Irish beef has been selected as the key meat ingredient for this year's Bocuse d'Or, the international culinary competition widely regarded as the 'Olympics of the Culinary World'. Held every two years, the competition will take place in Lyon, France on Tuesday (29th) and Wednesday (30th) as part of SIRHA, the leading European foodservice trade show, which attracts over 170,000 buyers and over 5,000 international chefs. The initiative is designed to further underpin and enhance the image of Irish beef, exports of which last year were valued at €1.9 billion and are set to grow by up to 10 per cent this year.
Speaking of the event, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the. Marine, Simon Coveney TD said "Irish beef producers are committed to bringing beef of exceptional quality and taste to premium markets. Bocuse d'Or offers a timely opportunity to showcase and affirm the reputation of Irish beef. With the majority of our beef exports destined for European markets, the priority is to differentiate and position Irish beef by presenting a premium image to secure its place in an increasingly competitive marketplace."
Bocuse d'Or seeks to identify the world's top chefs using only the world's best food products. It is regarded as the most challenging and prestigious haute cuisine competition, with the most promising chefs participating from across all five continents. Following a rigorous and lengthy selection process, Irish beef was selected for its grass-fed nature, sustainable farming methods, world class quality, taste and tenderness.
Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia added "Our involvement with Bocuse d'Or is aligned with Bord Bia's strategy of working with chefs internationally to raise awareness of the quality of our produce. Irish beef has already garnered a comprehensive following amongst many of Europe's Michelin Star chefs. Securing this much sought after accolade is an invaluable endorsement and recognition of Irish beef. It is hoped that the chefs involved, many of whom have already secured a Michelin star, will be encouraged to introduce Irish beef as a regular feature on their menus. Bord Bia will also use the opportunity to build the awareness and membership of its Chef's Irish Beef Club (see Notes to Editor), an initiative underway since 2004 to promote the benefits of using Irish beef amongst international chefs."
As a 'Bocuse d'Or Member' Irish beef will join an exclusive list of premium products and brands which have a strong association to haute cuisine. It will also allow Bord Bia and Irish beef producers to promote and communicate the unique credentials and quality of Irish beef to a global audience of world-renowned chefs and the influential media expected to attend the event.
According to Florent Suplisson, Director of Bocuse d'Or, "The choice of Irish beef for the 2013 edition of the Bocuse d'Or is in line with the tradition and overall objective of our competition. Our International Organisational Committee takes great care in choosing the products for our candidates and we only select the world's best product offerings."
The Bocuse d'Or was pioneered and named after a 3 Star Michelin Chef and 'Chef of the Century', Paul Bocuse, in order to broaden the public's understanding of the extraordinary dedication, practice and precision required to execute the very finest cuisine. Securing a place as a chef in the Bocuse d'Or Finals is an honour in its own right and involves months of preparation and planning.
Over the coming days, a total of 24 national teams from across Europe, Asia and America will compete in terms of their technical culinary skills, creativity, culinary sophistication and presentation. Each of the teams will be supplied with fillet of Bord Bia quality assured grass fed steer beef and in addition chefs may choose to use feather blades, ox cheek and ox tail.
A panel of international judges will adjudicate and choose three overall winners. Among the prizes will be a specially commissioned 'Irish Beef Award', sponsored by Bord Bia for the best Irish beef dish at Bocuse d'Or 2013.
Seven Irish companies have travelled to Lyon this week to participate in the show and exhibit as part of Bord Bia's Ireland stand. France is the leading Eurozone market for Irish food and drink products, and is the second largest global market after the UK. In 2012, Ireland's exports to France were valued at €614 million.
Chef's Irish Beef Club
In 2004 Bord Bia commenced a programme, bringing together top European chefs to form a unique and exclusive group, the Chefs' Irish Beef Club (CIBC). With an aim of driving publicity around Irish Beef, the Chefs' Irish Beef Club sees award-winning chefs market the advantages of Irish beef by serving it in Michelin star restaurants. The result is an increased presence of Irish beef in the restaurant sector, which ultimately builds product reputation. To date there are over 70 member chefs spread across the six chapters in Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. As brand ambassadors these high profile chefs have become a formidable force in the driving the repositioning and differentiation strategy of Irish beef in our key export markets.