In an incredibly close competition, the Danes took the palm, the Hungarian team won the silver medal and will be able to participate in the Bocuse d'Or World Final in Lyon next year. The bronze medal went to the Norwegians.
The best “Theme on a plate” award went to the British, while the best of “Theme on a plate” award went to the Norwegians. The Norwegians also took the prize for the best commis (assistant) of the competition, which was awarded to Thilda Martensson for her performance in the competition.
Winner of the Bocuse d'Or European final, Brian Mark Hansen, the chef of the Danish team with the golden statue in his hand. Touched, he could only say, “Who would have thought it a month ago?”
The Danish team cooked on the first day of the competition in the spirit of spring and freedom. Inspired by nature, and more specifically by the seasons, their venison dish was a visual and flavourful representation of the transition from winter to spring.
Huge cheers greeted the great placement of chef Bence Dalos and assistant Patrik Nyikos! They scored a total of 1960 points in the competition, which also meant that they were only 14 points behind the gold medal-winning team.
In their „Theme on the plate”, they used potatoes and vegetables in a special and spectacular way. They also used caviar and truffles to bring the unique atmosphere of spring to life. The lush green colours evoked the freshness of awakening, while the floral decoration represented the fertility of spring in a light dish.
The Hungarians„ ”Theme on a platter" is called Őz Budapest. Its raw material, trunks and trunks, were dressed in the atmosphere of the forest. It was enriched with duck liver, mushrooms and Tokaj wine. And as a garnish, beetroot almost burst into life with its bright burgundy colour. Green apples and onion mash made the creation exciting. Green asparagus, sour cream and cottage cheese derelye were also added to the dish.
The chef of the Norwegian team that finished third, Filip August Bendi Adán has sought to preserve the original flavours of the ingredients. He also cited nature as his main inspiration. The motto of the team, which brought the optimism of spring to the plate in their competition dishes, was: spring, technique and simplicity. And the judges liked the look and the taste!
A On the second day of the competition, the following teams produced their masterpieces:
The chef of the Spanish team, Ruben Amro Rodrigez the potato dish was both crispy and creamy, while the venison dish was served in a clean, rounded shape. All inspired by the living landscape and the low mountains of the Sierre de Madrid and his homeland.
The Finnish Johan Kurkela, who is a passionate participant in cooking competitions, prepared the Hungarian Anuka potatoes the Finnish way: with dill, browned butter, melted cheese, fresh spring salad, asparagus and apples. While the main ingredient of the „Theme on the plate” dish, venison, was roasted. He seasoned it with juniper, enriched it with red berries and beetroot. Hungarian cottage cheese and sour cream were paired with Lapland almond potatoes.
The Dutch chef Kees Visser, who won the chance to compete in the European Bocuse d'Or after the fifth attempt, has prepared a dish inspired by Dutch traditional dishes.
The British Ian Musgrave the main dish of the evening was potatoes and bear's onion. The flowery dish was enriched with cheddar cheese to mark the arrival of spring. The venison was accompanied by stuffed cabbage, dried parsnips and bacon. And the presentation of the dish was reminiscent of the old English banquets.
Dinars Zvidrins from Latvia was the theme of his dish at the Bocuse d'Or European finals: he used cheese sauce, cranberry sauce, salted cabbage and beetroot with his potatoes. While the venison was enriched with duck and foie gras, port wine, juniper berries and sweetbreads.
The Turkish Emre Inanir made a dish of potato cream with hazelnuts. He also used egg yolks, mustard, thyme, caramelized green apples and mushrooms. And the venison was slow braised with dried fruit, enriched with mushrooms and duck liver.
The Swedish Jimmi Eriksson also inspired by spring when creating the dishes. He also used flowers and sprouts in his potato dish, topped with spring vegetables.
He aimed to balance the light but strong flavours with the potatoes.
He enriched the venison with sage, smoked foie gras, caramelized onions and a green pea ragout with sour cream.#
