Yesterday, the Lecuyer Garden was transformed, for the duration of an afternoon, into a venue for a culinary competition with the regional final of the “Chef for a Day” Niçoise cuisine contest, which saw the victory of Elodie, Françoise, and Magali.
Even the weather was favorable, allowing the contest to be held outdoors as planned. The jury was in place, and the expertise of Niçoise cuisine was well represented with chefs David Faure and Marc Chevalier, culinary blogger Laurence Duperthuy, cooking professor François-Xavier Michaud, and the key figures from the Nice Tourist Office’s Label Cuisine Nissarde, Isabelle Defoly and Denis Zanon. They were joined by regional representatives, Fatima Khaldi for the Ariane and Marine Brenier for the west side of the city.
Eight female candidates and one male candidate were ready to compete with their Niçoise salads and pissaladières. Each dish was presented to the jury members, followed by cutting and tasting, with some pleasant surprises: “I was surprised by the consistency of one of the pissaladière doughs, and I’ll be sure to ask the creator for advice later…” commented David Faure on the microphone while congratulating all the participants.
After a quick deliberation to avoid keeping the contestants and the large audience waiting too long, the verdict was announced: Elodie, Françoise, and Magali will join Linda, Claude, Franck, Marie-Charlotte, and Florine in the grand finale to be held on Saturday, September 12th, at the Palais des Expositions during the traditional Association Rendez-Vous.
