The French city of Lyon hosts a cooking contest twice a year called the Bocuse d’Or. This time the contest was won by a Danish chef by the name of Kofoed Rasmus. This is quite a feat as the participants that compete at this event hail from all over the world and needless to say it attracts only the best of the best. It is a fierce competition and there’s no event that is greater than this in the cooking world.

The competition boasts of 24 judges who rate not just on flavor but also presentation. The contestants have 5 hours to create a fish platter and meat platter from a specified weight and cut, and each plate must have at least three garnishes. Chef Tommy Myllymaki from Sweden was the runner up and Chef Gunnar Hyames from Norway took the third place. There was a separate category for the best meat platter which was won by France and Switzerland bagged the best fish award. There was an intense amount of cheering from the audience who were there to support their country’s representative for the event. “

This is not a reality television show, it’s a real competition,” Daniel Boulud, the chef best known for Daniel in New York, said before the result was known. “It’s important for the restaurant industry to give young chefs an ambitious challenge and it’s the responsibility of established chefs to support them.” The competition was for two days and started on January 25th 2011 at Sirha, the Salon International de la Restauration, de l’Hotellerie et de l’Alimentation. Simone Hulstone, 36 from the Elephant restaurant in Torquay was representing U.K. He had won the title of the U.K. National Chef in 2008 as well as the Roux Scholarship in 2003.

“It’s incredibly nerve-racking but I like the buzz about it,” Hulstone said before the result was known. “I’m happy with what we are going to produce. The aim is to put the U.K. on the map for 2013 to make people think more about it and bring in more sponsorship. The buildup has been good and people are talking about it.” Traditionally the Nordic and French have won this event but this year they lost out as the Bocuse D'or food contest was won over by Denmark.

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