Rohan Fernandopulle, Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Kishu Gomes, Dilmah Ceylon Tea CEO Dilhan C. Fernando, Bocuse d'Or Sri Lanka Competition coordinator Alan Palmer and Tourism Development Authority Chairman Johanne Jayaratne Press Conference
By Charumini de Silva
The finalists for the Bocuse d'Or Sri Lanka 2019, the most prestigious culinary competition to identify the country's top culinary prowess, were announced this week.
50 chefs representing 25 hotels in the country will battle it out on 12 November at the national competition, and the winners of Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka will get the coveted opportunity to represent Sri Lanka at the Bocuse d’Or Asia finals, to be held next year. Success in the Asian competition will see them head to the birthplace of the final competition in Lyon, France.
This year’s competition will be conducted by Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka, together with Sri Lanka Tourism and Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association (CHSGA).
Bocuse d’Or is considered the most prestigious culinary event in the world; created by French culinary legend Paul Bocuse in 1987, It has 3 stages (national, regional and global), and brings together culinary talent from around the world to test their mettle by having them prepare culinary masterpieces live. A jury comprised of the world’s most well-known and respected chefs choose the winner.
Former Three Michelin Star Chef Bruno Menard, who has over 35 years of experience in some of the world's top restaurants, and was also one of the judges of Master Chef Asia in 2015, conducted a Master Class for the 50 national finalists for the Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Food has always been a major draw for travellers everywhere, with global culinary capitals invariably enjoying the status of highly rated tourist destinations, Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga told journalists. 
“We hope that the support of local culinary talent will eventually give modern Sri Lankan cuisine its due place, as an incentive to boost the country’s tourism industry and help Sri Lanka in its journey to become a tourist hotspot,” he added.
French Ambassador in Sri Lanka Eric Lavertu said this will be a great opportunity for Sri Lankan talent to showcase the rich culinary culture to the world.
Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka President Rohan Fernandopulle asserted that the standard and quality of the competition has improved over the years.
“This year we had the privilege of hosting world-renowned chefs to train young competitors and they were very excited to see the outcome of three Master Classes and months of preparation by these young culinary stars,” he said.
Chef Bruno Menard highlighted the importance of the competition, adding that there is no other competition in the culinary world that can give you this vibe and the level of values by just participating in the prestigious culinary event.
“Gentlemen, you all are in a beautiful country and show the world how rich your island nation is with its incredible talent and top ingredients,” he said.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Kishu Gomes said from a tourism standpoint, Sri Lanka needs to aggressively promote the fact that the country has a flavourful food culture.
“This competition is important for the country from an economic and tourism perspective. We are not a large economy to accommodate 10 million tourists, therefore our strategy needs to be on to drive margins and to drive margins we need to create a richer culinary culture, within which we will be able to drive by selling branded food sold in a different way. Another way is by exporting our talent. If we are able to produce the right talent and right quality, there is no harm in exporting talent to get the right price, and to earn the revenue we want to achieve,” he said.
Gomes stressed Sri Lanka has a long way to go before it can be called a leading nation in the culinary industry. However, he was hopeful that this competition will help Sri Lanka in its journey to get to that level in the near future.
Dilmah Ceylon Tea CEO Dilhan Fernando pointed out that food is no longer what it used to be, and that it is as much about an experience as it is about theatre, ingredients and taste.
“The combination of wellness, taste, goodness and artisanal endeavour; all of which is unmatched, and it is that what makes it a unique culinary experience. In Sri Lanka you have an unmatched incredible culinary talent blessed with the world’s best quality ingredients,” he said.
Fernando said the top chefs winning the national competition will help to take Sri Lanka’s produce into the 21st century.
From one competition to the next, Bocuse d'Or international influence has grown constantly. The idea, to bring together 24 young chefs from all over the world, among the most promising talents of their generation, and have them prepare amazing dishes within an allotted time period, live in front of an enthusiastic audience.
This year's winning duo will also get a gift certificate which was handed over by French Ambassador in Sri Lanka Eric Lavertu to Rohan Fernandopulle, on behalf of Le Cordon Bleu Paris, to participate in a four-day Advanced Culinary Techniques program in Paris, which will be conducted by the most renowned chefs in the world. The event was also attended by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Chairman Johanne Jayaratne, and CHSGA Representative Trevin Gomes.
Bocuse d'Or Sri Lanka has garnered the support of Dilmah Ceylon Tea, Sri Lanka Tourism, CHSGA, SLITHM, SriLankan Airlines, CDS Events, Queens Work Wear, Pragmatic, US Meat Export Federation, East-West Foods Ltd, Chewy Cinnamon, Nestle, Fonterra Brands, Round Island, TNL Radio, Upfield, Nehemiah Consultants, Flipit, Singer, Rougie, Laugfs, Ariane, Wine World and Le Cordon Bleu to ensure the best in the culinary spectrum represent the island nation.
Pix by Upul Abayasekera
