Culinary Olympics

I'm not sure what to write about today. I'm at a loss!

So I thought I'd mention that the Bocuse d'Or, the so-called gold medal of Olympic cooking competitions, began today in Paris. 24 chefs from all over the world will cook a meat dish for 12, and a seafood for 12, in 5 hours and 35 minutes. That time includes butchering a side of beef, and an 11lb Norwegian cod from scratch. The US has never won the competition, in fact, hasn't even placed in the top three, so this year, the team has bulked up Phelps-style, with an all-star coaching team of Thomas Keller, Daniel Boloud and Paul Bocuse, the man who started the competition. The stars: 28-year Timothy Hollingsworth, the sous-chef at Keller's French Laundry, often called the best restaurant in America, and his commis, Adina Guest.

His menu includes a scallop sausage, which sounds intriguing. And in case you think he's all fancy food and no humility, Food & Wine challenged him to create a simple menu, channeling mom. I channel mum whenever I can, so I knew that would work! His butternut squash soup with maple-glazed banana sounds oddly delicious.

Anyway, that's where I am today.

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aarti