If the James Beard Awards are the Oscars of the food world, the Bocuse D'or is the Olympics.
Named in honor of Chef Paul Bocuse, France's legendary Michelin-star master chef, this biannual chef competition offers the ultimate showcase of chefs talent from around the world. It's a competition dominated by European countries, and one from which the U.S. took 20 years to glean a title.
Among those representing the U.S. at the 2019 Bocuse D'or competition was one Milwaukee chef. Paris Dreibelbis, winner of the Ment'or Young Chef Competition, was offered the opportunity to stage with the U.S. team as part of his winnings.
In this episode of FoodCrush, we chat with Dreibelbis about his extraordinary career -- from working in restaurants in Dubuque, Iowa to attending culinary school and working with chefs including James Beard Award winner Gavin Kaysen of Spoon & Stable in Minneapolis. We trace his journey to the Ment’or competition and Dreibelbis shares his insights about the fierce competition, what it takes to compete and what the experience means to the career of a young chef.
Listen in!
Dig Deeper
- U.S. Team Wins Bocuse d’Or Competition for First Time
- Why is Bocuse d'Or the world's most prestigious culinary contest?
- A slideshow of the competing plates at Bocuse D’or 2019
- Why the stakes are so high at the 2019 Bocuse D’or
- World Gastronomy cook-off begins in Lyon and honours late chef extraordinaire, Paul Bocuse
Find us and love us
The FoodCrush podcast is up and running all over the interwebs. That includes iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Stitcher. We'd love it if you'd consider subscribing, and – better yet – help us out by sharing the love by writing a review on iTunes.
Got an idea for a topic we should consider for FoodCrush? Want to offer feedback on our latest episode? Email me at lori@staff.onmilwaukee.com. You can also give @FoodCrushMKE a follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
