The enthusiastic Belgian supporters, at least Saxons in number, were in high spirits when the Bocuse d'Or European final was served. And the teams took great care in designing their dishes to look and, judging by the looks on the judges' faces, taste. Almost everywhere, local traditions and a springtime flavour were at the forefront of the dishes.
A pictorial summary of the first day of the competition.
The Icelandic team „Theme on a plate” was a perfect theme for people living in the island nation. Sigurjón Bragi Geirson chef pointed out that they eat a lot of potatoes, so they prepared a typical dish with Anusscha potatoes. Among others, they used green peas, onions, asparagus, lemon, apples and sour cream.
And the inspiration for their „Theme on a plate” dish came from the reindeer in their home country. Mainly because there are no reindeer in Iceland, so meat is not often used. They have also combined reindeer backbone and leg with thyme, juniper, mushrooms, foie gras and milk, which they now had to use as ingredients for the Bocuse competition.
The Swiss team chef, Christoph Hunziker was also delighted with the potato as a staple, as it is almost a national dish in his country, with thousands of recipes already created for it. At the same time, deer meat is also popular in their country, so there is a long tradition of eating it.
The French team chefje, Cheffe Na is Pirollet brought playfulness to their potato dish with a variety of textures - crispy, soft and melty. They also made a spring casserole and gave it a traditional French garnish.
Tradition also played a starring role in the Theme on a platter of venison. Simplicity has been kept in mind and the original flavours of the ingredients have been preserved. They also used foie gras, blackberries, mangoes and sweet sauce.
Chef Brian Mark Hansen from Denmark pointed out that the inspiration for their food came from the freedom of spring. The seasons also inspired their venison dish. Here the transition from winter to spring is reflected in the dish and the flavours.
The Estonian team is led by chef Alexander Gureev, who believes that behind every potato lies the care of a grandmother and the atmosphere of family dinners. He paired the competition menu with a cucumber salad. As for venison, he said that it is only real if it is earned by hunting. But he also revealed that foie gras and wild berries were used to achieve the ideal flavours.
The Polish team chef Jakub Kasprzak tried to highlight the rich flavours and versatile textures of potatoes with their dishes. They also used the skin of the potato, stuffed with a mushroom mashed potato and topped with a green sauce.
The use of deer meat was inspired by his childhood, the endless forests, hunting and spring.
The Slovak chef, Peter Duranski combined their potato dish with bryndza cheese, spring onions and apple parsley mayonnaise. While the truffles were flavoured with artichokes and spices from the High Tatras, enriched with foie gras.
The Belgian team chef, Sam Van Houcke brought spring to life with their potato dish, flavoured with spring onions and fresh herbs. For the „Theme on the Plate” competition dish, they used smoked venison, enriched with duck liver, horseradish, cabbage and buckwheat.#
