Posted by Poughkeepsie Journal, NY on February 08, 2010 at 14:31:39:
NYC sous chef James Kent wins Bocuse d'Or USA
Jenny Lee-Adrian • Poughkeepsie Journal • February 7, 2010
HYDE PARK — James Kent, the winner of the Bocuse d'Or USA Finals on Saturday, will go on to compete in the Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France next year. He serves as sous chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York City. His assistant in the competition will be Tom Allan, another sous chef at Eleven Madison Park.
“Competing in the finals has been a great experience and we feel incredibly lucky to be involved,” Kent said in a press release. “This is just the first step toward Lyon. We know we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are ready for this challenge with the support of The Foundation behind us.”
Kent is a native New Yorker who worked as a summer apprentice at Bouley when he was 15 years old, according to the Eleven Madison Park Web site. He took classes from Le Cordon Bleu in London and Paris and graduated from Johnson and Wales University. He worked at Babbo, Jean-Georges and Gordon Ramsey in New York City. He began working for Eleven Madison Park in 2007.
For his salmon platter, Kent made “Label Rouge” Salmon Pavé with Leeks, Osetra Cavier and Sauce Fumet Blanc, according to a press release from the Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation. His garnishes were: roulade with Alaskan King Crab, relish of cucumber and Meyer Lemon; chilled mousse with tartare and roe; pickled heirloom beets with crème fraiche, dill and black pepper.
For his lamb platter, Kent presented a bacon wrapped lamb saddle with piquillo peppers and provençale herbes; vol-au-vent of braised gigot with sweetbreads and preserved lemon; aucchini with Lynnhaven Chèvre Frais and mint; tart of tomato confit with basil, Niçoise olives and Fromage Blanc, according to a press release.
Second place went to Luke Bergman, sous chef at The Modern in New York City. Christopher Parsons, executive chef/owner of Catch in Winchester, Mass., earned third place.
Twelve finalists competed for the chance to represent the U.S. in the prestigious Bocuse d'Or World Cuisine Contest in 2011 in Lyon, France, held every two years.
During Saturday's competition, finalist Percy Whatley carefully cut his roasted lamb loin into perfect disks.
Melissa Marshall, an extern with The Culinary Institute of America who was Whatley's assistant, wiped away a spot on a plate with her gloved hand.
Whatley was getting plates of food ready for the judges at the Bocuse d'Or USA finals at the culinary school Saturday. Whatley had presented a lavish platter that had to be disassembled and placed in an elegant way on 12 plates.
Whatley is a 1997 CIA graduate who was competing at the USA finals for the second time.
Chef Jennifer Petrusky, sous chef at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, received the "Best Fish" award and Whatley received the "Best Meat" award.
Best Commis went to Marcella Ogrodnik, a student at The Culinary Institute of America.
Ogrodnik was assistant to Michael Clauss, executive chef at The Daily Planet in Burlington, V.T.
Established in 1987 by chef Paul Bocuse, the Bocuse d'Or is the preeminent international culinary competition in which teams of one chef and one commis from 24 countries compete for top honors and international acclaim.
About 800 people watched the last four finalists to plate their food — all CIA graduates — cook their dishes in four kitchens that had been outfitted with equipment and ingredients in the gymnasium of the Student Red Center.
Besides Whatley, the CIA alumni were Luke Bergman, sous chef at The Modern in New York City; Michael Clauss, executive chef of The Daily Planet in Burlington, Vt.; and Mark Liberman, a consulting chef in San Francisco. Each had a commis, or assistant, who is a CIA student or extern.
Each of the 12 finalists had three hours to do prep work on Friday and 2ÿ hours on Saturday to complete one Scottish salmon platter and one American lamb platter.
They were required to make a total of 12 servings for each platter, which had to have three garnishes.
Four finalists competed at a time.
Each finalist could score as high as 40 points for taste, 15 points for presentation and five points for representing the region where they are from for each of the two platters, according to the Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation.
Before each score is calculated, the highest and lowest marks are thrown out.
Kathy Langley, chefs' holidays coordinator at The Ahwahnee, said she felt excited and nervous watching Whatley compete.
"I just know how hard he's worked," she said.
Langley, who had two "Ahwahnee" stickers on both cheeks of her face, strained her neck to watch Whatley.
Chef Thomas Keller noted how intrepid the competitors are.
"I think it really takes an enormous amount of courage to be one of those competitors up there," said Keller, who is foundation board president. "They're performing at a high level in a very short amount of time. They only have five-and-a-half hours to cook all that food on two platters for 12 people."
The platters of each finalist are judged by a panel of well-known chefs.
"We have some of the best chefs in the nation that are here," CIA President Tim Ryan said.
Besides students and staff, Ryan has noticed many from the public attending.
"There's a lot of them who are foodies," Ryan said. "They are very enthusiastic about food."
CIA student Simon Solis-Cohen was the assistant for Jim Burke, executive chef and owner of James in Philadelphia. Solis-Cohen is also from Philadelphia and has eaten at Burke's restaurant.
Unfortunately, the team was unable to finish the platters in time.
After the competition, Solis-Cohen said time flew by like it was five minutes.
"You can practice all you want, but you're never going to be ready for something like this," Solis-Cohen said. "There's so many things that can happen, things can go wrong or go right."
Burke's main dishes were salmon galantine with a smoked salmon mousse stuffed inside, and a lamb roulade with sweetbreads and spinach mousse thimble, Solis-Cohen said.
Spotting the student leaning against a wall, Burke said, "The kid's a champion, by the way."
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