Jan Smink crowned winner of the 55th Le Taittinger Prix Culinaire

Jan Smink, owner of Smink from Wolvega in the Netherlands, has been crowned winner of the 55th Le Taittinger Prix Culinaire.

 

This was his third attempt at winning the competition, following two consecutive runs in the top three.

 

The international final was held at Le Cordon Bleu cookery school in London’s Bloomsbury and the results were announced at BAFTA Piccadilly.

 

It was the first year that the competition took place outside of Paris.

 

Vitalie Taittinger, president of Taittinger, said: “The first final we organised out of France has a special meaning for us. We thought it was important to extend and spread the culinary prize even more than today.”

 

Smink beat seven other contestants from Japan, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

 

Participants had three hours and 45 minutes to prepare the vegan soup starter and the pork-based main.

 

His victorious dishes included a soup made from Jerusalem artichoke, parsnip, truffle, miso and smoked olive oil; and a main consisting of different layers of pork, truffle baked in brioche with shiitake mushrooms and terrine with celeriac truffle.

 

He said: “It was the third time. I don’t know what to say, but I’m really happy with this result. I really like the other contestants. It was really nice to get to know new people. It took a lot of effort to get to here so I’m really thankful.”

 

Hirofumi Kanbe of Prunier in Tokyo was runner-up, winning €5,000, while Alexandre Vuillin of La Pyramide in Vienne received €2,500 for coming third.

 

Paul Burgalières, head chef of the three Michelin-starred L’Enclume in Cumbria, represented the UK in the competition. He narrowly missed out on a spot in the top three.

 

His starter was made of pumpkin, mushroom, bergamot and pistachio, while his main featured pork loin, shoulder, leg, belly, confit potatoes and cabbage blanched with buttermilk.

 

He told The Caterer: “The biggest challenge was just being on time. It’s always a stressful thing and the clock goes on so quick – you don’t realise when you are very focused. [But] people around me have made things for this special event, I’ve been working hard for it and it’s amazing. I really enjoyed it.”

 

Michel Roux Jr, honorary president of the competition, added: “It’s been amazing, absolutely fantastic. It was really great to have the competition in the UK, the first time that the Taittinger has actually gone outside of France. It’s a great honour and it’s testimony to the UK and the food scene here that they chose to come here.”

 

Other members of the Jury International included: Dominique Crenn, Claude Bosi, Mark Flannagan, John Williams, Andrew Pern, Éric Briffard, Mikael Kempf, and Ryo Horiuchi, who won the competition last year.

 

The Jury Cuisine, responsible for assessing the chefs’ organisation, cleanliness and interactions with the commis, was made up of Amandine Chaignot, Bernard Leprince and Kenichiro Sekiya.

 

Both Juries combined share 17 Michelin stars between them.

 

Candidates were marked on technique (35%), individuality (35%), aesthetics (20%) and cooking (10%).

 

The competition is open to chefs aged 24-39 with more than five years’ experience and is an opportunity to showcase their identity and culture.

 

Previous winners include Joël Robuchon, Michel Roth and Jonathan Zandbergen.

 

Image Credit: Jungmin Seo