Bronze to Norway in Bocuse d’Or:
FRANCE TAKES GOLD!
Denmark takes SILVER!
Norway takes BRONZE!
Norway thus picks up another medal in what is referred to as the world championship in culinary art.
By the way, it was Jerome Bocuse, son of the now deceased Paul Bocuse, who got the honor of handing out the gold medal to Davy Tissot. He is, to all intents and purposes, also from Lyon.
That means at Christian André Pettersen for the second time has won bronze in the fierce competition. But it is Davy Tissot from France who can therefore be the world’s best chef.
The language barrier may have cost the victory
– It was a tough competition this year, I had hoped for myself, and it was bronze. Now I have for European Championship gold and for World Cup bronze, says a tired, a little disappointed, but still happy Pettersen on the phone from Lyon.
– You are never satisfied. I had hoped for myself, and it has been a long year with many challenges, but I have, after all, gotten on the podium!
Not everything went as it should when the Norwegian team had to start the competition yesterday, says Pettersen.
– It was a bit turbulent in the morning, with some linguistic complications and misunderstandings. We thought we were going to peel some tomatoes before starting, but it turned out we did not like it.
The team thus lost precious minutes which may have cost them to watch. But third place in the World Cup is no small feat, and tonight Pettersen will celebrate the bronze with the team and friends and loved ones who have taken the trip to Lyon.
– Where does the road go next? Are you going to do as the Danish coach, Rasmus Kofoed, and try yourself a third time? (Kofoed has bronze, silver and gold in the prestigious competition.)
– No, I do not think so. Now I will get it a little at a distance and relax. It has been many years of hard training. Pettersen has worked with Bocuse d’Or gold since 2007.
Where the road goes next is not nailed down, but first and foremost he needs to relax a bit, be with friends and family and work a bit for the sponsors.
– I would like to thank so much for everyone who has followed me on the road here; sponsor, partners, near and dear ones. It takes an enormous amount, and without these I would not have been here I am today.
Nordic dominance
The Nordic countries continue to sharpen their skills in the world’s most prestigious cooking competition for podium places. France has not found since 2013.
The award for “best meat dish” goes to ISLAND.
Take-away award, is very special for the year edition. Deterring Sweden who runs away with this award. It may seem that the Swedish participants were disappointed – mostly because they probably assume that they would not win the winners prizes.
The award for this year’s commis, the assistant to the main participant, this year ten nineteen-year-old Manuel Hofer leaves Switzerland.
Social endowment award is new this year. The prize must be awarded to someone who has shown a particularly strong commitment to sustainability. Tonight’s first prize goes to Columbia.
Special year for Bocuse d’Or
This year’s edition of Bocuse d’Or turns into days in the gastronomic capital Lyon in France. Norway’s contribution was delivered as early as Sunday – as the very first. Christian André Pettersen is Norway’s hope. This is also the second time he has participated in the international final in Lyon. Last time he got a bronze medal. But he took gold in the European final in Tallinn last year.
– Fantastic, it was a rough start, it was something that should not happen, so he had to turn it around a bit, and it could not be a problem, says the former worker Geir Skeie in the live broadcast from Lyon. He is the coach of Pettersen.
Tom Victor Gausdal, who himself won a silver medal when he participated, is the leader of Norwegian Gastronomy (formerly Bocuse d’Or Norway) and judge in the competition. – We have eaten through 12 meat dishes, so we can not complain!
He believes the Norwegian participant set the standard when he delivered first, early on Sunday.
In Lyon describes, the mood is characterized by joy and relief. Many restaurants have had it tough during the pandemic, but now they are finally facing bright times.
Norway has done remarkably well for many years. In total, Norway has won gold five times. The first to win for Norway was Bent Stiansen in 1993. Eyvind Hellstrøm also got and fifth place some years earlier. The other Norwegian winners are Terje Ness, Charles Tjessem, Geir Skeie and most recently the last Norwegian winner is Ørjan Johannessen in 2015. Last year it was Denmark who won with Kenneth Toft-Hansen.
Pandemic-twist in Lyon
The competition structure is a little different even in previous years. Usually the chefs have delivered one plate dish with seafood and one dish dish with meat. This year, the plate dish will be replaced with a three-course takeaway menu, which will reflect the pandemic era.
An appetizer, a main course and a dessert, where tomato is the main ingredient. The starter should be vegetarian, in the main course the tomato should be combined with black tiger prawns and in the dessert the tomato can be combined with dairy products. Each team must take its own takeaway boxes, which must be practical, team of organic materials and able to stables.
Norway’s hope
For Norway, Christian André Pettersen participates. He is one of the country’s most deserving competition chefs for the last 15 years, and is referred to as the winning skull of the ringed.
In 2019, as in 2017, he was named Chef of the Year, which is the Norwegian qualification for Bocuse d’Or. In the spring of 2018, he won the Bocuse d’Or Europe in Turin, and took the bronze in the world final Bocuse d’Or in 2019. In the Bocuse d’Or Europe in Tallinn 2020, he can no longer be gold, with Denmark and Sweden in 2nd and 3rd. space. Pettersen thus participates in the prestigious world final for the second time. This was not to be held in January 2021, but due to covid-19 it has been exposed all the time to others and we would have an extraordinarily long and demanding preparation process for him and Team Norway.
Christian André Pettersen is Chef of the Year
The Norwegian Gastronomy Foundation (formerly Bocuse d’Or Norway) is the Norwegian Olympic chef «Olympiatoppen». The foundation organizes the national selection for Chef of the Year and the Norwegian team’s participation in Bocuse d’Or Europe and the world final in Bocuse d’Or.
About the competition
True to tradition, the Bocuse d’Or World Championships are held in Lyon, France. There are 23 countries that have qualified for the championship, and competitions turn into days – Sunday 26 and Monday 27 September.
New this year is that the plate dish has been replaced with another three-course takeaway menu, while the traditional dish dish is the same as the previous year, except that all countries must use the same type of dish.
Team Norway competes on day one, and will deliver the takeaway right at 12.55 and the classic dish at 13.30. The medal ceremony starts at 18.00 on the 2nd day.
Takeaway on the menu
The innovation with takeaway is a tribute to the industry’s challenges during covid-19, and should contribute to guidelines for how takeaway can be solved with world-class gastronomy. This change in the competition and the rules obviously creates special challenges for all participants, and increases the excitement in the competition. There are established ingredients from Lyon, and in all three dishes in the takeaway task – starter, main course and dessert – tomato must be used, while it is selected and challenging book piece from beef (blade of beef) to the dish.
Coach for Team Norway 2021 is Bocuse chef Geir Skeie, who himself became European champion in the same competition in 2008, and worked world champion in 2009. Geir Skeie has since 2009 advised several countries’ teams, especially in Asia, and is a key shop steward in the Norwegian The Bocuse Academy, where he is, among other things, a board representative in the Norwegian Gastronomy Foundation.
Skeie is a daily and active entrepreneur in the catering industry, and runs, among other things, the seafood restaurant Brygga 11 and its own wine agency. Skeie took over the baton from coach Gunnar Hvarnes, who due to other obligations had to retire as a result of postponements the team has experiences related to covid-19.
Pettersen’s especially assistant and commis (assistant) is Even Sørum (23). He also participated as a commissioner in the European final 2020. A commissioner is also a young talent under the age of 23 who is in the competition kitchen with candidates and can participate in and carry out all operations during the competition. Sørum has a background from several Norwegian star restaurants, and has a strong interest in food after growing up at the family business Valdresporten Kro.