MONTREAL — The board of directors for Bocuse d’Or Canada has named the coaches for the team set to represent Canada at Boucuse d’Or in 2021.
For the first time since 1987, it was decided that a duo of coaches will ensure the team’s training. Chef Gilles Herzog, instructor at ITHQ in Montreal and internationally acclaimed chef Alvin Leung will mentor chef Samuel Sirois and his commis, Alexi Jetté. Team Canada will benefit from the coaches’ knowledge, technical and creative strengths, as well as their complementary skills sets.
Herzog trained in Avignon, France and worked with top chefs including Alain Ducasse, at a three Michelin-star restaurant in Monaco and alongside some of the best Craftsman of France (MOF). In Canada, he made his mark in top establishments including F Bar (Groupe Ferreira) and Hôtel de La Montagne in Montreal before joining ITHQ in 2013.
Leung is a self-taught chef who owns three Michelin-star restaurant Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, as well as R&D in Toronto and 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung in Singapore. He is mostly known to Canadians as a judge on MasterChef Canada.
“I’m excited to be part of the international Bocuse d’Or family,” says Leung. “I am looking forward to working with chef Sirois and my co-coach to strategize the menu for our first challenge — The America’s competition scheduled later on this winter.”
Recently incorporated as a federal not-for-profit organization, Bocuse d’Or Canada has set itself a mission to promote Canadian cuisine within the country and abroad, to help educate the next generation and to enable the sharing of knowledge within the food industry community from coast to coast.
“For the last two years, I’ve been working with the team closely to ensure a place for Canada on the podium,” explains Thomas Delannoy, president of Bocuse d’Or Canada. “I believe that we’ve never been in as good a place as now to achieve our goal, but also to make the organization viable and instrumental in the food industry from coast to coast. The support we’ve received from chefs and brands from across the country, the transmission and sharing of knowledge is what will enable Canada to shine on the world stage and ensure our place on the podium.”
