Interview with the sous-chef of La Distillerie, awarded the Bocuse d’Or for Belgium in November, as he prepares for the European final of the famous Bocuse on the 19th and 20th of March 2024 in Norway.
— Preparations–
After winning the Bocuse d’Or Belgium, you will take part in the European final in Norway on 20 March. How are you preparing for this?
I’m training in Antwerp on the premises of the company Rational, which is a sponsor of Bocuse d’or Belgium, and which has made a kitchen available for us to practice in. There, I work with my assistant, Thibaut Lenaerts, and my coach, Lode De Roover, who is also the president of Bocuse d’or Belgium. Every Saturday we have tastings with three of the best Belgian chefs: Viki Geunes ( Restaurant Zilte ***), Thijs Vervloet ( Colette **) and Olivier De Vinck ( Kommilfoo *). This is where we decide on what we need to work on over the weeks. Yannick and Lucas from La Distillerie also assist us with logistics.
The products to be used are dictated by the competition and sent to you by the Norwegian partners. Which ones will you have to work on?
In November we got to know the first ingredients for the competition. We started training at the end of December, once we’d decided which direction to go in. We’re lucky because they’re Norwegian products, which aren’t really that different from what we’re used to cooking. There’s skrei, a type of cod, scallops and stockfish, a type of Norwegian bacalhau. We’ll also be making vegetable garnishes. For the restaurant-style platters, we must include reindeer (fillet, tongue and shank), as well as aquavit, a Norwegian spirit, related to vodka, in one of these two platters. We’re used to cod and scallops. Reindeer can be worked a bit like venison.
The creations of the Archibald De Prince team for the Bocuse d’Or Belgium in November 2023
Are your platter and plates ready, three weeks before the competition?
We received our platter on Monday, fresh from 3D printing. It’s a unique piece that costs 12,000 euros, paid by Bocuse d’Or Belgium. Otherwise, I’d say we’re 98% ready. We have to rehearse our movements over and over again, to remove all the little tensions that are still left. It’s like learning a musical composition by heart. Last Monday (26 February), René Mathieu and Cyril Molard, who were in Antwerp, tasted what we are going to present. They really liked it, and that’s a real pleasure.
— Competition —
To qualify for the world final, held in Lyon, France, in January, you need to be among the top 10 out of 20 candidates. Do you think this is achievable?
I’m taking part, not to finish in the top 10, but to be the first while I’m at it! We’re in it to win it!
How dangerous is the competition? Do some teams pose a greater threat than others?
Of course, it’s true that the level is quite high. Already, the Nordic teams, as well as France, are superbly trained, with ad hoc coaching and so on, so they’re dangerous. Some countries also have very high-level candidates, such as Italy, whose representative is sous-chef of a three-star restaurant. We should also be wary of Switzerland, Hungary, the Netherlands or the United Kingdom…
The team, Mario Willems, Archibald De Prince and Dario Labate in front of the tray created for the Bocuse d’Or Belgium.
— Mindset —
The competition runs over two days. You compete on the morning of the second day. Are you happy with your time slot? How do you prepare for the journey?
It’s better to compete on the second day than the first. Then you don’t have to wait too long for the results. Plus, I’m an absolute morning person. In my opinion, the time window is therefore very favourable. The exam lasts five and a half hours, so the day is already quite busy. We’ll be at the hotel in Trondheim with the Belgian team from the 16th of March. We bring all our equipment and most of our food with us, which we have prepared and weighed to the nearest gram. However, we can’t take products such as cream, butter and milk with us… We have to make it work with local products. All in all, we have to make 52 recipes.
What is your state of mind? Are you under a lot of stress?
We don’t really have time to ask ourselves these questions. Right now we’re highly focused, and that is the most important. And of course giving our best on the 20th of March.
Photos KACHEN