S.Pellegrino is the official partner of the Bocuse d’Or, supporting the world renowned gastronomic competition for many years running. An icon of Italian style and quality, S.Pellegrino is the water choice of the finest establishments and continues its involvement in important gastronomical events worldwide.
USA won this very first edition of the Bocuse d’Or Americas 2018 which took place on the 12th and 13th of April in Mexico City. They are joined by Canada (2nd place), Argentina (3rd), Brazil (4th) and Chile (5th) to head to the Bocuse d’Or Finale held in Lyon, France in 2019.
The Challenge
11 teams, each composed of a candidate, commis and coach, and had precisely 5 hours and 35 minutes to prepare a platter composition (which needed to feature a suckling pig and two types of berries) and a plated dish (using a whole salmon and crab) to a panel of judges.
The key was to incorporate flavours representing the cultural heritage of each country. “The most important thing about the Bocuse d’Or is this exchange of gastronomical culture through the products and flavours that the teams bring,” said Javier Placentia (Mexico), President of Honor at the Bocuse d’Or America 2018.
USA’s Winning Recipe
The 35-year-old chef Matthew Kirkley for USA impressed the jury with his technical skills and creativity. For his Suckling Pig Presented Three Ways, scraps of suckling pig were transformed into a mini ham using a “meat glue” technique that typically takes a week in the industry, which the team figured out a way to do within 5 hours.
The plated dish was a Chilean Salmon Roulade and consisted of six components: a salmon roulade topped with a sheet of crisped salmon skin, a crab bisque with grapefruit, asparagus and osetra caviar, a green garlic sphere, and a citrus anglaise.
What’s Next
The top 5 of the Americas selection will be joined by those of the other two continental selection rounds – Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific to take place on May 8-9, and Bocuse d’Or Europe on June 11-12. 24 total candidates will then to head to the grand finale in Lyon, France.
Missing out at this year’s Americas qualifier included Mexico (host country), Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Uruguay.
Bocuse d’Or, often known as the gastronomic Olympics was first founded in 1987 and brings together the top chefs from the world in a competition held every 2 years. It is a true showcase of passion and technique in the spirit of it’s French founder, Paul Bocuse, who passed away earlier this year.
Stay tuned on S.Pellegrino’s social media and official channels as we keep you up to date on this exciting competition as the teams on the road to Lyon!
Plates from USA winner team
