Bocuse d’ Or Sri Lanka Selection for the most prestigious live culinary competition in the world.

Paul Bocuse is an Icon in the Culinary World. He is highly respected and his cuisine has set new standards. In January 1987, Paul Bocuse created the Bocuse d’Or, a revolutionary gastronomy contest, giving young chefs a unique opportunity to demonstrate their skills, offering them a tremendous springboard for their careers. From one competition to the next, its international influence has grown constantly. The idea: to bring together 24 young chefs from all over the world, among the most promising talents of their generation, and have them prepare amazing dishes within an allotted time period, live in front of an enthusiastic audience. To decide between them: a jury composed of the most illustrious chefs of the planet. Beyond a mere cooking contest, the Bocuse d’Or is a show that draws extraordinary media coverage. Many talented chefs have made a name for themselves thanks to the contest. Along with the successive creation of contests in Latin America, Asia and Europe etc. Bocuse d’Or has become a showcase revealing outstanding talents and gastronomic trends from all over the world.

Beyond the competition itself, the Bocuse d’Or has created its own family: a global network of chefs, future celebrities and famous cooks, and partner companies. They all share the same values of creativity, rigor and innovation, are committed to passing on their skills and have a passion for fine food and Art de Vivre. The 6th Edition of the Competition to select the Asian finalists will take place in the Asia Pacific Region in April 2016. 24 countries will participate and the top 4 countries will be invited to the 17th Global Final in Lyon, France in January 2017.

This is the 3rd time in the history of the event that Sri Lanka has been invited to participate. Spearheading the Bocuse d’ Or Sri Lankan chapter is the culinary guru himself Rohan Fernandopulle together with an executive committee of some of the most renowned chefs in Sri Lanka: Dhaithya Krawage, Chandrasiri Sudusinghe, Kithsiri De Silva, Alan Palmer and Buddhika Samarasekera.

Leading the frontier with such extraordinary strength within the culinary industry, team Sri Lanka participated at the Asia Pacific finals in Shanghai and was short of one mark, to be selected to participate in Lyon 2015. At the competition held in 2013, team Sri Lanka was selected to participate at the World Finals in Lyon, France, after being placed amongst the top four at the Asia Pacific competition.

This year’s competition will be conducted by Bocuse d’ Or Sri Lanka together with Sri Lanka tourism and CHSGA. In order to provide our chefs with appropriate training Michelin Star/ former Bocuse d’ Or Winner Roland Debuyst was especially flown in from Belgium for the pre training program held on the 2nd of October at the SLITHM premises. Along with him, a renowned international jury comprising of Chef Otto Weible president Bocuse d or Asia, Chef Christophe Megel from Singapore and Chef Jonas Lundgren, Bocuse d’ Or winner 2009 from Sweden will arrive to ensure the high standards of the competition. Culinary gurus, Chef Darashan Munidasa and Michel Saelen will strengthen the jury for a tight battle amongst the talented Sri Lankan chefs.

“This is a great opportunity for Sri Lanka as a country to showcase our talent to the world” said Rohan Fernandopulle President of Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka. “With the high culinary standards it is important for Sri Lankans to benchmark the best of the best and step up to extraordinary culinary standards”. Our local chefs have an innate ability create spectacular dishes and I believe with the correct training and guidance we have been able to provide them, Sri Lanka will soon be rubbing shoulders with the culinary giants of the world.

“Rallying behind us we have some great sponsors and partners who believe in our vision of culinary excellence and this wouldn’t have been possible without them” Mr. Fernandopulle continued. Starting with the main sponsor Dilmah, to East West US poultry, Nestle, Endingborough, Euro Kitchen, Lafitte, McCurrie, Wine World, Villeroy & Boch, Sri Lankan Airlines, Daily Mirror, Abdul Rahim, Fonterra , The Hilton Colombo, Taj Samudra, Mount Lavinia Hotel, SLITHM, Queens Wear, LECS, Cape Weligama and Lite fm.

The national selection for Bocuse d’ Or Sri Lanka will be held on the 23rd of October 2015 at the SLITHM premises followed by a gala dinner and awards ceremony where, Team Sri Lanka will be awarded an opportunity of a lifetime to represent Sri Lanka in Bocuse d’ Or Asia 2016.