Magazine: We won!

It wasn’t expected by many: Tamás Széll and his team have won the European final of chef competition Bocuse d’Or and qualified for the world final in Lyon. Budapest was the host of the European final, held on 10-11 May. The main ingredients used were Hungarian: venison and sterlet (with caviar) were supplied by METRO. This year’s Bocuse d’Or Europe attracted more than 400 journalists from Hungary and abroad.

There were several thousand spectators cheering for the chefs. The chefs got the cooking ingredients from the marketplace METRO built especially for this purpose. From the teams that had a realistic chance of winning, the Norwegians stepped into their cooking box on the first day. Their several hundred supporters created a wonderful atmosphere, rooting for their team with great enthusiasm (and almost just as many supporters came from Estonia too).

Wednesday, the second day brought the big moment when Tamás Széll and his team started cooking. Not even the frenzy around him could break his concentration, he was doing his work and controlling his team perfectly. Chefs first had to serve the fish dish on plate, followed by the meat dish. Members of the jury were doing their evaluation with great dignity and expertise. Tamás Széll’s fish dish was aesthetic and well-balanced, and his meat dish looked outstandingly spectacular. Mr Széll told: he thinks they have done a perfect job and he hopes that they might finish in the top 3.

When the envelopes were opened to reveal the jury’s decision, those opening them were teasing the crowd – waiting in anticipation – with their slowness. The best commis became Hampus Risberg, the right hand of the Swedish chef. Viktor Örn Andrésson from Iceland won the special award for the best fish dish and the same prize was awarded to the French chef, Laurent Lemal, in the meat dish category. Finally it was announced: the 3rd place went to Alexander Sjögren from Sweden and the competition’s runner-up was Christopher William Davidsen of Norway.

When it was announced that Tamás Széll won this year’s Bocuse d’Or Europe, there was a moment of surprised silence and then the crowd basically went mad upon hearing the fantastic news. What he and his team did is a great achievement indeed, and it is needless to say how much nard work there is behind this superb result. It must also be mentioned that the victory was unquestionable: we beat Norway with three times as many points as they beat the 4th-placed France. From the 20 finalists the first 11 qualified for the 2017 World Final in Lyon. /