Indian chefs see victory in China

For the first time ever, a team of chefs from India won the ‘Special Plate Prize’ at this event, earning the country’s food and beverage industry a lot of pride. 

The Indian team, comprising of chefs Soundararajan P (president), Ranjit Debnath (candidate), Abhijit Saha (coach) and Aheer Biswas (commis), outshone other nations such as Australia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and others, in this special platter round. 

Speaking about the dish that was presented, Soundararajan said, “We were inspired to present a dish keeping in mind our national bird, the peacock.” On sterling silver dishes, the team prepared and displayed a kale and salame milano-rolled veal loin, veal tortellini a la samosa, ricotta-stuffed morel, truffle oil-infused red wine jus and cherry-glazed foie gras parfait. 

“This win is a testament to Indian culinary art and expertise,” commented the chef, who works at a popular chain of resorts as their corporate executive chef. He further added, “The competition saw participation from the best chefs in the continent and this prestigious prize is evidence of the brilliant skills of our team.” 

Introduced in 1987 to commemorate Paul Bocuse, a French chef who was known for the high quality of his restaurants and innovative approaches to cuisine, Bocuse d’Or is the world’s most esteemed culinary competition. The event purposes to bring together 24 promising young chefs from all over the world, the best talents of their generation and have them prepare outstanding dishes live before an audience. The winning dishes are selected by a jury composed of the most illustrious chefs from various nations. Bocuse d’Or now features nearly 60 national and continental contests over a two-year cycle, all leading to the culmination in the world final in France.