The Bocuse d'Or is one of the most prestigious cooking competitions in the world - it combines haute cuisine with political intrigue, drama and tension as 24 of the world's best chefs vie for the coveted golden statue. Years of all-consuming and dedicated practice culminate in just five hours of competition, when in front of a huge public audience, candidates must produce two platters for twelve and 2 plates of each.

The Culinary Competition Bocuse d’Or was established in 1987 by Paul Bocuse and the "Sepelcom" organisation in Lyon to promote young international chefs through an official World Championship. It has since become the global reference point of excellence in the culinary world and winning the Bocuse trophee is like bringing home an Olympic medal.

Bocuse d’Or is a coupling of two French words reflecting the spirit of the competition . . . Bocuse being the surname of the founder of the competition Paul Bocuse who is probably the world’s most renowned chef and a major inspiration to several generations of French and international chefs. . . and Or which simply means gold in French. It thus translates as the Golden Bocuse indicating that this really is the World Culinary Competition.

I first entered the competition in 2003 when I came 8th out of 24 competitors from different countries. The competition takes place this year on 25 and 26 January 2005, in Lyon as usual, and we are being asked to devise meals based around Icelandic Monkfish and Danish Veal.

Wish me luck . . . I’d love to bring home the gold medal for the U.K!
If you’d like to know more about the Bocuse d’Or just click on this link
www.bocusedor.com