Poznań competes for the right to represent Poland in the Bocuse d'Or competition
Between the 27th and 28th of February in Warsaw the selection for the European edition of the Bocuse d’Or competition is underway. Eight talented Polish chefs, supported by their young and apt sous chefs, meet at the Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel to determine the one who will go on to represent Poland during the Selection Europe 2018, the European qualifier for the world final. Bocuse d’Or is probably the most prestigious culinary competition in the world! There are two Poznań chefs in this select group.
In Warsaw, Polish chefs will be confronted with very difficult opponents. They will face not only their distinguished colleagues but also their own nerves and unimaginable media pressure.
In this select assembly there are two Poznań-based chefs - Jakub Kasprzak from Lumiere restaurant in Baranowo (Edison Hotel) and Paweł Kubera from DeSilva Poznań Premium. The chefs will be accompanied by their young sous chefs.
If gastronomy does not catch your fancy, it is probably difficult to imagine just exactly what Bocuse d’Or is - but fear not, we will try our best to explain. Do you remember the red Tesla cabrio which was sent off into space just a few weeks ago? Well, the chef who has the chance to represent Poland in the competition could be thought of as the astronaut behind the wheel of that red Tesla.
The Polish qualifier will name the representative of our country, the person who will prove their precision, competitive spirit, ability to conquer their own nerves and their perfect harmony with their sous chef. Among the eight talented professionalists, the one who makes the least mistakes, wins.
We congratulate all the participants, not only the Poznań representatives, on their courage. Each of the candidates guarantees that Poland will be well represented, although we must admit our hearts are, were and always will be with the Poznań team.
In the competition’s over 30-year-long history, Poland has participated five times so far. The first time was when the competition was still single-stage, and chefs met during the main contest in Lyon (with Paweł Oszczyk’s participation). In time, the competition has gained more and more popularity. This mandated the organisers to create continental qualifiers and thus the competition became a two-stage event, raising the bar even higher.
“Chef Rafał Jelewski i sous chef Bartek Budzyński during the result announcement in Geneva”
Poland’s four entries in the new, two-stage editions of the competition have resulted in an advancement to world finals only once - with Poznań chef Rafał Jelewski, supported by his sous chef Bartek Budzyński. Bartek is the only Pole to ever take part in this competition as a sous chef three times (in Stavanger with Dominik Brodziak and in Geneva and Lyon with Rafał Jelewski).
The Polish representative and his sous chef will face the European vanguard during the Selection Europe 2018 in Turin, Italy on June 11th and 12th, 2018. The potential success of this participation will be the advancement into the world final in Lyon, France, planned for January of 2019. The main competition takes place every two years.
Go on, Poland! To battle!
