Pascal Kamin, Clément Goyffon and chef Claude Le Tohic won the award of World Champion at the International Catering Cup (ICC) competition. The ICC 2023 edition took place from January 17 to 19 during Sirha in Lyon.
It might not be relevant to all of us but it means a lot in the hospitality industry. This competition is open to all professionals in the food industry who are at least 23 years old and working in the catering industry (delicatessen, restaurant, hotel, pastry shop, etc.) as an employee or company manager. The number of teams is limited to 12.
With those 12 participating countries, the ICC is an international gastronomic competition with an extremely demanding jury. It requires participants to have solid training, some experience, unbridled creativity and above all, fierce training. Having become a reference since its creation in 2008, the ICC defends and shares creativity and innovation at the heart of multidisciplinary know-how.
The One65 team – made up of Pascal Kamin, chef, Clément Goyffon, pastry chef, and chef Claude Le Tohic – has been training for more than eight months for this competition, on the sidelines of its daily work for One65.
“I no longer have a personal life” Clément Goyffon explained to us in December. I get up at 7 a.m., I go to the gym, then when my work day at One65 is over, I train sometimes until 2 a.m. making a dish over and over again to perfection for the January deadline.”
The funny detail is that our three Frenchmen represented the United States!! The nationality of the team depends on the country where it has a work contract.
The competition takes place over three days with a “catering” type scenario. It includes a day where they go shopping for ingredients and a day of off-site preparation with the transport of the dishes to the venue. Then, on the day of the finale, it is all about setting up a buffet and dressing the plates.
One65 team presented a buffet named “tradition and modernity”, combining its French know-how and its Californian culinary experience. The presentation being graded, they also worked in advance in San Francisco with Antoine and Paul Marnata 2 San Francisco “street artists” with 1am projects. They have created from scratch a sideboard imitating urban support that would have been tagged!
As for the dishes, there was an imposed menu on which should appear cocktail pieces, cold preparations, hot dishes, and “café gourmand” (like a miniature dessert tray). Parmentier siphon in a crispy cone with nori and caviar, pressed poultry with foie gras lacquered with sweet spices, bite of the sea-iodized fennel velouté and fried leeks, braised pork cheek on a spicy red pepper royale, soufflé with coffee – heart of cocoa flowing with cognac, double espresso ice cream… are examples of dishes presented by the fine team that tickle your taste buds and that we may be able to taste One65 some day?
“Preparing dishes again and again, creating new ones is part of our constant research and development process at One65, but my team has worked tirelessly on this project and I am very happy with this victory” explains Chef Claude le Tohic freshly arrived from France.
Sponsored by Paris Gourmet, the team traveled to France a few days before the start of the competition and then took a few days of well-deserved vacation with their respective family.
Thank you One65 for bringing the World Cup home…to San Francisco!
