C’was two letters short! However, Paul Marcon does not a priori share much with his almost namesake, tenant of the Élysée since 2017. The French chef, aged 29, is France’s candidate for the Bocuse d’or, an international culinary competition which takes place this January 26 and 27 in Lyon, on the sidelines of Sirha, a gigantic trade fair dedicated to food and hospitality. He recently told us that he had to bear a heavy mental load as the deadline approached. Calm, serene and with his head on his shoulders, the young man seemed to be okay with it.
Opposed to 23 other candidates – American, Japanese, Canadian, Chinese or Chilean, among others – Paul Marcon is playing at home and will have to manage, during his visit on Monday January 27, a form of additional pressure. Imagined in 1987 by Paul Bocuse, emperor of French cuisine who died in 2018 at the age of 91, the Bocuse d’or traditionally ends in Lyon during a grand world final, which is held every two years. In 2023, Denmark won the bid, the French candidate, Naïs Pirollet, placing fifth. Two years earlier, Davy Tissot had brought the title back to France.
At the Bocuse d’or, Paul Marcon in the footsteps of his father, Régis Marcon
If his surname rings a bell, it’s normal: Paul is the son of Régis Marcon, chef of the three-star restaurant that bears his name, based in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, in Haute-Loire. Régis Marcon officiates there with his other son, Jacques, 44 years old, Paul’s older brother, if you follow closely. Suffice it to say that the latter has been immersed in the atmosphere of the brigades since he was very young… And the Bocuse d’or has great family significance: Régis Marcon won the title in 1995.
“I wasn’t born at that time,” explains Paul Marcon. But the fact that my father passed it played a role. Especially since he subsequently remained involved in the world of Bocuse d’or. So teams came to train at home. I saw it all up close and, when you have a competitive spirit like me, it inevitably makes you want to go there one day. »
Paul Marcon’s cooking journey
It was clear quite quickly that Paul Marcon was going to follow his father’s vocation in the kitchen. After hotel school, he started in Lyon, where he worked in several recognized establishments, notably at Jérémy Galvan, whose new restaurant is one of the openings to follow at the start of the year, but also Gaëtan Gentil, at the The Prairial brand, another beautiful restaurant in the city.
His path then took him, with his wife, to Stockholm, Sweden, to the Aira restaurant, run by chef Tommy Myllymäki, now two-starred. The couple returned to France in April 2023 to work in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid. It was around this time that Paul Marcon embarked on the Bocuse d’or adventure.
Bocuse d’or: Paul Marcon, competitions in his skin
To reach the final, he first had to win the France selection, at the beginning of September 2023. Victory which took him to the Bocuse d’or Europe, organized in Trondheim, Norway, in March 2024, where he won ranked fifth out of twenty, qualifying place for the next level. He will have his work cut out for him, particularly against the Scandinavians, who are real specialists in the event. This is evidenced by the European podium in March 2024. First: Sebastian Holberg Svendsgaard for Denmark (a country crowned three times). Second: Gustav Leonhardt for Sweden (once). Third: Håvard Werkland for Norway (five times).
-But France is also a scarecrow, with 8 victories since the creation of the Bocuse d’or. Paul Marcon therefore has every chance. And experience in this area: he has participated in cooking competitions since the age of 16. “I like this very organized side. Everything is measured, weighed. There is no room for improvisation. It matches both my temperament and my way of working on a daily basis. »
Venison, lobster and tea on the menu for the Bocuse d’or final
Like all the candidates in the final, Paul Marcon will have 5:30 hours to send his creations during the two traditional tests: the spectacular one of the plateau, for which they will have to work, this year, the venison, the foie gras and the tea and the more classic one, on the plate, where they will have to combine celery (branch and root), lean meat and lobster. Paul Marcon will be assisted by a chef, Camille Pigot, and coached by Christophe Quantin, crowned Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 1993.
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Kangaroo of the day
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The trio has been training for several months, supported by the “France team”, chaired by chef Romuald Fassenet, also MOF (2004) and made up of toques, former participants or Bocuse d’or winners, coaches, catering professionals and partners. Everything will count in his performance, judged by 24 professional jurors, each from a represented country: the taste, the presentation, the cooking, the story told but also the gestures in the kitchen and even the way in which he has arranged his box . Result Monday January 27 at the end of the day. Then it will be time to think about what’s next. In the family home? “That’s the idea, yes, of course. »
