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By Dilrukshi Fernando
Sri Lanka has a tremendous opportunity to promote culinary tourism as the country’s culinary fraternity commences its journey towards the prestigious Bocuse d’Or 2025. Recognised as the ‘Olympics of Cooking’, and taking place biannually, the Bocuse d’Or brings together culinary excellence to compete on the world stage in Lyon, France. As Sri Lanka launched its bid in preparation for the next global competition, the Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka team gave an in-depth overview of the activity line-up, at a media conference held recently at the Hilton Colombo Residences.
Bocuse d’Or is a highly sought-after culinary competition, held in honour of the globally renowned French chef Paul Bocuse, which has three stages: national, regional, and international. Sri Lanka will host its national championship, the Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka 2023, on 23 July, at the William Angliss Institute at SLIIT, Malabe. This year, 28 teams, the highest ever participation seen from Sri Lanka in its seven years of competing, will participate in the intense cook-off, to determine the winning team which will represent Sri Lanka at the Regional Competition for the Asia Pacific region, next year. The winners will be announced at a five-course gala dinner and award ceremony at the Waters Edge. In the second phase, winning teams from each country will compete at the regional level competition in 2024. Thereafter, winners from each region, four or five of the best teams representing their countries, will get the coveted opportunity to attend the global competition in Lyon, France in 2025.
“The rigour, glamour and magnitude of rugby or a soccer world cup: that’s the status of this competition,” said the Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka President Rohan Fernandopulle. “This is the world’s largest and most reputable live cooking competition. You have to be the best of the best to get into this competition when you go to the next level”, he added. The level of skill required by the chefs at this world-renowned gastronomic competition will be intense.
“You eat from your eyes first,” quipped Fernandopulle, elaborating that at Bocuse d’Or, the chefs work not only on building the flavour profiles of the dishes they create, but also make it a feast for the senses, by creating a work of art that is fresh, beautiful, and mouth-watering.
Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka 2023 Event Coordinator, Alan Palmer has his work cut out on the day of the national competition, whose lengthy duration extends from 5.30 a.m. to 11.00 p.m. Palmer shared the level of preparation and commitment required from each competing team: The cooking time allocated in Lyon, France will be five hours and 35 minutes, and those timing guidelines will be used accurately in the Sri Lankan competition for the contestants to get a feel for the acclaimed international version. Palmer is pleased with the overwhelming response to the local competition: “We have never had so many teams participating, so there is a huge interest and huge increase”, he said, adding that the teams have been separated into 04 groups, considering travel time and logistics. Palmer elaborated on the criteria on which contestants would be assessed, such as adhering to the predetermined timetable, hygiene, use of sponsor products, creative usage of the ingredients, and cooking skills. The judging process for Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka 2023 will be stringent and impartial, with an international panel of judges flying down to the island. Esteemed culinary experts, including Chef Otto Weibel and Chef Frank Widmann, will form the distinguished judging panel. Chef Otto Weibel is a renowned food and beverage industry figure with over 50 years of experience and served as the President of the Singapore Chefs’ Association (SCA) for 15 years. Chef Frank Widmann, hailing from Germany, brings his extensive culinary expertise to the competition as a chef and judge. In 1992, he cooked his way to 3rd place in the national team at the Culinary Olympics, and in 2000 he won the Olympics with the “Baden- Württemberg” regional team.
The French Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jean-François Pactet, who graced the occasion said how impressive it was that Sri Lanka is participating for the seventh time, in Bocuse d’Or which he termed ‘the best cooking competition in the world’.
“I would like to highlight how impressive that is, and I think this is because you have great chefs here,” Pactet said. The origin of the world-famous competition is rooted in the heart of Lyon, France, the hometown of the late Paul Bocuse. It is a testament to the importance placed by the people of France on food and the love for cooking. The competition offers an opportunity to showcase the remarkable talent and boundless creativity of Sri Lanka’s finest chefs. But Ambassador Pactet believes that the competitors need to deliver something more.
“With the Bocuse d’Or and other such challenging competitions, it goes beyond creativity, skill, and hard work. The goal is to bring out the emotions of the guest, and that is probably the most difficult thing to do,” Pactet said, adding that these emotions can range from a memory of a dish from childhood or the discovery of a taste using a combination of textures.
Competing chefs at Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka 2023, will be tasked with creating two main course dishes, one featuring seafood and the other showcasing meat, each elegantly presented on individual plates and infused with a Dilmah Tea. Additionally, the candidates will need to craft three garnishes and a complementary sauce to accompany their culinary creations. While seafood and meat will be provided on the day of the competition, all other ingredients are to be sourced by the contestants.
The continuous success of Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka is ably supported by numerous valued partners, whose patronage has enabled competitors to take Sri Lankan culinary excellence to an international footing. Dilmah Tea has been supporting the local competition since its inception. This time, aspiring chefs can elevate their culinary artistry by incorporating exquisite Ceylon teas from Dilmah, along with ingredients such as jackfruit and seaweed, which are grown as part of The Genesis Project, initiated by the Dilmah group of companies, to support marginalised communities.
Addressing the audience, the Dilmah Tea CEO Dilhan C. Fernando, shared his enthusiasm for being part of the competition for the seventh consecutive time. “Sri Lanka has an abundance and richness of nature. Our food is an expression of holistic healing,” said Fernando elaborating on how Superfoods like jackfruit can be easily found within a few miles radius anywhere within the country. “Wellness in food can make Sri Lankan culinary world-famous as today wellness is beyond a trend, it is a necessity,” he added.
Ethically grown and made seaweed from the North of Sri Lanka, and Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica), from the South, make a compelling addition to the Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka 2023, carrying the nation’s livelihoods, and heritage of natural goodness with the Lankan culinary fraternity, to present the country on a plate, to the world.
“It’s not only about cooking but also about networking. It is about learning and communicating”, said Hilton Colombo Residences General Manager Karim Schadlou, while addressing the contestants of Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka 2023, pointing out the opportunity provided by a competition of this nature for those in the Hospitality industry to step up in their careers. “Sri Lanka has much to offer, and culinary experts would be the best ambassadors of Sri Lanka, to the world,” Schadlou further added.
Schadlou’s words underlie the power of food and cooking, as a universal element that always brings people together, across cultures and communities to build collaboration and partnerships. Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka 2023 is undoubtedly a progressive first step that initiates a prospective journey for all contestants that if successful, will culminate at the international stage.
Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe
