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Sri Lanka was invited to participate for the first time at the Asia Final in Shanghai in 2012 and achieved an impressive third place, giving it direct entry to the 2013 World Final in Lyon where it participated against 23 other countries.
The time has come to choose the finalists for the 2015 World Final. This event will take place on 26-27 June, again in Shanghai.
Augustus wins the day
The Sri Lankan candidate is Augustus Lowe, Chef de Cuisine at the Heritance Kandalama. Augustus was the best chef at the Sri Lankan selection held on 26 July 2013, competing against 18 other top Sri Lankan chefs.
Augustus and his assistant Ravindu Dilhan have been training hard for several months and are now fine-tuning their two presentations, a salmon and lamb dish under the supervision of past Bocuse d’Or Laureat and the newly-appointed Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka Training Coordinator Roland Debuyst, Aitken Spence Hotels Director of Culinary Dimuthu Kumarasinghe and previous winner Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka Chef Buddhika Samarasekare.
At a media briefing held on Wednesday, Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka Promotion Manager and SriLankan Catering Ltd. CEO Sarath Fernando stated: “19 contestants took part in the competition held last year during the Hotel Show and Chef Augustus Lowe emerged as the winning chef, who now qualifies to take part in the Bocuse d’Or Asia Pacific Final that will be held this year in June. Competitions of this nature will uplift the skill capacities of the Sri Lankan chefs.”
World’s largest live cooking competition
Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka President, Culinary Advisor to the Urban Development Authority and Waters Edge General Manager Rohan Fernandopulle meanwhile explained the nature of the competition: “Bocuse d’Or is the largest live cooking competition in the world. The chefs have to start from scratch and prepare two dishes, one based on a meat theme and the other based on a fish theme. The time allocation for both the preparations will be five hours and 35 minutes. The Bocuse d’Or competition is carried out in three stages – National, Regional and World Championship.”
"For further information on the competition visit http://www.bocusedor.com."
Sharing the rules and regulations of the competition, Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka Official Coach Alan Palmer noted: “The apprentice should be under 23 years of age and the competition will adhere to a strict time schedule. The point allocation mainly focuses on the taste of the preparation and one of the garnishes used on the preparation should include a Sri Lankan ingredient. Sri Lanka will gain a huge learning experience by taking part in the regional competition and hopefully will qualify for the World Final that will be held in Lyon, France in 2015.”
Ceylon Hotel School Graduate Association President and Eden Resort & Spa General Manager Eksath Wijeratne said: “We are proud to have a professional Chef who will take part at the regional level competition. Events of this nature will assist us to develop the skills in the hotel 
industry and encourage the chefs to work in a competitive environment.”
According to Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Director Mar-keting Madhubani Perera, at this point in time Sri Lankan tourism is doing well in attracting tourists and these events will attract young blood to join hands with the tourism industry. “As a country Sri Lanka will receive much-needed publicity in China, which is an emerging market.”
Special culinary experience
A special culinary experience will take place at the Heritance Kandalama on 23 May to savour the cuisine of Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka Training Coordinator Roland Debuyst and Chef Augustus. A five course meal will be served on 23 May and will be promoted as a package along with a one night stay at the Heritance Kandalama.
For further information on the competition visit http://www.bocusedor.com.
