The Bocuse d’Or, probably the most famous international cooking contest, takes place every two years, bringing together the best chefs in the world to pit their culinary skills against one another; the next final will be held at the end of January 2017, as always in Lyon, the home town of Paul Bocuse who is the namesake and initiator.
As a “Membre associé du Bocuse d’Or”, Villeroy & Boch has been supplying the official competition plate for many years, this time from the successful Artesano collection. There is also an exclusive limited edition Bocuse d’Or collector’s plate for every final. The décor is traditionally created by Alain Vavro. The renowned French artist and designer who lives and works with his wife Dominique in Collogne-au-Mont-d’Or, a small community north of Lyon, has been designing the patterns on the plates since 1995 – and Monsieur Paul always approves them personally.
This year, the plates have been decorated with the themes of “sustainability” and “responsibility for nature’s products”. Alain Vavro explained “Nowadays consumers want to know where their products come from. We have put the spotlight on products mother nature has given to us.”
The Vavro couple has created a design with warm pastel colours. The plate depicts a chef in the middle of the plate, but not in a victory pose as has been the case in previous patterns, but instead as an orchestra leader conducting the ingredients for his culinary creations. A lemon, whose shape is reminiscent of the oval Artesano plate, is accompanied by different vegetables, cutlery and a fish designed in the typical Vavro style. The two letterings, “Bocuse d’Or 2017” in gold and “30 ans” referring to the anniversary year of the culinary contest, add the final touch to the motif on the collector’s plate.
Photo: Bocuse d'Or 2016/2017, Alain & Dominique Vavro
