Bocuse d’Or was founded in 1987 by French master chef Paul Bocuse. 60 countries participate via qualifying competitions and finally 24 competing countries remain in the WC final held in Lyon.
Gustav Leonhardt and his team won the Swedish final at the Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm. Preparations are now in full swing for the European qualifying competition Bocuse d’Or Europe in Trondheim. From there, the next stop is the big world final in January 2025.
– You can compare it to a Formula 1 race, there is a large team behind all the preparations, says Andreas Stenberg, chairman of Bocuse d’Or Sweden.
Reindeer and aquavit
The two competition tasks vary from time to time. But there is always a barrel service and a plate service.
– This year it is skreitorsk, scallops and rockfish that are the main ingredients in the barrel serving, because it is in Norway. In the plate service, it is clean and aqua white, says Andreas Stenberg.
A kitchen that looks like the one in Trondheim has been built so that Gustav and his commis (assistant apprentice chef) can get to know the kitchen. The structure of the kitchen is important to get points. You spend a long time in the kitchen, so it is important to optimize your time.
– How you move and behave in the kitchen is important, says Gustav Leonhardt.
You can get 40 points in total and there is usually not much difference between first and second place.
– It feels absolutely fantastic to represent Sweden. Now I get to sit in the front seat in this Formula 1 car, says Gustav Leonhardt, who previously participated as commis.
“Det is so close to the competition”
Part of the preparation is keeping the cards close to the body. You want to use the latest and most advanced.
But Gustav Leonhardt can reveal to Nyhetsmorgon that they work with multicultural flavors and Swedish products before the competition.
– Baked skreitorsk with flavors from around the world and a warming broth flavored with ginger.
Sweden is one of the countries that performs at a very high level. Together with France and the other Nordic countries, we are often in the medal league, says Andreas Stenberg.
– But we have only won once, in 1997 with Mathias Dahlgren.