Training day: Bocuse d’Or, the ‘Olympics of the food world’
Timothy Hollingsworth, a sous chef at French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., prepares a cod as he trains for the world’s premiere cooking competition, the Bocuse d’Or, held in Lyon, France, every two years. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Hollingsworth’s assistant, Adina Guest, consults him about the thickness of bacon. The Bocuse d’Or, founded 22 years ago by Paul Bocuse, who is considered to be the father of modern French cooking, is the Olympics of the food world, and the U.S. has its hopes pinned on Hollingsworth and Guest. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
From left, chefs Paul Bocuse, Daniel Boulud and Jerome Bocuse with Hollingsworth as they discuss his scallop-wrapped cod with pistachios. Hollingsworth is a self-taught chef. At the competition, he will have to prepare eight elaborate dishes on two platters -- within five hours and 35 minutes -- for a panel of judges from 24 countries. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Paul Bocuse samples a dish of potatoes with celery and chestnut, which Timothy Hollingsworth prepared. The French chef visited Hollingsworth on a recent practice run in Yountville, Calif. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Daniel Boulud, an executive of the U.S. committee for the Bocuse d’Or, inspects Hollingsworth’s bresaola with horseradish foam. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Hollingsworth dices truffles on a practice run. The sous chef, 28, from Placerville, Calif., started cooking in high school and early on, read every cookbook he could get his hands on. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Adina Guest slices beets. The 22-year-old was chosen as an assistant because Hollingsworth said he was impressed by her “level of intensity, her execution.” (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Turnips are also used for their dishes. More than half a million dollars were raised to send Hollingsworth and Guest to the Lyon competition. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Clockwise from top, confit of cod enveloped in scallop mousse and pistachios; potato and bacon mille-feuille with creme fraiche; and scallop boudin with Swiss chard and beets. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Hollingsworth, with Boulud, left, and Paul Bocuse, right, says he wants to bring something different to the competition, which begins Jan. 27. I hope to bring a more modern approach to it, he says, something fresher and lighter and not as contrived or extremely manipulated. (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
