Bocuse d'Or diaries: Adam Beaumont is ready as commis

04 January 2023 by
Bocuse d'Or diaries: Adam Beaumont is ready as commis

Adam Beaumont learned about the competition through working with Team UK chairman Andreas Antona. Now he's gearing up as commis

The Bocuse d'Or UK Academy team are readying themselves up for the January 2023 World Finals in Lyon, held every two years. Each month we'll hear from a different member of the team as they prepare to perform on the biggest stage in gastronomy.

In the fourth in our series of Bocuse d'Or diaries, we speak to commis chef Adam Beaumont about entering the competition as a young chef, what the team is doing to prepare and his advice for future competitors.

I first heard about the competition in 2016, when my college lecturer chef Wright [Anthony, candidate in 2017] was training for Team UK at the European Finals. Then I secured my first job at Simpsons in Edgbaston with Andreas [Antona, chairman of Bocuse d'Or Team UK] and started really learning about the competition and its prestige through him.

Following UK selection in 2019, Ian Musgrave was named as the candidate and then invited three potential commis to the Ritz London to chat about the competition and have a cook-off – Ian then chose who he wanted to work with and, fortunately, I was picked.

I moved to London and started at the Ritz London last September – it was the natural option as it has enabled Ian and I to catch up throughout the day, to share ideas and work on technical elements in our day-to-day roles.

I wanted to get involved in the competition because, simply, what's not to love? You're creating the best food in the world, challenging yourself against the best chefs and are exposed to legends of the game. Budapest [the European Finals] was such an unreal experience – it's the only competition where you cook in front of a crowd in a grandstand – it's ridiculous, really! I'm a huge sports fan and have always loved competition; I think it's the thrill and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone that always keeps me motivated. Sure, it can be draining and you go down some dark avenues at times, but the overall experience is phenomenal and winning the special prize for our theme on the plate confirmed it was all worth it.

Right now we're in full swing, training in the test kitchen at Westminster Kingsway College, which is an exact replica of the kitchen in Lyon – everything is designed down to the millimetre. The design of the platter, which I'm sworn to secrecy about, is nearly there and we have a plan for how the food will be presented. As the plated dish brief was only revealed last month, we are working hard to develop it. But from our prior experience, you don't really know until you get to the full run-throughs, as that's when you understand what can and can't be achieved in the strict time limits – that's why we've started now and had our first full run-throughs at the start of the month.

In reality, we've been working towards the final for nearly four years, and the biggest thing I've learned is the importance of organisation and the constant demand to be meticulous. By the final you need to be very precise and be able to recite everything off by heart to have any chance of reaching the podium.

The biggest surprise has been understanding how creativity comes about to be able to produce the best food in the world and push the boundaries of gastronomy. To create something that's never been seen before is equally as exciting as it is stressful, and it's been interesting to see how out of the box thinking can be produced from the seemingly silliest remark or completely random idea. Then something just clicks and you create it with each other.

Being part of the competition at a young age has already propelled my career and accelerated my learning tenfold – it's simply the best experience. Where else would you be able to work with some of the best chefs in the UK in the same capacity? We have a two-star coach, two three-star chefs advising and one of the biggest legends, John Williams, overseeing – it's just unreal.

There's no family like a kitchen. Yes, you bicker like siblings, but everyone has your back and if you love adrenaline, then there's nothing better than a fast-paced kitchen when it's all going on. If you're thinking about getting into competitions, I think you just have to go for it. You'll either love it or hate it, but you will never know until you try.

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