Since the One of the Best Apprentices in France competition existed in cold cooking, this is the first time that two students from the same establishment have won the title in the same year. A great feat achieved by Jules Méric, from Beauce-la-Romaine, and Nicolas Leblond–Bigot, from Châteauneuf-sur-Loire (Loiret), students from the Blois hotel high school.
On September 27, thirty-nine candidates competed in the national final which was played in Nice and Paris. Five were titled, including the two students from the Blesois establishment.
“You need a certain maturity to register”
It was during the 2023-2024 school year, while they were in the professional cooking baccalaureate class, that they agreed to take on this challenge, seen as revenge for Nicolas after his failure at the Worldskills. Hundreds of hours of training followed, accompanied by physical and mental fatigue. “You need a certain maturity to register,” they recognize. Having spotted their skills, their cooking teachers Isabelle Silly and Florian Brzenczek followed them closely in their approach, coaching them voluntarily whenever they could.
Before entering this competition, the two boys did not have much in common. But by rubbing shoulders behind the stove outside of class hours to refine their preparation, a certain bond was born. Each knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the other. “There was healthy competition between us; she pulled us up, continue the high school students, gold medalists following the departmental and regional events on April 19, 2024. We exchanged ideas. There were no sneak shots. » An asset when they found themselves, by pure chance, side by side during the national final, the subject of which was communicated to them at the end of June.
Five hours to make a dish and a dessert
On the big day, they had 5 hours to prepare, for four people, a dish based around eggs using three preparations (based on mushrooms, seafood and vegetables) linked by a sauce, then a dessert, an aspic fruit with vegetable yogurt. Jules and Nicolas recited their ranges, performed their techniques while controlling the time, their stress, the other candidates and the cleanliness of the work surface, under the eyes of the jury composed among others of Philippe Etchebest, the media chef.
During training, their teachers set traps for them, asking them to manage the unexpected. “If we registered them, it was because we felt they were ready,” confide Isabelle Silly and Florian Brzenczek.
“It’s up to them to give what they have received”
Since the start of the school year in September 2024, Jules and Nicolas, 18 years old, have been in the first year of BTS management in hotel and catering at the Blois hotel high school. Their gold medal for Best Apprentice of France will be officially presented to them in March 2025 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Now belonging to the inner circle of Maf, the two young men have already seen their lives change.
Jules has just been part of the jury for the Mille cooking trophy. For his part, Nicolas participated in the filming of the CAP program for the Cned (National Center for Distance Education) with Christophe Quantin. Their future? They don't know him yet. “We have the cooking skills. It remains to acquire those in management, management and business management. Our goal is to join a brigade and evolve quickly. » Before, perhaps, one day competing in the Meilleur Ouvrier de France competition. Their teacher Isabelle Silly asks them above all to have fun professionally without forgetting to convey: “It’s up to them to give what they have received. »
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