On Thursday, April 25th, at the Lycée Professionnel Auguste Escoffier in Cagnes-sur-Mer, the final of the Provence Grand Sud Est regional selections for the Jeunes Talents Escoffier competition took place. During this 15th edition, three pairs competed in cooking and service.
Since 2003, the Disciples Escoffier International association has been organizing a worldwide cooking and service competition. It is open to young cooks and servers aged under 25. After the regional selections, up to eight young cooks and eight servers compete in the national selections.
This Thursday, three pairs participated in challenges at the Lycée Professionnel Auguste Escoffier. In the kitchen, the candidates had to prepare a farm chicken poached “Isabelle de France”, foie gras, and crawfish in a maximum of 3.5 hours. For the service, the theme was based on the southern terroir “Land of Scents” for a 4-hour challenge. Three big names from the restaurant industry chaired the jury: Joel Garault, former head chef of the Hôtel Hermitage in Monte-Carlo, Michel Lang, director of restaurants at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco, and Eric Sikora, head chef and trainer for Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s).
The pair consisting of Camille and Clémence, representing the Provence-Languedoc delegation, won first place and will participate in the national final scheduled in Tours on November 22nd. “I am proud to have won this competition. The most challenging part of this type of event is managing one’s time while ensuring the pleasure of tasting. I’ve participated several times, and it’s always a very enriching experience,” declared Camille.
The other two pairs, Hugo and Selim, Antoine and Clément, won second and third place in the competition, respectively.
