12th April 2013
Winter 2010: Backing Britain
The countdown has begun for Bocuse d’Or, one of the biggest culinary contests in the world, and Team UK is ready to take on the challenge.
Bocuse d’Or is one of the most sought after prizes for chefs around the globe. Set up by France’s culinary legend Paul Bocuse in 1987 to celebrate the individual talent of young chefs, it takes place every two years and, over the decades, has attracted a host of contestants ready and willing to show off their skills and represent their country to bring back the title and all the razzmatazz that goes with it.
The 2011 final at the hotel catering and food trade exhibition SIRHA in Lyon, France, which runs from January 24-26, will see 24 countries competing – 12 on January 25 and 12 on January 26.
Among them will be the UK’s candidate Simon Hulstone and his commis chef Jordan Bailey, who will be competing on Wednesday, January 26, in what is hoped to be lucky kitchen number seven.
With the help of a commis, each chef has to produce a fish dish and a meat dish, each with three garnishes, presented on silver plates to the panel of judges, which is made up of a representative from each competing country.
Three years ago the organisers introduced Bocuse d’Or Europe to the competition in the form of continental selection events taking place in the “middle” year, to give new countries a chance to take part. This year it took place in Geneva.
If this year’s European final is anything to go by, the audience at the world contest will consist of enthusiastic and supportive chefs, family and friends making as much noise as they possibly can, which strangely doesn’t seem to affect the performance of the competitors, and in fact spurs them on.
Hulstone says Bocuse d’Or is totally different from any other competition in the world and is a real spectacle. Hulstone, chef owner of the Michelin starred Elephant Restaurant in Torquay, Devon, took on the challenge in 2009 and came 10th – equalling his predecessor Andre Garrett’s achievement two years before.
Garrett, head chef at Galvin at Windows, said at the time that you had to prepare well and Hulstone agrees. His ambition is to put Britain well up in the rankings in 2011.
His achievements at the European final saw him grab fourth position and the best meat platter award. Along with Bailey, and under the watchful eye of his mentor and coach Nick Vadis, UK executive chef with the Compass Group, he executed all the skills he promised he would 18 months before.
His two year plan of action began immediately after the last world competition and he has been focusing on precision, refinement and practice ever since with the help of chefs that he can brainstorm with ideas and get honest feedback about his own work, plus industry experts’ input.
He is now fine tuning his dishes and calling on these top chefs to evaluate them and help to refine them. So far this year he’s had a few sessions with Ashley Palmer Watts, head chef at The Fat Duck. Recently he has been helped by Alain Roux from the Waterside Inn, and Gary Jones and Benoit Blin from Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. Throughout January he will be doing a run through of his menu, overseen by his peers and fellow team members.
Other talented and respected chefs who have joined forces in a call to action to help Hulstone include Marco Pierre White, Albert and Michel Roux, and Heston Blumenthal, along with the Academy of Culinary Arts(ACA), which manages the UK Bocuse d’Or representation. They have all pledged support and are helping to raise more awareness of the competition in the UK – something that has never been done before.
This time around companies such as Electrolux Professional, Nestlé Professional, Unilever Foodsolutions, and the Compass Group have rallied support for the UK team.
At the recent informal dinner held during the CESA conference at the Celtic Manor Hotel in Newport, South Wales, £17,490 was raised for the team through an auction of prizes hosted by ACA president Brian Turner.
Andrew Jones, managing director of Electrolux and a member of the CESA marketing committee that organised the fundraiser, says: ”The auction prizes helped us raise £17,490, which is a fantastic result and way above our expectations.
“This money together with donated funds will now allow us to have a secure future and be able to support not just Simon in the final in 2011 but to be on a secure footing for the next candidate, which is essential if we are to continue to push for higher results.”
These companies have also instigated petitions to support the UK cause, as has The Staff Canteen, a popular chefs’ forum. Already some top chefs in Britain have signed it and helped to raise more funds. A supporters’ trip has also been organised to cheer on Team UK.
Turner, who is also the competition’s UK judge, says: “The Bocuse d’Or is such a prestigious contest and receives a huge following in countries such as France, Norway, Denmark and the US. However, it is still relatively unknown in the UK, which means our candidate has to prepare with little or no financial support. This year, we’ve managed to secure generous donations from some of the food industry’s big names, but we’ve still a long way to go until we reach the kind of funding that other candidates receive. This is why we’ve launched the petition – to increase awareness of this fantastic competition among the British public and raise much needed funds.”
THREE LIONS CHALLENGE
Team UK is counting the days before it heads to Lyon in France to compete in the fiercely contested Bocuse d’Or global culinary challenge. UK candidate Simon Hulstone talks to Stockpot about the strategies he and his commis chef Jordan Bailey and coach Nick Vadis have planned for the competition in January. Hulstone will be cooking off on January 26 in what hopefully will be lucky kitchen number seven.
So is everything going according to plan?
As with any competition, I could always do with more time to prepare. Running a busy restaurant, as well as having other industry commitments means I won’t be able to start practising properly until January when The Elephant is closed. However, I do feel I’ve been putting my free time to good use and this year we’ve had a lot more support from all areas of the industry, which is fantastic.
When will you be going out there?
We plan to head out to Lyon on Sunday, January 23, to give us plenty of time to acclimatise and get used to the idea of representing the UK in such an acclaimed (and very noisy) competition.
What do you think of the support being drummed up for you?
I can honestly say that I’ve been floored by the support. It’s been fantastic and raising almost £20K at the recent CESA conference was truly amazing. It’s really quite humbling to know that there’s so much support out there and I can’t thank everyone who’s involved enough. It does add pressure in terms of our performance but then I’d rather have this than have to call around my contacts personally which is what happened last time. I just hope that we can make the UK proud in January and that this is the start of big things to come – we’ve made such a big leap that it’s important for the industry to continue it’s interest and support for the next candidate too.
Has anyone particular stood out in your preparations – chef, mentor, family? You’ve been to see and worked with quite a few.
Too many to mention. I’ve had input from some of Britain’s top chefs – Ashley Palmer Watts, Andrew Fairlie, Sat Bains, Glyn Purnell, Andreas Antona, which you can’t put a price on. I’ve had massive financial support from the likes of Electrolux Professional, Compass, Unilever Foodsolutions, BaxterStorey and Hobart. There are plenty of companies which are supporting through giving products and advice, such as Aubrey Allen. Also, Scotch Lamb and Seafood Scotland deserve a mention for organising a great trip up to Scotland to show me and Jordan the products. It is also fantastic to have the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Marco Pierre White and the Roux Brothers backing us with the petition. Of course, I am eternally grateful to Katy, my wife, and my daughters Tansy and Cicely – not all families would be as supportive as they’ve been.
Does there come a point where you feel you’ve done enough?
I should hope that’s how I feel when I’ve presented my meat platter in Lyon. Up until then I’ll always feel that I could have done more.
Have you finalised your menu?
The menu is in its final stages but I expect that it will change right up until January when I will really just have to practise.
Any advice for the next candidate?
Be committed; forget all you’ve ever done in your career so far because this is different. Be prepared for the competition to take over any free time you have and get some big sponsors on board!
The 2011 final at the hotel catering and food trade exhibition SIRHA in Lyon, France, which runs from January 24-26, will see 24 countries competing – 12 on January 25 and 12 on January 26.
Among them will be the UK’s candidate Simon Hulstone and his commis chef Jordan Bailey, who will be competing on Wednesday, January 26, in what is hoped to be lucky kitchen number seven.
With the help of a commis, each chef has to produce a fish dish and a meat dish, each with three garnishes, presented on silver plates to the panel of judges, which is made up of a representative from each competing country.
Three years ago the organisers introduced Bocuse d’Or Europe to the competition in the form of continental selection events taking place in the “middle” year, to give new countries a chance to take part. This year it took place in Geneva.
If this year’s European final is anything to go by, the audience at the world contest will consist of enthusiastic and supportive chefs, family and friends making as much noise as they possibly can, which strangely doesn’t seem to affect the performance of the competitors, and in fact spurs them on.
Hulstone says Bocuse d’Or is totally different from any other competition in the world and is a real spectacle. Hulstone, chef owner of the Michelin starred Elephant Restaurant in Torquay, Devon, took on the challenge in 2009 and came 10th – equalling his predecessor Andre Garrett’s achievement two years before.
Garrett, head chef at Galvin at Windows, said at the time that you had to prepare well and Hulstone agrees. His ambition is to put Britain well up in the rankings in 2011.
His achievements at the European final saw him grab fourth position and the best meat platter award. Along with Bailey, and under the watchful eye of his mentor and coach Nick Vadis, UK executive chef with the Compass Group, he executed all the skills he promised he would 18 months before.
His two year plan of action began immediately after the last world competition and he has been focusing on precision, refinement and practice ever since with the help of chefs that he can brainstorm with ideas and get honest feedback about his own work, plus industry experts’ input.
He is now fine tuning his dishes and calling on these top chefs to evaluate them and help to refine them. So far this year he’s had a few sessions with Ashley Palmer Watts, head chef at The Fat Duck. Recently he has been helped by Alain Roux from the Waterside Inn, and Gary Jones and Benoit Blin from Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. Throughout January he will be doing a run through of his menu, overseen by his peers and fellow team members.
Other talented and respected chefs who have joined forces in a call to action to help Hulstone include Marco Pierre White, Albert and Michel Roux, and Heston Blumenthal, along with the Academy of Culinary Arts(ACA), which manages the UK Bocuse d’Or representation. They have all pledged support and are helping to raise more awareness of the competition in the UK – something that has never been done before.
This time around companies such as Electrolux Professional, Nestlé Professional, Unilever Foodsolutions, and the Compass Group have rallied support for the UK team.
At the recent informal dinner held during the CESA conference at the Celtic Manor Hotel in Newport, South Wales, £17,490 was raised for the team through an auction of prizes hosted by ACA president Brian Turner.
Andrew Jones, managing director of Electrolux and a member of the CESA marketing committee that organised the fundraiser, says: ”The auction prizes helped us raise £17,490, which is a fantastic result and way above our expectations.
“This money together with donated funds will now allow us to have a secure future and be able to support not just Simon in the final in 2011 but to be on a secure footing for the next candidate, which is essential if we are to continue to push for higher results.”
These companies have also instigated petitions to support the UK cause, as has The Staff Canteen, a popular chefs’ forum. Already some top chefs in Britain have signed it and helped to raise more funds. A supporters’ trip has also been organised to cheer on Team UK.
Turner, who is also the competition’s UK judge, says: “The Bocuse d’Or is such a prestigious contest and receives a huge following in countries such as France, Norway, Denmark and the US. However, it is still relatively unknown in the UK, which means our candidate has to prepare with little or no financial support. This year, we’ve managed to secure generous donations from some of the food industry’s big names, but we’ve still a long way to go until we reach the kind of funding that other candidates receive. This is why we’ve launched the petition – to increase awareness of this fantastic competition among the British public and raise much needed funds.”
THREE LIONS CHALLENGE
Team UK is counting the days before it heads to Lyon in France to compete in the fiercely contested Bocuse d’Or global culinary challenge. UK candidate Simon Hulstone talks to Stockpot about the strategies he and his commis chef Jordan Bailey and coach Nick Vadis have planned for the competition in January. Hulstone will be cooking off on January 26 in what hopefully will be lucky kitchen number seven.
So is everything going according to plan?
As with any competition, I could always do with more time to prepare. Running a busy restaurant, as well as having other industry commitments means I won’t be able to start practising properly until January when The Elephant is closed. However, I do feel I’ve been putting my free time to good use and this year we’ve had a lot more support from all areas of the industry, which is fantastic.
When will you be going out there?
We plan to head out to Lyon on Sunday, January 23, to give us plenty of time to acclimatise and get used to the idea of representing the UK in such an acclaimed (and very noisy) competition.
What do you think of the support being drummed up for you?
I can honestly say that I’ve been floored by the support. It’s been fantastic and raising almost £20K at the recent CESA conference was truly amazing. It’s really quite humbling to know that there’s so much support out there and I can’t thank everyone who’s involved enough. It does add pressure in terms of our performance but then I’d rather have this than have to call around my contacts personally which is what happened last time. I just hope that we can make the UK proud in January and that this is the start of big things to come – we’ve made such a big leap that it’s important for the industry to continue it’s interest and support for the next candidate too.
Has anyone particular stood out in your preparations – chef, mentor, family? You’ve been to see and worked with quite a few.
Too many to mention. I’ve had input from some of Britain’s top chefs – Ashley Palmer Watts, Andrew Fairlie, Sat Bains, Glyn Purnell, Andreas Antona, which you can’t put a price on. I’ve had massive financial support from the likes of Electrolux Professional, Compass, Unilever Foodsolutions, BaxterStorey and Hobart. There are plenty of companies which are supporting through giving products and advice, such as Aubrey Allen. Also, Scotch Lamb and Seafood Scotland deserve a mention for organising a great trip up to Scotland to show me and Jordan the products. It is also fantastic to have the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Marco Pierre White and the Roux Brothers backing us with the petition. Of course, I am eternally grateful to Katy, my wife, and my daughters Tansy and Cicely – not all families would be as supportive as they’ve been.
Does there come a point where you feel you’ve done enough?
I should hope that’s how I feel when I’ve presented my meat platter in Lyon. Up until then I’ll always feel that I could have done more.
Have you finalised your menu?
The menu is in its final stages but I expect that it will change right up until January when I will really just have to practise.
Any advice for the next candidate?
Be committed; forget all you’ve ever done in your career so far because this is different. Be prepared for the competition to take over any free time you have and get some big sponsors on board!