5th Entente Cordiale Cuinary Oscar
The Oscar of the Franco-British Culinairy "Entente Cordiale" celebrates its 5th anniversary
After the Westminster College in London in 2011, the Lycée Paul Valéry in Menton hosted the professional hoteliers school from the Riviera and their British pairs for an annual competition, in which the winner couple was awarded the Oscar for the Culinairy Entente Cordiale at the Escoffier Museum of Culinary Art in Villeuneuve-Loubet with the winner students, the finalists and schools teachers.
A Monte Carlo first, then the Grand National in Lucerne and finally in London, as chef the famous Savoy Hotel, Auguste Escoffier, the "the kings' chef and the king of chefs" has profoundly marked the history of world gastronomy and etiquette. Its timeless values are brought to the world by thousands of disciples gathered together in associations and also now guide the pairing of French and British educational establishment which now form the great chefs of tomorrow.
In 2004, France and England celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale. In Villeneuve-Loubet, at the Escoffier foundation, Michel Bourdin cherishes the hope of celebrating the event in an unlikely gastronomic alliance. Through its many contacts in England, he uses the centennial celebration for the development on behalf of the Foundation Escoffier culinary pairing between English and Azurean professional institutions, with four institutions on both sides. The stakes: giving young people the opportunity to open up to international markets, enhance trade between pedagogical teachers, create a lasting bond between people. Ultimately, some 30,000 students are involved by the agreement promoted by the foundation Escoffier. In 2008, a first competition takes place in Nice in the Lycée Hotelier Paul Augier. The best students in the first year (Bac Pro) of each institution confronts in duo composed of a French and a British student.
The 2012 contest took place at the Lycée Paul Valéry of Menton, in front of the jury composed of: Joel Garault, chef at the Hotel Hermitage (Monaco), Luke Gamel, chef at the Hotel de Paris (Monaco), Charles Semeria, chef at the Vista Palace (Roquebrune Cap Martin), Christine Granbouche, pastry chef (Monaco), Lucien Pi, former teacher at the Lycée Paul Augier (Nice), Pierre Scarselli, former chef at the Casino (Beaulieu). Students had to make a stuffed wolf "façon Cleopatra" with stuffed zucchini and saffroned olivettes potatoes and a dessert, an unstructured variation around the lemon in a spirit of a lemon tart. The 2012 winners are: Sonia Gomes Lycée Francis de Croisset (Grasse) and Joe Gray, Thanet College (Kent).
