Bocuse d'Or

Final Days in Lyon

Well, like it or not, our time in Lyon is drawing to a close.  Our group is scattered to all points of the compass, many of them off to a new stage of life without the relentless focus of the Bocuse d’Or. 

Getting to better know this diverse group of passionate, talented people has been a great treat for me.  They are each as special as they are unique, and unique is what they are.  Our support group was friends and family and more.  There are David’s former employees who flew here on their own dime - their own student income dime - to lend a hand in the kitchen and support in the stands.  Apprentices and young Chefs looking forward to the future, and reveling the the culinary present in Lyon.  There are Chefs from Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria and more.  There is one of Canada’s former apprentices at the competition who currently works in Paris and “stopped by” via a 5 hour train ride to help out and lend support, and at least two former Canadian Chefs from the Bocuse d’Or offered their insight & guidance.  Always looking forward, the Chef Candiate for 2011 was here as well.

I would like to reiterate my personal thanks to the Chefs of Team Canada for the Bocuse d’Or.

Robert Sulatycky, Coach & Mentor Chef, when I worked with him last year was the Director of Food and Beverage for the world renowned Beverly Hills Hotel, and has since been promoted to a position overseeing both this hotel and a second Beverly Hills hotel of equal calibre.  This is a Chef who meets the culinary demands of the fickle glitteratti of Hollywood, and burns through Blackberry batteries faster than he can charge them, yet remains as passionate and committed to the Bocuse d’Or as when he was the Chef Candidate himself.  His insight and laser focus on important detail cannot be understated, and are much appreciated.  I have enjoyed working with him on both a Moxie’s Feature Menu, and the Bocuse d’or.

Vincent Parkinson, General Manager & Chef de Mission is the Executive Chef at the very elite Calgary Golf & Country Club.  This little gem is hidden away in a little pocket of paradise just outside of the downtown core, and has about a two hundred year waiting list for memberships, give or take a decade.  Vincent is a veteran of many a culinary battle, and has been the glue binding together this national effort on the world stage.  As any of you who have planned any type of trip involving an airplane can imagine, the logistical challenge of organizing the flights and accomodation of twenty-odd different professionals with varying schedule demands from L.A., Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria and points abroad to Lyon, France is an immense challenge.  And that’s just for the actual week of the contest!  Imagine the myriad details of organizing three major fundraisers across Canada, the requirements of the contest itself, shipping cargo, dealing with customs, uniforms, sponsors, stainless steel molds, european equipment, etc, etc, for the past two years leading up to this week!  Did I mention he has a day job?  Vince is to be commended for tackling such a monumental task, and managing it so well, while promoting Canada with such success on the world stage - as a cap on his success, he got both the hosts of the event to wear a Canadian Hockey Jersey, all being broadcast to over 70 countries around the world.  Well done Vince!

Grace Pineda is simply one of the finest apprentices I have ever met.  She has boundless energy and enthusiasm, and a great budding culinary talent.  Grace is bound to do exceptionally well, no matter which path she takes - and in the culinary world, there are many, many paths.  Grace’s success in life is nicely foreshadowed by her success at the Bocuse d’Or, and her win as Best Apprentice.  I look forward to any future opportunity to work with Grace.

Finally, David Wong.  David and I got to know each other better in an ideal setting, over a long lunch at Thomas Keller’s “Bouchon” in the Napa Valley, during our Leadership Conference there.  We sat for hours, eating charcuterie, mussels and duck, and chatting about cuisine.  All of life should be so good.  David is one of those people who, when you meet him once, his impression sticks with you for quite some time.  I have had the privilege of working with David many times now through our fundraising work for the Bocuse d’Or, and our upcoming Winter Feature for Moxie’s.  David and I developed this menu with the assistance of our Calgary Moxie’s Chefs, and the experience of the road to Bocuse has definitely flavoured the menu.  Lemon Hazelnut Tart with Berry Preserves, anyone?

I can count on one hand the number of people in my professional life who I have not been able to get along with.  I generally like working with most people, and I am fortunate enough to work for a company that attracts the type of people that I really like to work with.  For me, David personifies the type of person that I really like to work with - bright, talented, inspiring.  In every Moxie’s kitchen that I have worked with David, the Chefs and crew always comment on David’s passion, and his contagious good spirit.  David inspires me, and renews my creative energy.  I look forward to a continued friendship with David, and I’ll be looking out for the next opportunity to chat about cuisine over charcuterie, mussels and duck.

Congratulations, David and Grace!  We’re all proud of you!

Results!

WiFi seems to be challening in EuroExpo, so this post will be a summary of the notes from throughout the competition day in Lyon.

5:00 am

The group departs to the school to pack up the food and travel to EuroExpo.  The start is a little earlier than anticpated - there are rumors of a train strike in France that are fuelling horrific rush hour traffic.

6:00 am

Unloading at EuroExpo.  David & Grace must place things in exactly the right place, in exactly the right order.  Each tray, each pan, is clearly labelled with either a product, or a time.  This pan for prawns.  This tray at 11:10. 

The crew start to stake out the Canadian Block of seats in the stadium, in clear view of the Canadian Kitchen, Box #8.

9:00 am

EuroExpo opens, and already there are more than 1000 people waiting to get in.  They have 2 people at the entrance to scan all the passes.  It’s a race to the stadium - about half a mile through the winding expo - to get seats.  There are no reserved places, although the Canadian flags and Duct Tape around our seats do help to keep out intruders.  At the beginning at least.  I wonder how the French got in so fast - they had about a third of the stadium already filled with an organized group.

9:30 am

The stadium is full.  And I don’t mean Canadian Full.  This is French Full.  French Full means every seat.  It also means every aisle, every staircase, every window from another part of the building, and another staircase outside the stadium that just happens to have a view of the stage.  French Full means five people eyeing your seat if you stand up, which we do frequently to cheer.

9:58 am

It’s 2 minutes to David’s start time, and the Canadian Block, about 30 of us, stands up to sing “O Canada”, loud and proud.  David’s Fish platter comes out, and looks great.  Each country has exactly 5 hours to produce the first platter, and then an additional 30 minutes to produce the Meat platter.  The countries are staged, and David is the 8th of 12 countries today.  The first 12 competed yesterday.

When David’s platter is paraded, we cheer ourselves hoarse, stomping on the floorboards.  The platters are slowly paraded in front of the enitre judging panel of 27 judges.  Then back along in front of all the media - hundreds and hundreds of them.  Then to a special table for the official photograph.  Then to another table where the MOF (the highest order of French Chefs) transfer the delicate works of art to individual plates, which are then presented to the judges for tasting.

David now has a further 30 minutes to present his meat platter.  For the judges, the platters keep on coming.

About 45 minutes later, the French Fish platter is presented.  The noise was astounding.  The announcer announced each platter with admirable affection, but adopted a bit more enthusiasm for the French presentation. My ears are still ringing.  Literally.

4:30

The platters have all been presented, and the judges are making their final notes.  It will be another 90 minutes until the awards ceremony, and we’ve been in these small plastic stadium seats for almost 9 hours.  At least we’re not standing in the aisles.  We’ve been able to sneak out for bathroom breaks, having fellow Canadians guard our seats, but “Pardon me, this seat is taken” is no longer working.  Aggressive Spaniards are moving in.  Somehow, the press floor is full of fans, and I’m told you can’t get out of the stadium, as the lobby entrance is full of hopefulls trying to get in.

6:00

The first hint that the results might be at hand - some dignitaries are introduced, and seated in front of the newly erected podium.  Convotherm (an oven company) is a primary sponsor, so miniature bronze, silver and gold ovens are set on the three steps of the podium.

Over the next fifteen or twenty minutes, the podium area fills with introduced sponsors, judges, previous Bocuse d’Or winners and dignitaries.  Many, sponsors mostly, make speeches in either broken French, or broken English.

The crowd is getting anxious, and finally the lights dim.  The crowd begins to roar, as there is only one possible reason, one person who earns this introduction.  The announcer’s voice lowers to a hush “Madames et Monsieurs…” he begins.  The accolades follow, and his voice gradually increases to a shout… the pride of Lyon… the father of modern cuisine… the culinary ambassador of France… several more I couldn’t translate… the most respected chef in the world…”CHEF PAUL BOCUSE!!!”  Lights flare, flashbulbs pop by the thousands, and the stadium explodes in an ovation the likes of which I’ve never seen.  Everyone not just on their feet, but jumping up and down, every noisemaker running at full throttle.  EVERYONE has a noisemaker - horns, drums, duck calls, cow bells, I think I even heard firecrackers over in the Japan camp.  If you’ve ever been to a Stanley Cup game where the home team scores the winning goal, you have some idea of what I mean.  Paul Bocuse is an 83 year old man, but is a Chef who commands this respect, and has earned this adulation.  He is a large part of what makes France, France.

THE RESULTS!

Finally, it’s time for some results.  The first award announced is for the Best Commis de Cuisine, or Apprentice.  If we weren’t already on our feet, we would have jumped out of our seats when they announced that CANADA’S GRACE PINEDA won!  Go Grace Go!!  What a fantastic acievement!  Think of all the countries in the world that try to get into the Bocuse d’Or.  Only 24 are invited.  All the chefs in each country that try earn the right to compete, and all of the hungry young apprentices in the world that dream of the ability to compete on the world stage.  Grace has not only competed at the most difficult, most prestigious culinary competition in the world, but was singled out as the Best, most outstanding Apprentice there!!

One of the major reasons that Moxie’s is involved as the Title Sponsor for the Bocuse d’Or is that our two organizations share a solid belief in not only Canadian culinary talent, but in YOUNG Canadian talent.  This speaks to me as a Chef, and to Moxie’s as a company.  Grace, on behalf of the over 4,000 Moxie’s employees who have been cheering you on, you represented yourself, Moxie’s and Canada in a beautiful, classy way, with energy, drive and enthusiasm.  Congratulations on a world class achievement!

Next up were the individual awards for best meat platter and best fish platter.  Curioiusly, both were won by Denmark, who failed to appear on the podium.  I suspect that the individual awards were based upon presentation alone, which accounted for only 40% of the total score.

THE RESULTS!

Finally, we got to the podium.  Each result was dragged out to an excrutiatingly long wait, for maximum suspense.  I don’t think I mentioned this, but just about everyone was wearing ear plugs, as there is actually a serious risk of ear damage at this event.  I was glad to have them when they announced that France won the Bronze, and 10,000 Euros in prize money.  And I thought it was loud when they introduced Paul.  Sweden was called up for the Silver, and 15,000 Euros, and finally, in a shower of sparks and fireworks (yes, indoors) Norway was crowned the winner with the Bocuse d’Or, and 20,000 Euros.

So, David didn’t make the podium this time, but still represented Canada in an excellent fasion.  A top 10 in the world - let me repeat, in the WORLD - is an amazing feat, and something to always be proud of.  David’s performance only goes to reinforce our strong belief in Canadian culinary talent, and our ability to compete, and compete well, on the world stage.  David and Grace, on behalf of everyone at Moxies, let me thank you for an excellent performance, and a great partnership on the road to get here in Lyon.

SIRHA

This show is bigger than you can imagine.  When they say Europe’s largest food show, they’re not kidding.  I still haven’t made it from one end to the other yet - although I have to admit I spent a bit more time over lunch than I’m accustomed to.  The French take lunch time seriously, and it was in that spirit that I started with the Foie Gras, continued with the Filet de Boeuf, thought I was finished after half a small wheel of soft ripened cheese, and was finally done in by an unexpected Tart Tatin.  I had to stay out of the food hall for a while after that… but I’ve since been drawn back into an entire hall dedicated to bakery and pastry items.  By “hall” I mean something the size of about 6 Home Depots put together.  It is truly overwhelming, and like Disney Land, there’s far too much to see in just one day.

Euroexpo

I’m in the middle of Europe’s largest food show, SIRHA.  This is where the actual competition for the Bocuse d’Or is held, and the number of people here is overwhelming.  Just to move people from the train to the expo site, a constant stream of double lenght articulated busses move in a constant stream to handle the crowds.

David and Grace are busy with last minute preparations - organizing their equipment, double checking everything.  Every detail is planned to the exact minute, and there’s a contingency plan for everything.  While there is a big support team here to help with anything they need, the actual stacking of equipment - this pot goes here, this tray goes there - is something that David and Grace need to do on their own.  They’ve done this prep dozens of times, and need to be able to reach for equipment and supplies without even looking.

For the next few hours, I’ll be looking over the best that Europe has to offer in the world of hotel and restaurant.  Advances in food, equipment, lighting, safety, beverages, storage - every aspect of our business.  This is the forefront, the leading edge of what we do, and it’s exciting to be able to have a sneak peek.

Sunday & Monday in Lyon

6:00 am

Well, it’s early morning and I’ve had a few hours sleep to catch up on the last whirlwind 40 hours or so.  On a plane by 8:00 pm on Saturday, then nine hours to Heathrow.  A brief layover, then on the plane to Lyon at 3:00 pm the next day.  Into Lyon by about 5:00, quickly followed by a 70 euro cab ride (a little over a hundred dollars) to the hotel.  The Bocuse group was in the lobby by then, so a rushed check-in to a surprisingly large, ornate room, a Clark Kent change of clothes and a swift shave was the extent of settling into the hotel.

We took a 20 minute walk through a curious juxtaposition of classic architecture with imposing stone-works and modern French businesses of convenience.  How a vacuum cleaner store could afford the rent here I don’t know.  Our walk ended at Brasserie Georges, www.brasseriegeorges.com ,a 500-seat brasserie restaurant in business since the early 1800’s.  It was packed when we got there, and after holding a lineup until well past 10:00 pm, it was packed when we left around 11:00.

What a place!  An iconic building that no one would construct today, the 500 seats are all under a 30 foot ceiling in one massive room, and not a support pillar in sight.  A live jazz ensemble entertains throughout the evening, smoothly segueing into “Happy Birthday” with every well rehearsed dimming of the lights.  The lights dim on and off all evening, each time accompanied by applause and a parade of sparkling desserts.

Platters of foie gras, oysters and snails passed along the table with simple vinaigrettes and wonderfully chewy breads started things off.  Dinner ranged from delicate plates of scallops and seafood cannelloni to monstrous trays dedicated to sauerkraut and pork and potatoes.  Whole ham hocks, pork belly, cured shoulder, frankfurters, all served with beers brewed on site – all in all a very suitable first meal in France.

So now I’ve had a few hours sleep, and the support team is off with David and Grace for more kitchen work at a local culinary school.

1:00 pm

The team has been busy at work in the kitchen, and we’ve just finished a team lunch, prepared from the trimmings of the kitchen session.  Countless boxes of equipment are checked and rechecked.  Cook times and temperatures are confirmed over and over.

The big event of the day has definitely been the arrival of the silver platters.  Custom designed specifically for David’s Bocuse d’Or menu and crafted in France, they arrived today safely packed in huge wooden crates.  Until now, David has been practicing on steel mock-ups of the platters, so it was like Christmas morning opening up the real article.  Polished to a mirror finish, they are exquisite works of art, and completely unique.

Last Minute Packing!!

It’s two hours until I leave for the airport.  I’m the last member of the support group headed to France, so I’ve fielded a few calls for last minute supplies.  Somehow I’ve managed to fit a recirculator (a pricey piece of specialized kitchen equipment) into my carry on luggage, and pack a big box with two goose neck heat lamps to replace items missing in France.  I’m not giving good odds on the heat bulbs making it in one piece, but they should be relatively easy to replace if they don’t make it. 

Speaking of geese, I also have the heads from two Canada goose decoys in my checked luggage - a couple of good luck Canadian Icons to bring to the stadium.

The excitement of heading off to France for such a big event is starting to sink in, and I’m a bit jittery.  I am also, however, especially thankful for on line check in.  That emergency row seat is essential for me.  Those of you who know me also know that I’m 6’7”, and don’t fit into any airplane that well.   I cheered like a hockey fan at Game 7 when I checked in and got that exit row seat!

When I arrive in France, I’ll be passing on the best wishes, support and encouragement of over four thousand Moxie’s employees, cheering for David and Grace from locations across Canada.  If you’ve been in a Moxie’s in the last few days and noticed that everyone is wearing a gold ribbon - those ribbons are cheers for David and Grace, a constant reminder of our united support of Canada and the Bocuse d’Or.

If you haven’t already done so, please join David Wong’s fan page on Facebook, and send him a mesage of support!

Time to finish packing - and start thinking about having dinner in France when I get off the plane!