Estonian chef seventh in prestigious Bocuse d'Or culinary competition
An Estonian chef originally from Sillamäe has placed seventh in the highly prestigious Bocuse d'Or culinary competition in Lyon, France. Estonian chefs' previous-highest placing in the contest was 15th, ERR's Menu portal reports.
Artur Kazaritski, sous-chef at the three-star Geranium restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, said of his menu entry that: "Homeland flavors are always in my heart, no matter where I travel, and I currently live in."
"It's a tribute to the cuisine traditions of South and West Estonia, which inspires me with their clean, rich and nuanced flavors. The Estonian seasons are clearly different from each other in terms of natural gifts. I offered the competition jury the opportunity to experience Estonia's autumn flavors," he continued, appearing on ETV current affairs show "Ringvaade".
"My menu today menu starts with the tastes of a tomato and crunchy fresh vegetable salad, followed by a creamy shrimp with citrus-, garlic and parsley aromas. The dessert was light and airy, containing vanilla cream with candied tomatoes, roasted nuts and fruit sabaion," he continued.
Kazaritski also prepared a larger dish featuring a shoulder of stewed beef.
The competition overall was won by a French chef, with entrants from Denmark and Norway next
Kazaritski's journey to the top of the culinary world began at Sillamäe Vocational School (Ida-Virumaa Kutsehariduskeskus) and took him to the best of British, Italian and Japanese eateries onwards to the kitchens of some of the most prestigious restaurants in Finland and Norway, and, since 2015, Geranium, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen where he has been sous-chef since 2018.
Entrants to Bocuse d'or 2021 came from countries as diverse as Costa Rica, Indonesia, Tunisia and Uruguay, as well as several European countries.
Kazaritski's culinary coach is Hampus Risberg and his assistant chef is Magnus Rosendahl.
Estonia's highest placing in the contest prior to this year came in 2009, when Vladislav Djatšuk came 15th.
The Bocuse d'Or (the Concours mondial de la cuisine, World Cooking Contest) is a biennial world chef championship, named after the chef Paul Bocuse (1926-2018).
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Editor: Andrew Whyte