Monday 2 February 2015

Team UK puts in a great performance in Lyon



Orjan Johannesson from restaurant Bekkjarvick Gjestgiveri (Austevoll) in Norway has won gold in the Bocuse d’Or - the world’s most prestigious and challenging chef competition.  Philip Tessier from the French Laundry in California won the silver trophy and Tommy Myllymaki from Sweden took bronze.

It is the ninth time that Norway has reached the podium and the second time that Orjan has competed in the world final. It was also the second time that Tommy had competed, having also won bronze in 2011. Despite investing millions of dollars over the past few years, this is the first time that Team USA, under the guidance of President Thomas Keller, have reached the podium.

Team UK secured 10th place, which given Adam

In a change to the competition, the candidates were asked to produce a fish dish with at least 50 per cent vegetable garnish - including one mandatory vegetable revealed the afternoon before the competition. Team UK and USA competed on the same day and had to use celery as a garnish.

Adam’s fish entry consisted of:

Fillet of French fario trout with a lobster mousseline centre and nori seaweed
Celery puree
Celery fondant
Braised celery stem filled with a smoked trout brandade, topped with smoked trout, horseradish and croutons
Cylinder of potato cooked in saffron stock, creamed leeks, caviar and trout eggs on top.
‘Champagne’ velouté (made with Nyetimber English sparkling wine) and a shellfish sauce.
Watercress and pea shoots

Adam’s striking meat platter was created by Heritage Silverware, a family firm based in Birmingham.




The meat menu:

Slow cooked leg of guinea fowl, Wiltshire ham, tongue and veal sweetbread
Parfait of guinea fowl livers, beetroot glaze
Crisp potato dentelle, St Georges’ mushroom cream
Evesham “red meat” turnips, quinoa and tarragon
Staffordshire cabbage cone with black lentils
Roasting juices with English apple verjuice and rosemary

Adam, Josh and Idris were cheered on by a crowd of more than 100 UK supporters, including students from University College Birmingham and the England Band which is fast becoming a fixture of the competition.

Photo from Le Photographe

Despite not matching his previous best of fourth place achieved in 2013, Adam remained positive about his Bocuse d’Or experience, “I’ve had a hell of a ride again and loved every minute. The strength of this competition is that every time the bar gets raised and it’s always an honour to represent the country.”

Brian Turner CBE is President of the UK Team and UK juror, added, “Adam, Josh and Idris did a fantastic job and I’m not the only one to be incredibly proud. We’re still in the top 10 of the world and with the funding we have we’ve moved forward significantly. Thanks to all our sponsors and everyone who has supported us on our journey to the final.

“Having looked at and talked with other competing teams it’s clear that they see the PR opportunity of the Bocuse d’Or for their country. We had great support out in Lyon so now we have to focus on turning that into the resource we need to match that of the most successful countries.”

In a bid to raise awareness and funds both for this campaign and future competitions, Team UK launched a crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo. Perks are available in return for donations and full details are available here: http://igg.me/at/bocusedoruk

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Why we've launched a crowdfunding campaign


With the Bocuse d'Or in Lyon now less than a week away, we've launched a crowdfunding campaign in a bid to improve our chances of success in the world’s most prestigious cookery competition.

Adam will compete in the world final on Tuesday January 27, 2015 - the first day of the two-day competition which sees 24 nations compete for a place on the highly coveted podium. This year he's supported by Culinary Arts student, Josh Allen and former UK candidate Idris Caldora.

Our goal is to raise £25,000 to help put the team in the best position for competing next week and to help build a strong succession plan for the UK. Whilst it might seem late to be raising funds, we will have plenty of bills to pay on our return from Lyon. Funds raised now will help ensure that Adam and his support team aren't left out of pocket and that we still have adequate finances in place when it comes to planning for 2017!

The campaign:
http://igg.me/at/BocusedOrUK hosted on Indiegogo and set up in collaboration with film partner Orama TV, will run until Sunday March 1.

The funds raised will go towards compensating and covering:

Practice time - To be in with a chance of securing a place on the podium requires months spent developing and practising every item on the menu.
Ingredients - The team require costly competition specific ingredients.
Logistics - Transportation of equipment and ingredients to Lyon.
Travel and accommodation for the Coach, Commis and Team support.
Raising awareness -  including website, advertising, PR, photography and film.
National Selection Competition.
Bid to bring the Bocuse d’Or Europe to the UK in 2018.
Future investment in the UK team.

Perks available in return for money donated include a Bocuse d’Or postcard, signed team posters, Adam’s 2015 menu brochure and the opportunity to bid for meals at his pub restaurant, The Cross in Kenilworth. Please give what you can afford, lots of small contributions will make a big difference!