SHANGHAI, June 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- METRO Cash & Carry, the world's leading business-to-business wholesaler, has announced it will continue its partnership with the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition - the culinary equivalent of the Olympic Games. The Asia-Pacific Selection of the distinguished contest today kicks off in Shanghai. METRO will provide contestants across the region with premium meat and fish, enabling these top-notch chefs to present the best of gastronomy.
"Bocuse d'Or is dedicated to gastronomic excellence, which perfectly aligns with METRO's own pursuit of the highest level of food safety and quality. We are delighted to provide the food materials for the contest's main courses. We see our partnership with this sophisticated culinary competition as a testimony to our professionalism in and understanding of the HoReCa industry," said Mr. Jeroen de Groot, President of METRO China. "With a focus on professional customers, we provide safe, high-quality, traceable products and innovative value-added services. As a result, METRO is now the trusted partner of many hotels, restaurants, canteens, and catering companies."
METRO has long been a main sponsor of Bocuse d'Or, sponsoring fresh, safe, and carefully-selected food materials and seasonings. METRO also sponsors China Team to attend the Asia-Pacific Selection. Famous Chinese chef Peter Lin will attend the second day of the competition to represent China before the world.
A winning partnership: METRO and Bocuse d'Or enjoy worldwide success
The competition's rules require chefs to prepare one fish and one lamb dish within three hours with the help of their assistants. The raw materials of fish and lamb are all sponsored by METRO China. To satisfy the competition's strict fresh food standards and allow chefs to produce the best results, METRO will offer its traceable Star Farm salmon. Originating in Denmark with particularly high water quality, the fish is shipped to China twice a week, following international quality and safety standards. The entire cold chain, which lasts less than 72 hours from harvest to delivery, ensures the safety and quality of the food during transportation. METRO also will provide chefs with premium lamb from Australia and New Zealand.
A panel of judges composed of tournament presidents from around the world and Otto WEIBEL, President of the Asia-Pacific tournament, will evaluate the dishes according to both taste and presentation.
In 1987, Paul Bocuse, the three-star Michelin chef known as the "Chef of the Century," founded Bocuse d'Or, a biennial cooking championship held in Lyon, France, which brings together the world's top professional chefs. This year, ten teams from Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, and China will compete to enter the final in Lyon, France in January 2015.
