Denmark wins the Bocuse d’Or 2023

Led by The Ritz premier sous chef Ian Musgrave, the UK team placed seventh in the biennial competition, which is held in Lyon. 

Musgrave was supported by commis chef Adam Beaumont, who also works at The Ritz. Team UK is overseen by coach Tom Phillips, head chef at Restaurant Story, and Bocuse d’Or UK president Simon Rogan of L’Enclume and Umbel Restaurant Group. 

“It’s been a genuine honour to represent our nation on the biggest culinary stage in the world and I’m proud of what Adam and I produced to try and push the boundaries of gastronomy," says Musgrave. "The competition out there was tough and while we’re disappointed to have not reached the podium, as a team we have progressed leaps and bounds over the past couple of years and I’m confident we’ll get there in the future.”

Each of the 24 teams had five-and-a-half hours to cook a menu based on the theme of ‘feed the kids’ based on squash and create a platter that showcased monkfish.  

“I came here in all humility, to be inspired by those chefs,” says honorary president Dominique Crenn. “I loved that there were so many countries, so many different cultures, and they all told us their story, not the one of others. The children who watched the Bocuse d’Or can now say to themselves, I can also be there, I also have a story to tell.”

The competition’s next major event will be the Bocuse d’Or Europe 2024, which will be held in Norway between 19 and 20 March 2024 and will determine the European selections for the next Bocuse d’Or. 

Denmark, which also won the European selections last year, impressed with a platter that was based on Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales.