Mathew Peters of USA, center, celebrates on the podium after winning the “Bocuse d’Or” (Golden Bocuse) trophy, in Lyon, central France, ahead Christopher William Davidsen of Norway, left, who finished second, and Viktor Andresson of Iceland, right, who came third, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. The contest, a sort of world cup of the cuisine, was started in 1987 by Lyon chef Paul Bocuse to reward young international culinary talents.
(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Mathew Peters, of USA, prepares food during the “Bocuse d’Or” trophy, in Lyon, central France, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. The contest, a sort of world cup of cuisine, was started in 1987 by Lyon chef Paul Bocuse to reward young international culinary talents.
(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Daniel Arnold, of Australia, prepares food during the “Bocuse d’Or” trophy, in Lyon, central France, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. The contest, a sort of world cup of cuisine, was started in 1987 by Lyon chef Paul Bocuse to reward young international culinary talents.
(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Homero Antonio Burgos Olmos, of Chile, prepares food during the “Bocuse d’Or” (Golden Bocuse) trophy, in Lyon, central France, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. The contest, a sort of world cup of the cuisine, was started in 1987 by Lyon chef Paul Bocuse to reward young international culinary talents.
(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Kotaro Hasegawa, of Japan, prepares food during the “Bocuse d’Or” (Golden Bocuse) trophy, in Lyon, central France, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. The contest, a sort of world cup of the cuisine, was started in 1987 by Lyon chef Paul Bocuse to reward young international culinary talents.
(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Eero Vottonen, of Finland, prepares food during the “Bocuse d’Or” (Golden Bocuse) trophy, in Lyon, central France, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. The contest, a sort of world cup of the cuisine, was started in 1987 by Lyon chef Paul Bocuse to reward young international culinary talents.
(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani
Mathew Peters of USA, centre, celebrates on the podium with teammates after winning the “Bocuse d’Or” (Golden Bocuse) trophy, in Lyon, central France, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. The contest, a sort of world cup of the cuisine, was started in 1987 by Lyon chef Paul Bocuse to reward young international culinary talents.
(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
WASHINGTON — For the first time ever, the U.S. won “the Olympics of cooking.”
On Jan. 25, a team of 10 American chefs, led by Matthew Peters (Per Se and The French Laundry), took home the gold at the famed Bocuse d’Or chef biannual competition in Lyon, France.
NPR reports the chefs had to battle through 18 months of qualifying rounds. In the finale, they had less than 6 hours to create two dishes: an interpretation of chicken and crayfish and a vegan dish.
“It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of this, at least in the food world,” writes Bloomberg‘s Kate Krader, who goes on to add that Peters and his team beat 23 other skilled teams from around the world.
The U.S. team was coached by renowned chef Thomas Keller. Second and third place went to Norway and Iceland, respectively. In 2015, the U.S. took second place in the competition. It was the only other time the Americans were on the winners’ podium.
