Index – Culture – After six years, Hungary is once again hosting the European final of the Bocuse d’Or
On March 23-24, 2022, Budapest will once again be the center of European gastronomy, as after six years Hungary will once again host the European final of the Bocuse d’Or. This is also an extraordinary recognition of the international competition format because a European city has never hosted a continental selection twice. At the two-day event, the Hungarian audience can support the Hungarian team live and see the best chefs in Europe up close.
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Gallery: After six years, Hungary will once again host the European final of the Bocuse d’OrPhoto: Péter Papajcsik / Index
We attended the press conference announcing the race and in our video summary we brought out the latest news from the gastronomy Formula 1 race.
The Bocuse d’Or gave wings to Hungary, especially to Hungarian chefs. The organization of the 2016 competition and the fantastic Hungarian success achieved there, the victory of Tamás Széll’s team, brought Hungarian experts closer together and provided inspiration to many young chefs, ”says Zoltán Hamvas, President of the Hungarian Bocuse d’Or Academy. He adds: Once again we have managed to get the European teams to work from Hungarian raw materials. Duck liver, venison and thigh, sour cream and cottage cheese. There are still 18 teams all over Europe working to get the best out of these classic Hungarian ingredients.
Joseph Viola, Vice-Chairman of the Organizing Committee, talks about the renewal of Hungarian gastronomy at the press conference:
I visited Budapest for the first time in 2006. I saw that Hungarian gastronomy lacked innovation. In 2016, I saw a completely different Budapest, gastronomy, hospitality and tourism, when Hungary first organized a European team. A huge welcome to any player involved in this renewal! This year’s competition topics once again include the DNA of Hungarian gastronomy, as it is very important that we experience the essence of gastronomy in a given country during a competition.
Click on our video below and find out where the Hungarian team is preparing!
Joseph Viola then introduced this year’s competition themes. Teams should prepare two meals as usual.
- The obligatory elements of the meat dish are duck liver, venison and leg, sour cream and cottage cheese. And the plate theme bears the fancy name “spring plate”.
- Vegetarian hot food for the task, the main ingredient is potatoes. Teams can use three types of potatoes, these are Coronada, Anuschka and Madison.
Florent Suplisson, the director of the gastronomic events of the owner of the competition format, said about the return to Budapest:
At the end of March, we will see how important relations were established in Hungary in 2016. Tamás Széll’s victory at that time was in fact the founding document of Hungarian gastronomy. Since then, a lot has happened here in Hungary, it is a significant symbol that we are coming back. We wanted to follow this development, we wanted to see what was happening in Budapest now.
This year, 18 countries are sure to host an event, and two new teams will appear: Latvia and Slovakia. Given the current situation, the Russian team will not take part in the European Championships at its own discretion. Negotiations are ongoing with the Ukrainian team to be here in Budapest at the end of March. The top 10 finishers will advance to the World Final in Lyon in 2023.
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Gallery: After six years, Hungary will once again host the European final of the Bocuse d’OrPhoto: Péter Papajcsik / Index
The Index also reports on preparations and competition.