After months of preparation, 23 young competitors from around the world, dressed in their dazzling white chefs’ jackets, were ready to compete in the 30th Annual Concours International des Jeunes Commis Rôtisseurs in Adelaide, Australia. The competitors gathered at the spacious and well-equipped facilities at the Regency TAFE.

Faced with a black box that included saddle of lamb, live marrons (crayfish), veal sweetbreads, blueberries and rhubarb, the commis had just four hours to write a menu and prepare a three-course meal for four people. Some of the competitors found the lively marrons to be one of the most challenging ingredients.

The day of the competition, the first competitors began cooking at 0700hrs; the last competitor’s plate was served at 1845hrs. The jury members were very impressed with the quality of the culinary skills displayed. The tasting judges awarded points on taste, presentation and originality. The three kitchen judges, all professionals and including Le Cordon Bleu Master Chef Fabrice Danniel, awarded points on professionalism, cleanliness, cooking skills, and menu composition and balance. They also deducted points for lateness, reflecting real-life challenges!

In first place, winner of the Arthur Bolli Memorial Trophy, was Daniel Craig of Canada. As well as the trophy, he won a scholarship from Le Cordon Bleu International to attend a five-week Cuisine Programme at its Académie in Paris and an attaché case of eight Wüsthof chefs’ knives. He was awarded the Chaîne Gold Medal.

The scholarship prize donated by Le Cordon Bleu International is without equal for any young chef. We are most appreciative to Le Cordon Bleu International and its President, Mr. André Cointreau for their generous and continued support of the competition.

Second place and the Gaston-Landry Panuel Award went to Steffi Kerber of Germany. She received a set of Wüsthof chef’s knives and was awarded the Chaîne Silver Medal.

After the points were tallied, for the first time in the competition there was a tie. Third place, the Jean Valby Award, was shared by Mikko Kauto from Finland, and Håkan Olsson from Sweden. They were awarded Wüsthof chefs’ knives and Chaîne Bronze Medals.

Victoria Jeune Commis Wins International Competition !!

Daniel Craig, Jeune Commis of the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort, Victoria “brings home the gold” at the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’ International Competition held in Adelaide, Australia, September 14, 2006.

Twenty-three contestant chefs, all under the age of 27 and from such far-flung places of the globe as Australia, Austria, Bermuda, Canada, China, France, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Kenya, Portugal, Russia, South Africa and Turkey converged on Adelaide, South Australia this week for the 30th annual Jeunes Commis Rôtisseurs Competition - an international culinary and gastronomic event of great magnitude. And Victoria’s very own Daniel Craig, has taken the gold!

Played out in the context of the international Grand Chapître of La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, September 13 to 17, it is the first time ever that Australia has hosted a Grand Chapître, not to mention the young cooks’ competition.

La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is an ancient food & wine society, dedicated to maintaining the traditions of fine dining that originated in France in 1248. It aims to preserve and raise the standards of the culinary arts in all the great cuisines of the world. The Chaîne has 23,000 members with chapters (“Bailliages”) in more than 125 countries. These Bailliages meet six to twelve times a year, staging a mixture of fine dining events and less formal gatherings. In order to encourage aspiring young chefs, the first Jeunes Commis Rôtisseurs Competition was organized in Switzerland in 1977. Today the Chaîne sponsors annual competitions at the regional, national and international level.

The stage for this year’s all-day international event was the TAFE SA Adelaide North – Regency Campus, hosted by Le Cordon Bleu School. Candidates were given identical “black boxes” (baskets of ingredients of which they had no prior knowledge), and asked to prepare a three-course menu to meet rigorous standards. Twelve international judges rated them on such matters as taste, originality, creativity, presentation, portion size, nutrition, dress, kitchen cleanliness and timing.

Daniel, who has been trained by Craig Stoneman, Executive Chef at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa, is familiar with Chaine competitions. In May 2005 he placed first in the Regional event held in Victoria at the Interurban Campus of Camosun College under the auspices of Vice-Conseiller Culinaire Marcel Guichard. Daniel then went on to compete and win the National at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton on September 23, 2005 against nine other winners from across Canada, assessed by a team of professional and non-professional judges, under the watchful eye of the Conseiller Culinaire du Canada, Executive Chef Takashi Murakami.

Daniel first “fell in love with food and the industry” when he participated in a high school co-op program, which included working in a small restaurant in Goderich, Ontario.
Following his graduation from high school in 1999, Daniel moved to Victoria to attend school. He found work with numerous restaurants such as the Fairmont Empress Hotel, the Sunflower Café, Deep Cove Chalet, Japanese Village, and Milestones, and eventually decided he wanted to achieve his Red Seal and Journeyman Cook papers. Graduating with honours from Camosun’s one-year training course, Daniel received several bursaries and began his apprenticeship at Delta Ocean Pointe Resort in 2001. Daniel competed in the Grand Marnier Dessert Challenge in 2004/05 (placing third overall) and in the Knorr Junior culinary competition (again placing third).

And now Daniel has carried the gold in Australia. There is a little irony here, because an Australian won the gold in Banff in 2004 – maybe he decided to bring it back. Besides the gold medal, Daniel has won the Arthur Bolli Trophy, a significant cash prize and a scholarship from Le Cordon Bleu International to complete a five-week Cuisine Programme in Paris; but most of all, he has brought culinary glory to Victoria. “Good on ya, mate!”

15 September 2006
Beverley Straub Watkins, UE, MA
Vice Chargée de Presse, Bailliage de Victoria
blstraub@shaw.ca

Daniel Craig at the Award Ceremony
in Australia with his Gold Medal