Bocuse d'Or competition

The Bocuse d'Or ( World Cooking Contest) The event takes place in Lyon, France at the SIRHA International Hotel, Catering and Food Trade Exhibition, and is one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions.

24 countries compete in the world finals, having achieved entry

The top 12 finalists of the Bocuse d'Or Europe qualify, from a pool of 20 nations

The top 4 finalists of Bocuse d'Or Asia qualify, from a pool of 12 nations

The top 3 finalists of the Copa Azteca Latin American competition qualify, from a pool of 12 nations.

Furthermore, 3 entrants are selected from national application, as well as 2 wild card selections.

Paul Bocuse, appointed Honorary President of the exhibition, conceived the idea of a culinary competition to take place during the exhibition, with preparation of all dishes taking place live in front of an audience.

More than a contest, the Bocuse d’Or is a token of quality for all those who take part in the adventure.

The event enjoys extraordinary media coverage and enables talented cooks to make a name for themselves on the international gastronomy scene.

The Bocuse d’Or is much more than a cooking contest. Today, it involves approximately sixty national rounds and continental qualifying events that take place over a two-year period. The process is invariably concluded with the final in Lyon, France, in the heart of the Sirha trade fair.

The initial Bocuse d'Or took place in January 1987. The SIRHA, having grown to become one of the biggest and most sophisticated food and culinary arts fairs in the world, also arranges other contests of culinary skill, including the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie (World Pastry Cup) and in recent years Mondial du Pain (World of Bread Contest).

Since 2005, faced with the growing number of countries wishing to enter the contest, the Bocuse d'Or introduced preselection events by creating first the national rounds then the continental qualifying events, which include the Bocuse d'Or Europe, Bocuse d'Or Americas , Bocuse d'Or Asia-Pacific and Bocuse d'Or Africa.

France, the invariable home team, has won gold on six occasions, while Belgium, Norway and Sweden have consistently finished in one of the top three placements. Léa Linster of Luxembourg became the first woman to win in 1989, and Rasmus Kofoed of Denmark became the first multiple medalist with bronze and silver in 2005 and 2007, and the eventual gold medal in 2011