At the initiative of the association by the same name, its president Gilles Brunner and members of the Magisterial Council, the 37th Culinary Competition of the “Grand Cordon d’Or of French Cuisine” will take place today, 22 March at the Vocational and Hotelier School of Monaco. It allows students in the final phase of their study (technological bac, professional bac, BTS) to put into practice their academic and professional achievements, to compete against each other and to develop their imagination and their sense of taste.
The principle of the competition is as follows: “invitations” are sent to the European hotel schools to encourage students who wish to participate in a cooking competition, which consists of making two pre-determined dishes. This year, the choice was based on:
– The “Escoffier-style” trout soufflé, with sauce Marinière, in tribute to the 170th anniversary of the birth of Auguste Escoffier, celebrated on 28th October.
– The chocolate tart with sablé pastry crust.
Seven pupils have been selected and will represent the hotel schools of Mauritius, St-Chély d’Apchet, Menton, Nice, Bastia, Geneva and Monaco. Each student has been sent the list of ingredients and technical data sheets used to prepare the recipe. At the Technical and Hotelier School of Monaco they will be given four hours to produce both dishes.
They will then be judged by two juries, one composed of so-called “technical chefs” who will have observed the preparation of dishes in the kitchen, the other known as “tasting” jury composed of gastronomes and professionals of gastronomy, whose task will be to appreciate the presentation and taste of the dishes. Criteria such as budget management, hygiene, organisation, methodology and respect for culinary techniques will also be taken into account. The award ceremony will take place starting at 6:30 pm at the Technical and Hotelier School of Monaco and will be followed by a gastronomic dinner served by the students and their teachers at 7:30 pm.
Thanks to this cooking competition, the students of the Technical and Hotelier School of Monaco will have the chance to prove the skills and culinary abilities they have gained from their training.