France wins Bocuse d'Or for the first time in eight years

France has won the Bocuse d'Or for the first time in eight years after triumphing at the international final of the culinary competition in Lyon yesterday (27 September).

The 2021 French team was led by Davy Tissot, who runs the Michelin-starred Saisons training restaurant at the Paul Bocuse Institute in Ecully, near Lyon.

Denmark's Ronni Mortensen took the silver medal while Christan Andre Pettersen from Norway won bronze.

It is the eighth gold medal for France, which has not reached first place on the podium since 2013.

Legendary French chef Paul Bocuse, who died in 2018, launched the global cooking competition in 1987. The world final usually takes place every second January in Lyon, but was delayed until September due to the pandemic.

This year, chefs had to create a platter based on whole braised beef chuck and a three-course takeaway menu based around tomatoes. The takeaway dishes had to be presented by chefs in a box made of plant-based materials, which had to be reusable.

Bocuse d'Or president Jérôme Bocuse said the chefs had astonished and surprised the judges, adding: "Each year they [further] push the limits."

Team UK withdrew from the European Bocuse d'Or selection in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic and a shortage of time and funding to support the candidates. It was the first time the UK has not competed in more than 30 years.

Chef Clare Smyth of three-Michelin-starred Core in London was appointed global chef ambassador of the Bocuse d'Or UK Academy in January.

The UK has yet to reach the podium; the closest it came was in 2013 when Adam Bennett and Kristian Curtis reached fourth place.