Jeff Houck

The Tampa Tribune’s food writer since 2005, Jeff Houck covers the way people live through their food. He also hosts the Table Conversations food podcast and believes that everything crunchy is good.

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Van Aken Hosts Bocuse d’Or Dinner In Orlando [Raising Money For The U.S. Olympic Cooking Team]

Posted Feb 7, 2010 by Jeff Houck

Updated Feb 7, 2010 at 01:36 AM

Two years ago, I had the honor of covering the final selection competition for Bocuse d’Or USA, the team that would represent this country in the Bocuse d’Or worldwide cooking contest.

The finals, held at Epcot during its wine and food festival, was an attempt to make up ground for the USA. For all the progress American chefs have made in the past two decades in an effort to establish cuisine worthy of mention alongside their European counterparts, they had never won the Bocuse d’Or, considered the culinary Olympics. U.S. teams have never placed better than sixth in what has been described as a culinary Olympics.

The contest takes place every two years in Lyon, France.

To remedy the U.S.‘s poor showing, French chef Paul Bocuse, who started the competition two decades ago, asked chefs Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud to take leadership roles in fielding the American team.

Keller, whose The French Laundry north of San Francisco is considered among the best restaurants in the country, became president of the American team. Boulud, who owns numerous acclaimed restaurants, served as honorary president of the contest. Keller was so serious about improving the American team that he built a training lab next to The French Laundry for the teams.

I talked to Keller in 2008 about the contest. He was deadly serious about the ripples he hoped would emanate from a U.S. victory.

Q: Why should this competition matter to somebody who, No. 1, will never have a chance to attend the Bocuse, but also likely will never eat any of the food these people will prepare? Is there a trickle-down effect from a U.S. team succeeding? Is it like the pebble that lands in the center of the pond and the ripples spread out from there?

A: If you look at the past 30 years and the quality of the products that are available to us and how that has risen significantly, a lot of that comes from what chefs are doing. The food industry looks to chefs as leaders.

Where that trickles down is what’s in our grocery stores and what our growers are growing and farmers are producing. The more recognition that America garners from competitions like this and from what its great chefs are doing, the better it’s going to be for everyone in our society. It’s going to bring better quality food and better understanding, better knowledge of what food is and how to take care of ourselves and eat healthy.

Q: There’s a cumulative effect from raising the culinary self-esteem.

A: Of course.

What does it take to prepare? During the last Bocuse d’Or, I asked chef Gavin Kaysen, a previous U.S. representitive at Bocuse, what it took to prepare:

That effort, however, did not produce victory. Team USA, which included 28-year-old chef Timothy Hollingsworth and commis (assistant) Adina Guest, both of The French Laundry, placed sixth. Norway won the competition that year.

Now it’s time for Bocuse to gear up again.

Norman Van Aken, owner of Norman’s at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando, is among the chefs judging the 2010 Bocuse dOr USA competition this weekend at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. The winner will represent the United States at next year’s Bocuse d’Or Lyons

Judging along with Van Aken this weekend are Grant Achatz, Paul Bartolotta, Traci Des Jardins, Paul Liebrandt, Walter Manzke, David Myers, Daniel Patterson, Georges Perrier, Alain Sailhac, Andr Soltner, Susan Spicer, Laurent Tourondel, Alan Wong and Eric Ziebold.

On Wednesday, Van Aken hosts a special fundraising dinner at his Orlando restaurant for the U.S. Bocuse dOr effort. His five-course menu will honor Bocuse (who turns 84 on Thursday). The dinner costs $150 per person, all-inclusive, with wine pairings and begins with a Champagne reception at 7 p.m. For reservations call (407) 393-4333.

Norman’s is the only Florida restaurant invited to participate in the nationwide event. Other restaurants include Stir in Boston, Alinea in Chicago, Corton in New York City, and RN74, Jardiniere, La Folie, and Coi in San Francisco.

Here’s the menu for the dinner at Norman’s:

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Bocuse d’Or Foundation

Black Truffle Soup Élysée En Croute
Free Range Breast of Chicken ~ Noilly Prat
~
Maine Lobster Salad à la Parisienne
White Asparagus ~ Sous Vide Artichokes ~ Caviar Sabayon
~
My “Down Island” French Toast
Curaçao Scented Foie Gras ~ Griddled Brioche ~ Savory Passion Fruit Caramel
~
Painted Hills Roasted Beef Tenderloin
Veal Sweet Breads ~ Wild Mushrooms ~ Dijon ~ Bordeaux Essence
~
Babas Au Barbancourt
Mango Butter ~ Pouring Cream ~ Passion Fruit

“For art, there is no future, it’s the living moment and then it’s dead. That’s wonderful. Cuisine is like a fireworks display. Nothing remains. It is ‘une fete’, rapid, ephemeral.”
—Paul Bocuse, 1976