He was noticed by Ádám Pohner, and was awarded the best commis prize at this year's Bocuse d'Or Academy Hungarian final. He is disciplined, unashamedly young and, as the greats say, talented.
Noel Fodor is just 18, a young chef who is about to graduate from high school, but has been in the business for a long time. His parents also work in the hospitality industry, so his love of the profession stems from there, but he came to the centre of it sooner than he thought.
The Hungarian Bocuse d'Or final was held on 21 October at Hungexpo, where 4 chefs competed for the first place. The winner was Bence Dalnoki, who qualified for the European finals. The lifetime achievement award went to Lajos Bíró and the best commis award to Noel Fodor.
You have been through a tough preparation. Can you tell us the behind-the-scenes secrets?
I got to cook alongside Roland Kelemen, who is the chef at Hunguest Aqua-Soul, but we didn't know each other at all before. But I did know Ádám Pohner, who I had the chance to cook with at Kistücsök, then as a trainee, and we met a few months before the competition. That's when he asked me if I'd be interested in working as a commis alongside Roland at the Bocuse d'Or Academy finals, as he was looking for his right-hand man. I was delighted and immediately got in my car and drove down to see him.
What happened the first minute you met?
As soon as I arrived, we were cooking in 5 minutes. Roland was tasting the side dishes when I walked in, and I immediately joined him. From then on, we spent 1 month brainstorming, testing, tasting, until we had the final menu for the final. We worked incredibly well together, even though I say he's the fire and I'm the water. , or vice versa, but our basic thinking and values are very similar, so I really enjoyed working together. We've kept in touch ever since, not just about the business, we even talk about girls (laughs).
What do they look for in a commis' work and why do they get paid?
Noel: The award is definitely a motivation and a great honour for me. The professional jury distributes the prizes, including to the commis, who are also watched during the competition. A commis, for example, cannot touch meat or fish, but I did., in fact, I filleted our carp, and they were very complimentary. A commis has to take care of the cleanliness in the kitchen, but constantly. It's important to work independently, but still to do your best by keeping an eye on the chef and shutting out the outside world. It is visible to the outside eye of the profession whether this is how it is done, or whether some element is missing.
Well-known, renowned chefs have judged. Who were on the jury?
There were two juries, one of them was the tasting jury, which consisted of Zoltán Hamvas, President of the Hungarian Bocuse d'Or Academy, Lajos Bíró, János Erdei, Tiago Sabarigo, Jenő Rácz, Ákos Sárközi, Ádám Barna and László Jahni.
The kitchen jury was composed of Tamás Széll, Lajos Lutz, Tamás Vajna, Szása Nyíri, Viktor Segal and Csaba Harmath.
It's an almost cohesive community, a community of chefs. I know a lot of people, but not everyone knows me, and it's been a great honour to get some attention already. I will try to earn it and keep going, because I have big plans for the future.
Roland Kelemen and Noel Fodor 2nd place menu:
Mangalicatarja - tongue and cheek
Bloody noodles with hazelnut tarte - horseradish apple and parsnip puree
Balaton Sudár with carp and mushrooms
Aubergine tarte with mussel sauce and onions stuffed with fish milk
Carrot stuffed kohlrabi #
