The 19-year-old chef Léandre Legault-Vigneau will be part of the Canadian team selected for the Bocuse d’or. The qualifications for America will take place on July 14 in Santiago, Chile, where the brigade will try to finish in the top five and advance to the world grand final, on January 22 and 23, 2023, in Lyon, France. For the cook from Vieux-Longueuil, the goal “is to reach the final and open a door so that the competition is better known in Canada”.
Posted at 3:00 p.m.
Chef Samuel Sirois, 18 years of restaurant experience and teacher at the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie au Québec (IHTQ), won the Canadian selection in 2021 during a Chefs Canada management competition organized in Canada Show restaurant in Toronto. He then chose Chef Léandre Legault-Vigneau as commis chef.
The national team will thus be made up of chefs Samuel Sirois (official candidate), Gilles Herzog (coach) and Léandre Legault-Vigneau (clerk). Mr. Herzog is a chef of French origin, settled for more than 20 years in Canada, who has worked for large houses such as the three Michelin stars Le Louis XV of the renowned chef Alain Ducasse, located in Monaco.
“For this great competition, my role as clerk is very important, because we will divide the work equally,” says Mr. Legault-Vigneau.
Canada will face teams from Guatemala, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico, the United States, Chile and Ecuador in the continental qualifiers. The culinary themes for this edition will be salmon and vegan cuisine. Candidates can therefore concoct their menus in advance.
“During the events, we have 5:35 to do everything, which is very little,” he notes. Coach Gilles Herzog will create sequences for us, in which each step will be specified and timed. »
Crowdfunding campaign
Chefs Canada has set up a donation campaign, on the GoFundMe platform, to raise money that will be used to cover the costs of plane tickets to Chile, accommodation, transportation of equipment, etc. , the rental of small appliances or the purchase of ingredients.
“We can train in the kitchens of the IHTQ, where Mr. Sirois and Mr. Herzog teach, with the provision of the necessary equipment and food. We are very lucky, he continues. I don’t see how we could have prepared otherwise, because we are significantly behind other candidates who have large budgets and grants. »
Inspiring journey
Léandre Legault-Vigneau started at the age of 15 in the restaurant Chez Lionel in Boucherville, as a dishwasher, then was trained in the kitchen by chef Frédéric Dufort.
“Cégep didn’t work for me,” admits Mr. Legault-Vigneau. I decided to register for the DEP in cooking at the ITHQ, while working. »
Newly graduated, he acquired responsibilities in the Perles et Paddock establishment in Montreal. At the same time, he was able to follow the ITHQ’s superior program for 6 months, which was very demanding, with Mr. Sirois and Mr. Herzog as teachers.
The Bocuse d’Or
The Bocuse d’Or is one of the most prestigious and demanding competitions in the world. Organized every two years, it was created by the famous French chef Paul Bocuse (1926-2018), originally from Lyon, who had maintained the three stars of his establishment, the Auberge de Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or , for more than 50 years. Canada has been involved since its inception in 1987, the first time with Ontario chef Jamie Kennedy.