The competition under the eyes of renowned chefs
The Toques Blanches International Club organized the second edition of the Culinary Young Talents Challenge on February 20 at the Hotel School in Cannes.
Tomorrow’s great chefs were distinguished in Cannes at the culinary competition by the Toques Blanches. The competition, open to all apprentices and CFA cuisine students and hotel school in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, was created by the chef Pierrick Thomas. It brings together the chefs of major prestigious establishments from every corner of France, members of the International Club Les Toques Blanches.
Young Talents Culinary Challenge
This contest aims to defend and promote the values of the profession of chef with the public at national and international level and above all, to help youngsters who want to engage in such occupation.
Following a first selection on the basis of dossiers, the technical committee selected eight candidates for the final.
Loup Provençal and its three toppings
On the menu: Loup Provençal
Each competitor had to make a recipe on the theme of Loup Provençal.
To make the dish, the competitors had to use imposed products: 2 sea bass, each weighing 1 kg 200 and 3 toppings including 2 mandatory: the artichoke or spiny artichoke (sweet of Genoa) and a vegetable moss, the 3rd free, from products provided in the basket.
The event began at 8 am. Each candidate, supported by a cuisine trainee from the Hotel School in Cannes, had three hours to concoct their dish with application – and a grain of fantasy and originality – to convince the Jury that their recipe was the best.
A jury of renowned chefs
Under the aegis of the new President, Jean-Pierre Cassagne, the tasting panel was composed of Meilleur Ouvrier de France, starred or renowned chefs. All the Toques Blanches aligned along a table, an evaluation grid in hand, tasted and assessed the dishes according to criteria focusing on technique, professional expertise, gestures, hygiene, respect for the raw material, layout, aesthetics, taste, originality and innovation.
Pierrick Thomas & Jean-Pierre Cassagne
The winners
At the end of the event, Julien Bonadonna, the winner of the second edition, was presented with the cup by Alexis Ferré, winner in 2004. He will have the privilege to perform a professional internship in a renowned institution. Chloe Fernandez finished 2nd and Jean-Noël Somphal was 3rd. The three winners shared the many prizes offered by sponsors and members of the International Club Les Toques Blanches like cups, professional case, cookbooks…
All three will meet again for the semi-finals of this year’s Meilleur Ouvrier de France event.
New Toques Blanches
This second edition was enriched with three new Toques Blanches: Serge Bottin, Director of the Cannes School of Trades, Christian Willer, former chef of the Martinez Hotel in Cannes and Laurent Balicco, partner of the association. Pierrick Thomas gave them the diploma and the medal of the Toques Blanches International Club Association.
Courage and experience
After the ceremony, Pierrick Thomas congratulated the talented young people and saluted the courage of the young competitor Chloe who is currently fighting against the disease and who wanted to participate in this culinary competition. He ended his speech with this quote from Confucius: “Experience is a lantern that is worn on the back and only illuminates the path you have walked.”
This second edition was dedicated to two late former chefs belonging to the association, Jacques Bruneau and Jacques Febvay.
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