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The 32-year-old chef, René Mathieu’s sous-chef at Château de Bourglinster, won a prestigious culinary competition on Sunday 19 November 2023.
Luxembourg, through Belgian Archibald De Prince, was represented at the final of Belgium’s Bocuse d’Or on Sunday: the sous-chef to the famous chef René Mathieu at Château de Bourglinster (La Distillerie, 1 star and the world’s best vegetable restaurant since 2020) won the prestigious culinary competition ahead of two other candidates.
His menu, which we are now unveiling, combined finesse, precision, perfection, subtle and original flavours, a blend of textures and a visual feast for the eyes.
A long-term preparation
“We received the first compulsory component, a poultry dish, the ” ‘coucou de Malines’ associated with seafood” for the main course, with a risotto to serve alongside, in March-April, then the starter “a vegetable millefeuille”, around the end of July. We started brainstorming and training at the end of September”. In other words, ever since then, Archibald De Prince and his team have been spending their days off training: “That means at least 5 hours 35 minutes in the kitchen, because that’s the time allotted for the competition, but you also have to add in all the thinking, tasting, preparations, tests, equipment, etc.”.
A top team
The 32-year-old chef climbed to the top of the podium on Sunday, in Belgium, with the help of his team, Mario Willems, René Mathieu’s partner with whom he shares a passion for cooking in the company My Roots, and Dario Labate, his commis.
The European final in March
Archibald De Prince will compete in the European final, to be held in Trondheim, Norway, from 18 to 21 March 2024. If he finishes in the top 10, he will then go on to join 23 other competitors in Lyon for the Bocuse d’Or Monde in January 2025.
“One day people will talk about my cuisine, but for the moment I’m René Mathieu’s sous-chef”, the Bocuse d’Or candidate humbly confided last Wednesday. It looks like that day has arrived, and others should inevitably follow!
Details of Archibald De Prince’s proposal for the Bocuse d’Or Belgium on Sunday 19 November The starter:
Mille-feuille (imposed) of celeriac, hazelnut, pear “bonbon”, tarragon and white truffle, hazelnut butter and yellow wine sabayon.
The platter and the risotto :
“Coucou de Malines” (imposed) glazed and smoked with heather, lobster with seaweed,
Lobster shell gravy and salpicon,
Mushroom, daikon and lovage tartlet,
Poultry liver cannelloni, beetroot, Timut, Granny Smith “fraîcheur”, buckwheat, fromage frais,
Acquerello rice deglazed with vermouth, 36-month Parmesan, fried shallots, old balsamic, crispy chicken skin (risotto imposed).
Pictures: KACHEN