In addition to the highly publicized Bocuse d’Or contest, next month’s Sirha 2013 also brings the 13th Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie, where 22 international teams of pastry chefs, including a group from the U.S., will vie for the profession’s most coveted prize, the World Pastry Cup.
The word “pastry” seems much too simple for the elaborate and incredibly lush spun sugar confections, sweet sculptures and perfect chocolate concoctions on display in this mouth-watering 14-minute behind-the-scenes video mapping the road to Lyon, where America’s team took first place in 2001 and aims to do so again in January.
The first-place team wins a trophy, the top three take home cash prizes and separate special prizes are awarded in several categories, but everyone stands to gain just from making it to the competition, said Team USA President Gilles Renusson. “Participating in the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie on behalf of Team USA has been a career booster for all previous participants,” he said. (read more…)
The organizers of Sirha 2013 expect to host 2,300 exhibitors and 170,000 foodservice professionals at the World Food and Hospitality Event which takes place in Lyon, France, next month, a 5% increase from the 2011 event, and the party will have room to grow even bigger when a new hall is built in 2014, said managing director Marie-Odile Fondeur.
We spoke with Fondeur recently to find out more about what to expect from the event.
What are some of the trends attendees are likely to hear about and explore in Lyon in January?
We have been working with a trend consultant, Loeb Innovation, for several years now. This year, thanks to a worldwide survey of 600 experts, along with meetings and interviews with foodservice professionals, we have identified four mega consumer behavior trends that we believe start a new five-year cycle:
Trend 1 : A worldwide awareness that food resources are finite
Experts stress the fact that the planet and its resources are finite. (read more…)
Since 1983 chefs, winemakers and other foodservice professionals have gathered in Lyon, France for Sirha, the biennial international hospitality and foodservice conference that also encompasses two of the world’s most prestigious cooking competitions: the Bocuse d’Or and the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie, or World Pastry Cup. While these events — often referred to as the culinary Olympic Games — have been drawing chefs to Sirha for decades, this year will mark the debut of an event at the conference. On Jan. 28, Sirha will host the inaugural World Cuisine Summit, which will bring together culinary professionals from all levels of the foodservice industry, from fine dining to quickservice.
The World Cuisine Summit will focus on international culinary trends, sustainability and the growing diversity of global menus, and will include notable keynote speakers such as chefs Magnus Nilsson, Alain Ducasse and founder of the Bocuse d’Or, Paul Bocuse. (read more…)
Last week, we published an interview with Anne McBride, culinary program and editorial director for strategic initiatives at the Culinary Institute of America, where she discussed the upcoming Worlds of Flavor conference and what attendees could look forward to. In this follow-up, I talked to McBride about conference highlights, historic firsts and how social media influences the way we think about food.
Worlds of Flavor attendee Martha Holmberg tweeted, “Sri Lankan chef cooking for first time at Worlds of Flavor,” and Twitter user Real Carly Fisher tweeted, “First female Emirates chef Khulood Atiq demoing for first time in the States.” What other “firsts” took place at this year’s Worlds of Flavor?
Not only was it Chef Atiq’s first demo in the U.S., it was the first time that the United Arab Emirates was part of Worlds of Flavor. Iceland, represented by Gunnar Karl Gíslason, was another country making its first appearance at the conference. (read more…)
Foodies explored the seventh annual Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show during the weekend at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The show offered presentations by celebrity chefs including Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio of “Top Chef” and Giada De Laurentiis and Jeff Mauro of Food Network, along with more than 300 exhibiting vendors. While attendees sampled offerings that included doughnuts, cocktail-inspired baked goods, cheese and sausages, healthier food piqued their interest on the show floor and in the Celebrity Theater.
During a presentation that featured savory and sweet flavors, Colicchio and Simmons breached the topic of healthier food. Colicchio performed a cooking demonstration of rabbit ragout with fig, pistachios and mushrooms and said he chose to show how to cook rabbit because it is a lighter and leaner alternative to other meat, plus it is versatile. Simmons, when asked about feeding a crowd, recommended soup because it is healthy and economically friendly. (read more…)
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