France's Olivier Caillon wins the second World Stuffed Cabbage Championship

After winning the French Stuffed Cabbage Championship, Olivier Caillon, charcutier at Arnaud Nicolas in Paris's 7th arrondissement, has been crowned world champion of the charcutier discipline.

A worldwide, intergenerational competition

Orchestrated by the Stuffed Cabbage Association, founded by Les Artcutiers and Maison Bernardaud, the Stuffed Cabbage World Championship brings together the winning chefs and charcutiers from selections organized around the world. Selected from Europe, America and Asia, the contestants rose to the challenge with a three-and-a-half-hour presentation of their interpretation of this great classic of French gastronomy. Stuffed with cabbage, an everyday staple, it becomes a veritable field of expression, putting the vegetable back at the heart of the plate.

On Monday, the seven candidates in the running faced off in the four-hour final, during which they had to reproduce the creation with which they had qualified. They had to prepare two stuffed cabbages, one weighing 1.6 kg, the other 2 kg, accompanied by a vegetable sauce. Each candidate was assisted by a young assistant from CEPROC (Centre d'Excellence des Professions Culinaires), aged under 21, giving the event a strong intergenerational dimension.

President of the event, chef Philippe Etchebest underscored the high standards and scope of the competition, declaring: " It ' s an immense source of pride for me to preside over the World Stuffed Cabbage Championship, a competition which, above and beyond conviviality and tradition, embodies culinary excellence. Here, every detail counts: the precision of the seasonings, the finesse of the stuffing, the tenderness of the cabbage. All of which testify to the passion and expertise of the participants. In their hands, this humble and generous dish becomes a veritable work of art, reflecting a heritage that we are keen to celebrate and pass on.

A Parisian and French victory

at the end of this final round, Frenchman Olivier Caillon was crowned world champion by the professional jury, presided over by chef Philippe Etchebest. presided by chef Philippe Etchebest and including chefs Pierre Hermé, Christophe Pelé and the winner of the first edition, Singaporean chef Bernadette de Rozario. The chef-charcutier came out on top with his revisited " chou farci Marie-Louise ", a tribute to his grandmother, composed of a co e of pig stuffing with chanterelles, sweetbreads, chicken liver and foie gras, enriched with ventrèche and vegetables, flavored with juniper, vin jaune and fresh herbs.

But that's not all: the Parisian charcutier also took the prize for best sauce. While South Korea's Hoewan Jung (Paradise Group) was awarded the Jury of Honor's Special Prize, and England's Karl O'Dell (Cord Restaurant, London) was honored with the Most Beautiful Presentation Award.

" This is the culmination of eight months' hard work, and I'm very happy to have won the competition", commented the winner at the awards ceremony. commented the winner at the awards ceremony held on Monday February 23rd at Les Halles Centrales in Limoges.