The European final of the world's most prestigious cooking competition is fast approaching. Bocuse d'Or 2022.03. 23.-24. Budapest! It was with great excitement that we learned that the world's best chefs would be competing here again!
There is no question how much of an honour this is for us, and how important it is for the development of gastronomy in Hungary. All the professionals and professional organisations around the world follow this event with a keen eye, because the Bocuse d'Or is more than just a competition! It is a celebration of gastronomy, a universal innovation in the culinary world and a profession praise.
The countries
A reminder of who will be competing in the event: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Iceland, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Kingdom.
They are the eyes of the world, the team
In March 2022, a fantastic team will compete in the European qualifiers in our country to advance to the World Finals in Lyon.
Cooking for our country is Bence Dalnoki, winner of the Bocuse d'Or Hungary, who is the sous chef of Stand Restaurant. His assistant is Patrik Nyikos, a commis from IKON in Debrecen.
The position of coach will be held by Tamás Széll, Hungary's most successful Bocuse d'Or competitor, who went down in the history books of Hungarian gastronomy as a European winner in 2016. Szulló Szabina, who was also part of the winning team in 2016, will play the role of President.
There is no doubt that the team is highly professional. Bence Dalnoki, one of the most important members of the Stand's kitchen, along with Szabina Szulló and Ibolya Csahók, is one of the keys to its success. It is certain that the two competitors, Bence and Patrik, won the Hungarian final with an outstanding performance, but they also have a tough preparation period ahead of them.
Raw materials for the 2022 European final - Meat dish
Deer spine, duck liver, cottage cheese, sour cream. At the European selection of the Bocuse d'Or, our country will once again be at the centre of the world's gastronomy and the ingredients will also include some of our favourite dishes. The meat dish theme for the March competition will include venison backbone and thigh, duck liver, and one of the three side dishes must include cottage cheese and sour cream. So in the coming months, Europe's best chefs will be able to show what they can do with these truly Hungarian ingredients.
The deer and that our country has a long tradition of game meat and game dishes. In fact, Hungary is one of the most popular hunting areas in Europe. Venison itself is the perfect raw material and the dishes that can be prepared from it offer gastronomy lovers a unique taste.
The sour cream is a commonly used raw material, which is widely used all over the world. As Szabina Szulló puts it, „French créme fraiche is actually almost the same in texture and taste. The acidity of the sour cream is very good at counteracting the fattiness of the dish, and it is often used to acidify sauces. In Hungarian cuisine, stews are very popular and are also whisked or thickened with sour cream. There is definitely a place for sour cream in high-end gastronomy, for example, the Russians love it with blini and caviar, while we serve it with our lángos at Stand.”
The cottage cheese is a real Hungarian ingredient, which is popular in Hungarian kitchens, can be found in households and we have many recipes based on it. The form we know is almost unknown anywhere in the world,„ said Szabina Szulló. Besides, ”Cottage cheese is nobly simple, yet it has a thousand faces. For us Hungarians it is part of our everyday life, but for a foreign chef it can be almost exotic, which is a real challenge. But even if it is a challenge, there are still many opportunities. It can be used in all genres, I love it and I'm very curious to see what other European teams will bring out of it."
Preparations are going hard
The Bocuse d'Or competition requires extreme concentration from all members of the team. It is only natural that they are constantly working and practising with the ingredients already announced. They must make the most of the time available for preparation to achieve the best results in the competition. The amount of time spent practising the dishes and the amount of time spent thinking creatively is of great importance. The team is hard at work, and the Hungarian gastronomy is following them with great anticipation, waiting for the big competition to come.#
Author: Tamás Budafoki
Photo: Hungarian Bocuse d'Or Academy
