What We Saw, and Learned, in Hyde Park This Weekend
A platter is paraded before the judges at the CIA on February 6, 2010.
(photo copyright Andrew Friedman)
It was a successful weekend for the Bocuse d’Or USA at the Culinary Institute of America. Team USA was selected; chef demos, panel discussions and book signings were packed; and great food was served. Herewith, a few observations and reflections on the happenings:
The Bocuse d’Or USA Has Cause for Optimism. Journalists don’t get to taste the food at the Bocuse d’Or (see below for more on this), but the thing that stands out to me above all else this weekend is how very Bocuse d’Or-appropriate Eleven Madison Park’s James Kent’s food (his meat dish is pictured to the right) looked. With a year to revise, tweak, hone, and practice for the Main Event in Lyon, I truly believe the US has a shot at the podium with Kent and his commis Tom Allan at the rudder. Moreover, these guys are personally psyched to make a go of it, and the value of that cannot be overstated.
Team EMP at the Bocuse d'Or USA:
Commis Tom Allan, EMP General Manager Will Guidara,
Bocuse d'Or USA champ James Kent, and EMP Exec Chef Daniel Humm
(photo copyright Andrew Friedman)
Similarly, I was impressed that, on the whole, the candidates’ food looked much more Bocuse-appropriate than did most of the food dished out by candidates at the 2008 Bocuse d’Or USA at Epcot. Generally speaking, there was more “work” on the individual garnishes and they were scaled down and executed with more finesse. (Flip side: a number of judges told me that some of the dishes didn’t taste as good as they looked.) There’s also clearly a growing pool of talent interested in investing the time and energy it takes to pursue this culinary holy grail: with chef-candidates on hand who work or have worked at 11 Madison Park, The Modern, Charlie Trotter’s, and Daniel, plus a number of candidates who had competed in either the Bocuse d’Or USA or American Culinary Federation events in the past, it was a good showing. It was also nice to see past competitors such as Hung Hyung and Kevin Sbraga in the house to lend their support.
Setting the Event at the Culinary Institute was a Brilliant Decision. The Bocuse d’Or USA 2008—the first time the event was under the auspices of Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Jerome Bocuse—was held at Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. It was well attended and a helluva lot of fun (e.g., Chef’s Beach Barbecue on Friday night), but there were no national journalists in attendance, other than yours truly, there to write my book, and Food & Wine’s Dana Cowin, who was on hand to present awards, not report on the happenings. This year’s CIA Hyde Park location, just 2 hours north of New York City, made it easy for the likes of Mimi Sheraton and (from Boston) Corby Kummer to be on hand. The location likely also inspired more than a few future candidates from the student body, many of whom were getting their first look at a competition on this scale. Perhaps a New York City location would have attracted more “civilians” and even more media, but it felt right that it be at the CIA—a spectacular facility with all the necessary kitchens and talent on hand to pull off the weekend with considerable aplomb.
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