Paris, France — It looks too good to eat. And that is the essence of professional catering, one of the most exacting of the culinary professions. Caterers also have to adapt to the desires of their clients, often prestigious luxury brands or high end businesses. They also have to adapt to the places they have to cook and serve in. This could be anywhere from a natural history museum to a lakeside pavilion or a luxury watch shop. 

The International Catering Cup (ICC) is held every two years in the gastronomic French city of Lyons during the SIRHA, the leading trade show in the Food Service and Hospitality sector. A landmark 10th competition is slated to be held there from January 19th to the 21st with 12 countries participating. National competitions are held in each country and last February 3rd, the winner of the always much anticipated team France was announced. And they must prepare, present on a buffet and send forth each dish. Rigour, coordination and creativity all come into play as does a set of rules. 

Each team prepares three dishes with identical ingredients. This year’s Dish 1 involved a food of the sea duo which had to include fresh cod, salmon, sea scallops and Red Label shrimp from Madagascar, integrated into a hot and cold version of the dish and accompanied by a Hollandaise sauce. The second dish involved filet mignon of pork served Wellington style with an Albuféra sauce with a garnish of choice but that had to include pork belly. The dessert course was an exotic fruit Pavlova which involves creating a single Pavlova to serve eight and 16 individual Pavlovas. Pavlova was named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. 

This year’s event turned into a genuine showdown with two top notch teams vying for the first place Gold Trophy. Geoffrey Gane-Hache et Lauriane Doll took the prized prize and will represent France for the ICC 2027. They were coached by  Christopher Hache. Meanwhile the very close second prize or Silver Trophy went to Noé Bouchareychas and Théo Courbet coached by master caterer Fabrice Courbet.

The profession of caterer, traiteur in French, was a highly respected profession in France during the Old Régime (from the late 16th century until the 1789 Revolution and when France was still a kingdom). For most of that time restaurants did not exist and it was not socially acceptable for high society to frequent taverns and cabarets. They would instead have catered events in their homes or suitable venues. The caterers described themselves as specializing in « weddings, feasts and banquets, » according to the Larousse Gastronomique. They were in a way the first restauranteurs, they just delivered the food and lent the tableware instead of serving at their own tables. 

Created in 2008 by Joêl Mauvigney and organized by the French National Federation of Pork Butchers and Caterers, the ICC has bloomed into a world renowned competition. Twelve teams from around the world participate in the event dazzling the juries with their spectacular and unique savoir-faire. The World Champion 2025 of the International Catering Cup was Team France succeeding Team USA which won the competition held in 2023. This year the organization has confirmed that Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United States and Canada will all be participating. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette https://www.cateringcup.com/