(Credits: Le Fotographe, SIRHA 2017, Bocuse d'Or 2017)
Chef Mathew Peters and Team USA have taken gold at the Bocuse d’Or 2017 Finale after a thrilling two days of culinary competition in Lyon, France.
Peters and his commis Harrison Turone wowed the panel of judges, which included Thomas Keller and 2017 Bocuse d’Or President of Honour Joël Robuchon, with their interpretation of a platter based around chicken and crayfish – in this case, chicken stuffed with mushrooms, foie gras and crawfish – and a 100% vegan plate of California green asparagus with toasted almond custard.
Team USA's platter (Credits: Le Fotographe, SIRHA 2017, Bocuse d'Or 2017)
A stunned Peters said, “We’re going to celebrate as a team now ... going to Disneyland ...maybe take a nap first!” When speaking about the dishes, Peters explained, “The inspiration for the dishes came from where I’ve come from: from New York to California. I wanted to bring something that was all American. And that’s what we did.”
Joining them on the podium was Chef Christopher William Davidsen and the Norway team winning silver, with Chef Viktor Andrésson and the Iceland team claiming bronze.
Chef Christopher William Davidsen, Norway Team (Credits: Le Fotographe, SIRHA 2017, Bocuse d'Or 2017)
France won best vegetable plate, while Hungary took best meat platter. France's Benjamin Vakanas won best commis.
S.Pellegrino was the official water of the Bocuse D’Or 2017 Finale and welcomed visitors to the event with a dedicated stand that played host to a number of unique presentations, including the launch of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef French local jury for the upcoming edition, in collaboration with Shintaro Awa, the French S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 finalist.
Triple Michelin-starred chef Frédéric Anton, from Le Pré Catelan restaurant in Paris, will be the honorary president of the jury and take on the role of mentor. Anton will be joined by Philippe Mille, chef of the 2 Michelin star hotel restaurant Le Parc at Les Crayères hotel in Reims, and Christophe Bacquié, chef of the 2 Michelin star Restaurant Christophe Bacquié in Le Beausset.
Chef Frédéric Anton & Young Chef Shintaro Awa
The stand also hosted a lively sauce degustation by S.Pellegrino Young Chef mentor and 3 Michelin-starred Yannick Alleno from le Pavillion Ledoyen, in addition to an interesting Q&A session by 3 Michelin-starred Christian Le Squer from Le Cinq in Paris and an exclusive book signing by Guillaume Gomez from L’Elysée in Paris, ex-Michelin Academy Director Jean François Mesplède.
On January 21, S.Pellegrino was also a proud partner of the Grande Tablée in Lyon, a long table dining event in the Croix Rousse tunnel where 50 Michelin-starred chefs, including Nicolas Ablaoui, Emmanuel Renaut and Mathieu Viannay, concocted their best recipes for 3,400 guests. The event took place as part of BIG, the International Biennale of Taste.
If you didn’t make it to Lyon, don’t worry. You can check out all of the action on our dedicated S.Pellegrino at Bocuse D’Or social wall, right here on this website. You can also follow more Bocuse d’Or competition and Sirha coverage on FineDiningLovers.