Too little support

Sándor Kovács has failed to finish in one of the first 13 places at the European Bocuse d’Or competition held in Stavenger, which would have meant qualifying for the final. However, he doesn’t regard this as a failure. „I finished 16th. My colleagues have expected me to finish in the first ten, but I don’t see my performance as a failure because I have successfully created what I had planned. While the Lithuanians brought their equipment and 200 supporters on a charter flight, we had 35 kilos of equipment transported by Lufthansa at a discounted rate. The city was full of the posters of the Czech and Lithuanian competitiors, yet we did not have a single Hungarian sponsor. Organisers of the competition were startled by a letter addressed to Paul Bocuse and intended to discredit me.” In spite of all the negative experience, the chef from Kecskemét thinks his performance has been good, because he has received a high score from all three Michlein star holder chefs in the jury. “A local photographer has told me that Mr. Bocuse has eaten all the fish I had prepared and this had been quite unprecedented in the past. This is a special award for me…” While the Spanish competitor had several hundred supporters and an interview made by the Spanish TV, there were only three Hungarian supporters. The outcome of the competition has failed to confirm the enthusiasm for new trends in gastronomy. Representatives of molecular gastronomy, including the Spanish and Italian chefs who had previously worked with Ferran Adria have also failed to finish in the first ten. At the moment, the Hungarian chef is uncertain about entering next year’s competition.