Simon and just a couple of his supporters

Simon Hulstone gets through to the grand final of Bocuse d'Or

9th June 2010, 9:13am

Simon Hulstone, chef proprietor of the Michelin starred Elephant Bar & Restaurant in Torquay, Devon, came fourth in the European finals of the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition.

Cheered on by a huge crowd of British chef supporters, friends and family – one of the loudest and most enthusiastic supporters club there – Hulstone and his commis chef Jordan Bailey under the watchful eye of coach Nick Vadis, UK executive chef with Compass, competed with 20 other countries knowing only 12 would go through to the grand final in Lyon in January 2011.

Denmark's Rasmus Kofoed won Bocuse d'Or Europe, Norway's Gunnar Hvarnes came second and France's Jérôme Jaegle came third.

The official products for the 2010 competition were Swiss veal and Norwegian Sterling white halibut and in five hours 35 minutes the chefs had to use them in their two dishes, which would be judged by an international jury of world class chefs.

One change this year was that the chefs' creations would for the first time be presented on dishes the candidates would have to choose out of three models proposed by the organisers, to hammer home the fact that in the contest "taste takes precedent over aesthetics".

Veteran competitor Hulstone looked relaxed and focused throughout the competition. His first course was ballotine of Norwegian halibut poached in seaweed stock, with a custard of langoustine and summer pea with wild fennel pollen, young carrots braised in Cornish sea buckthorn with golden beetroot, Scottish smoked salmon and langoustine tartare, pickled onion and Devon flora, accompanied by a butter ver jus and spring onion sauce.

His meat dish consisted of rib of Swiss veal platter, black pudding wrapped in pistachio, accompanied by a sweetbread and garlic sausage, cauliflower and parmesan cutlet, braised red beetroot with goat's cheese and truffle, Devon asparagus with peas and wild mushrooms, foie gras button and a Madeira and truffle jus. An added cachet was "a cheeky bit on the side" in the shape of braised cheeks. This dish won Hulstone the overall Best Meat Dish award.

Judges included UK representative Brian Turner, president of the Academy of Culinary Arts – the body responsible for the British entry to the competition. Turner said the presentation was good – "cooked perfectly with good flavour and seasoning". He was delighted with the result and the fact that Hulstone was in the top five.

Bocuse d'Or Team UK had the support of more than 25 companies and along with others have pledged to continue their support in the run up to the 2011 event.

The 12 finalists are:
• Denmark - Rasmus Kofoed
• Norway - Gunnar Hvarnes
• France - Jérôme Jaegle
• UK - Simon Hulstone
• Sweden - Tommy Myllymäki
• Finland - Matti Kalervo Jämsen
• Switzerland - Frank Giovannini
• Iceland - Bráinn Freyr Vigfﭝǘsson
• Spain - Juan Andrés Rodriguez Morilla
• Netherlands - Marco Poldervaart
• Germany - Ludwig Heer
• Poland - Rafal Jelewski

The host for Bocuse d'Or Europe in 2012 was announced as Belgium.

Related Articles:

• 05 Aug 2010 - High hopes for Team UK at Bocuse d'Or 2011
• 07 May 2010 - Hospitality industry urged to back Bocuse d’Or Team UK
• 10 Nov 2009 - Simon Hulstone represents Britain in Bocuse d'Or challenge
• 13 Jan 2009 - CHEF announces sponsorship of Bocuse d'Or
• 09 Jul 2008 - Norwegian chef wins Bocuse d'Or Europe contest
• 10 Jun 2008 - Winner of first Bocuse d'Or Asia announced
• 08 Nov 2007 - European chefs compete to earn place in Bocuse d'Or finals

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rachel turland

09 June 2010 at 11:02am

Simon congratulations! Well done Jordan we are very proud of your achievements here at Cornwall College Camborne! Good luck in the final!

H

09 June 2010 at 1:07pm

Well Done Simon & Jordan. All of us here at Infusions4chefs.co.uk wish you well for the final.

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