Sirha and Bocuse d'Or, the best of worldwide gastronomy

It comes as no surprise that the prestigious Bocuse d’Or competition takes place in Lyon, at the heart of Sirha, the global hotel and catering industry exhibition. Founded by Paul Bocuse in 1987, this prestigious contest has become the event that reveals tomorrow’s most talented chefs and worldwide gastronomic trends. Over the years, the competition has been opened to the other continents to put new countries in the limelight.

Thus, the final that takes place in 2011 brings together today’s 24 best young chefs, who have qualified after 56 national and 3 continental selection rounds; it is a great human adventure where excellence, passion and boldness take centre stage in a unique competition.

Created in 2000, the “Bocuse d’Or Winners’ Academy” embodies these values by bringing together all the Chefs who have had the privilege to take first place in the competition. Its goal is to promote the Bocuse d’Or, to create synergy through a unique network of Chefs from around the world and to put the spotlight on the winners of the competition.

Sirha is a real trends laboratory where tomorrow’s catering industry is created. More than ever, it is becoming a stage dedicated to discovering innovations. With more than 2000 exhibitors, approximately 1000 new products and innovations and 1200 demonstrations per day, Sirha brings new ideas and solutions to professionals to help them reinvent their offer.

Sirha: the international event where trends come together and where the whole catering industry finds its inspiration

Sirha’s panoramic offer gives the 140,000 professional visitors an overview of the global hotel and catering market with sectors such as: Food and Beverages, Bakery, Pastry Making, Confectionery and Chocolate Making (Intersuc), Equipment, Technologies and Services, Cafés and Bars, Tableware, Hotels, etc. 

 New in 2011:

The Chefs’ favourite meeting place:

10,100 chefs and pastry chefs from 136 countries meet at Sirha in a unique atmosphere to share their passion for gastronomy, to understand new trends, and discover new products and solutions for their establishments.

5 days to share ideas, get inspired and gain knowledge

At Sirha, everything is organised to inspire creativity, provoke thought and generate business opportunities in a friendly atmosphere: thousands of demonstrations, events, contests, round-table sessions and research forums lead professionals right to the core of tomorrow’s trends.

The finest setting for some exceptional contests

The most prestigious gastronomic shows in the world take place at Sirha and nowhere else: the Bocuse d’Or and the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie provide exceptional moments for visitors and reveal tomorrow’s best chefs and pastry chefs. They are an unrivalled source of inspiration for professionals who are on the hunt for the latest trends.

New in 2011: The Tendances Pain area welcomes the Louis Lesaffre Cup (European selection event for the 2012 World Bakery Cup)

Leading events for all the segments of the catering trades:

During the 5-day exhibition, events dedicated to all segments of catering take place and inspire visitors. They include the European Catering Cup, the Gastronomic Creativity Festival or the Gargantua competition (institutional catering competition).

A stage for culinary experimentation

The Food Studio by Sirha provides an avant-gardist vision of catering with the presentation of 4 totally new urban, on the go take-away concepts.

New features for the 2013 competition

A new fish dish

• The theme will be unveiled to the teams at the end of November.

• Major novelty: The candidates will not be allowed to bring all their ingredients with them. Thus, the day before the competition, they will have 1.5 hours to “do their shopping” and choose seasonal products to prepare two of their side dishes.

• In order to showcase each country’s culinary traditions and promote diversity, each candidate will have to prepare a third side dish that is a typical national dish.

• With the assistance of his/her coach and commis-chef, each candidate will have to create and write up the recipe of his/her dish the day before the competition on the basis of the products selected.

• In order to respect the specific constraints of the food service, the candidates will have to prepare 14 servings, 12 of which will be presented to the fish jury, 1 to the presidents’ table and 1 for the official photo.

Meat dish theme

The theme of the 14^th Bocuse d’Or is premium grass-fed Irish beef filet, accompanied by paleron, cheek and tail, and supplied by Board Bia.

The original spirit of the competition has been retained, the meet being presented on a dish with three freely-chosen side-dishes.

A new marking criterion: geographic specifity

A new marking criterion has been added to the mix: a mark related to geographic specificity and originality, awarded by the tasting jury, in addition to a mark related to the taste and presentation of the dishes. The geographic specificity mark will be based on the whole dish for the meat event, but only on the typical national side-dish for the fish event.

Creation of a kitchen jury

With this new jury, hygiene, waste, teamwork and respect of the fish recipe created the day before the event will be decisive to clinch the Bocuse d’Or title. Up to now, the marks given by the Surveillance Committee were only used to pick a winner between candidates in the event of a tie. But this year, the mark given by the kitchen jury will count for 20% of the final score.

This jury will be chaired by a member of the International Organisation Committee and will comprise two Bocuse d’Or Winners, and four coaches from teams not competing that day.