Culinary Equipment Company CEO Wehrner Gutstadt’s arrival in Lyon for the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest prompts a memorable pilgrimage to that signature gourmet retreat on the Sâone, l’Auberge du Pont de Collonges, Paul Bocuse’s premium destination for classical French cuisine.

Voted by Gault Millau in 1989 as Chef of the Century, Paul Bocuse’s services to the art of nouvelle cuisine have earned him nods from the world’s premiere culinary circles, among them the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France’s Best Craftsman), further proof that the wellknown distinction of having held three Michelin stars to his name for over 43 years is both earned and deserved, especially in France. There, his remarkable gastronomic and popular public personas unite under the peerage of two of France’s top societies. He is a Commander of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour, the first chef to be so decorated, and a Commander of the National Order of Merit. His face has graced the cover of Time magazine, his name appeared on books, knives and champagne bottles and the first million-dollar restaurant attraction at Disney World’s Epcot theme park, Les Chefs de France, he co-created (and is currently run by his son, Jérôme). At Mr. Bocuse’s main, three-Michelin-starred restaurant, l’Auberge du Pont de Collonges, famously housed in his family home on the banks of the River Sâone a few kilometers north of Lyon, service remains as gilded and sleek as the menu is fresh and traditional. His approach to specialized cuisine is prolific, offering four distinct brasseries in Lyon, each located at accurate geographical points in the city and named Le Nord (North), l’Est (East), Le Sud (South) and l’Ouest (West), all of which serve as finishing schools for top graduates of the nearby Institut Paul Bocuse in Ecully.

The intention of the Bocuse D’Or World Cuisine Contest, or the Bocuse D’Or as it is known, is to unite the best worldwide gastronomic talents in a competition that takes place in front of a live audience. Bocuse first had the idea to stage a competition of this nature over twenty-two years ago, and has since been largely accredited with bringing the profession of chef into public life. Given that competitive standards are at the summit of excellence, his namesake event has become highly prestigious. Held every two years as part of the international hotel and food catering trade exhibition SIRHA (Salon Internationale de la Restauration, de l’Hôtellerie et de l’Alimentation), the competition is run much like an international sporting event, replete (rather glamorously) with high-profile media attention and throngs of cheering onlookers, among them the hotel and catering world elite. Each 
country may submit only one candidate, who will undergo a rigorous selection process at home in order to qualify nationally. Final contestants travel to the Eurexpo Center in Lyon where full-service, state-ofthe-art workstations designed to resemble mini restaurant kitchens await them. Here, they are set to work against the clock before a jury of 24 esteemed international chefs, which in the past has included Thomas Keller, Ferran Adrià, Juan Mari
Arzak, popular television chef Brian Turner, and the culinary alchemist Heston Blumenthal, among others.

Q & A with Wehrner Gutstadt, CEO of Culinary Equipment Company and visitor to both the Bocuse D’Or Competition and l’Auberge du Pont de Collonges.

A: Bocuse is not the only three-Michelin-starred restaurant I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, but it’s definitely my worldwide benchmark for classical fine dining because of the intense ability and willingness of every person involved with the establishment to make your experience a pleasurable one. From the minute you park your car and walk towards the door, you are looked after you and entertained. This is achieved through staff being highly trained and the united belief as a team to deliver a dynamic experience. You and your guests must feel as if you were the only important customers to visit the restaurant on the night. This attitude must be strictly adhered to, even to the point of sacrificing financial gain. Ultimately service is what sets restaurants of this kind apart. The maître d’ at Bocuse appears at your table and in a very subtle way, he is attentive and observes your comments and body language when communicating with you. Service is totally efficient and unobtrusive, so much so that you don’t even realise it’s happening.

Q: Atmosphere is important to the success of any restaurant - what was it like at Bocuse?

A: The Bocuse d’Or is total theatre. I had a back stage pass and was able to go right up to the kitchen booths to watch the chefs at work. It was amazing to see and to feel a direct part of the experience. What impressed me was their timing, which has to be exact. Plates had to be ready on the second. The point of the competition is to drive standards and bring new ideas to the table. Everybody starts from a level playing field composed of identical base ingredients and facilities. As I became aware of the planning and preparation that goes into it, I couldn’t help feeling that South Africa is at a disadvantage, lacking the funding necessary to allow our candidates adequate time and facilities to train.

Best of the best

If you can’t go to SIRHA (Salon Internationale de la Restauration, de l’Hôtellerie et de l’Alimentation) then why not let SIRHA come to you? Wehrner Gutstadt gives us his pick of benchmark kitchen equipment, all available in South Africa.

• Bespoke cooking islands – Charvet - Lyon, France
• Espresso coffee machines – Faema - Milan, Italy
• Cutlery – Broggi - Brescia, Italy
• Crockery – CIM from Ferran Adria, Spain
• Glassware – Riedel, Germany
• Vegetable preparation – Anliker , Switzerland
• Knives – Zwilling Henckels, Germany
• Pots – copper pots by De Buyer, Alsace, France
• Frying pans – copper frying pans by De Buyer - Alsace, France
• Salt and pepper mills – Peugeot, France
• Domestic Stove – Lacanche - Burgundy, France