Culinary Champions

If you caught El
Pollo, el Pez, y el Cangrejo Real a couple of years ago during
Vancouver International Film Festival, then the chances are that you
know about the prestige cooking competition called Bocuse
d’Or. Named after celebrated French chef Paul Bocuse, this biennial
world chef championship takes place in Lyon, France with 24 countries
entering the competition.

We got to sample a preview of what Canadian representative, chef Alex
Chen, was going to prepare for the judges. Well, not an exact meal, but
pretty close, and with the official ingredients.

Chef Chen, who currently acts as the Culinary Architect for Moxie’s
Grill & Bar, has been preparing for this for two years, so it’s
serious business. First up was the Bocuse d’Or fish and crustacean of
choice, Turbot and European Blue Lobster, paired with saffron potatoes
and cauliflower puree.

We were then treated to a Irish Beef Tenderloin, paired with a bone
marrow roulade, seared foie gras, and oxtail gratin (that’s four
proteins, if you’re counting).

So, not bad for a Sunday lunch.

Bocuse d’Or competition starts
tomorrow — break a leg, Chef Chen!