Iceland’s nomination for the Bocuse d’Or, chef Viktor Örn Andrésson, has placed fifth in the European heats of the world’s most prestigious culinary competition, winning a place in the finals in France in January.
In addition to his fifth place, Viktor also picked up the award for best fish dish at the European Bocuse d’Or qualifiers, which were held this week in Budapest, Hungary. Hungary won the overall competition, with Norway in second and Sweden finishing third.
The contestants had five-and-a-half hours to prepare a fish dish and a meat dish for the competition’s 20 judges.
Viktor Örn is one of Iceland’s top chefs, having won Icelandic Chef of the Year in 2013, Nordic Chef of the Year 2014, and having been a member of the national culinary team from 2009-2014. He and the rest of the national team finished fifth in the 2014 Culinary World Cup. He is a former chef at Lava restaurant at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, and Domaine de Clairefontaine in France.
Thanks to its involvement in the Nordic New Wave culinary movement, Iceland has a proud history at the Bocuse d’Or, with Icelandic chefs always finishing in the top-nine. In 2001, Hákon Már Örvarsson finished with the bronze medal.
Iceland’s first ever Bocuse d’Or entrant, Sturla Birgisson, finished fifth in 1999 and is now a member of the judging panel.
