GUANGZHOI, China — Bocuse d’Or, the world-class cuisine competition, has concluded, with the Japanese team winning after two days of cooking in a real-life "Iron Chef" arena.
The Japanese team, led by chef Hideki Takayama, on Wednesday, finished at the top of the podium at the regional competition of Bocuse d’Or, known as the Olympics of the food world, held in Guangzhou, for churning out dishes such as Australian veal tenderloin with morels and white asparagus, vegetable mille-feuille and salmon with verbena sauce. The winning team has earned the right to compete at the main event next year. 

Thailand and South Korea took the second and third positions respectively, securing their tickets to compete at the grand finale next January in Lyon, France.

Australia, Singapore and China also made the cut and will go on to compete for the Asia-Pacific region at the Lyon finals.
For the very first time in the history of the contest, the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific took place in China. After Singapore, Guangzhou had the honor of hosting the continental selection round of the Bocuse d’Or.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Centre hosted all the greats from the world of gastronomy. The highly talented contestants engaged in a fantastic adventure, with the event being the last step before earning their ticket to head to France for the finale that will take place in January 2019, during the Sirha trade show.

This year, 11 chefs from all over the Asia-Pacific faced off against each other after winning the national selection round held in their respective countries. They were from Australia, China, Indonesia and India, as well as Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore, in addition to Sri Lanka, Thailand and Việt Nam. 

Assisted by their commis, the chefs used their techniques and precision to surpass their rivals during a challenging 5h35m test, while showing off the know-how and gastronomic cultures of their countries.

At the end of this trying contest, only five chefs earned their ticket to the Bocuse d’Or finals in January 2019, and will compete against the best candidates from other continental selections.

Vietnamese contestant Nguyễn Minh Dũng’s dish with the taste of  phở, and banquet presented with a lotus symbol and the one-pillar pagoda also received appreciation. However, the Vietnamese chef encountered challenges in completing his dish on time without his assistant, who faced some troubles with his visa and could not join him at the competition. — VNS