Every year, Compass Group organises a competition for all our kitchen brigades, allowing our chefs to showcase their talents and show their skill and mastery in the kitchen: the Battle of the Chefs.
Preparating to do battle
Each year, every kitchen team in the company is invited to take part in the Battle of the Chefs selections. After initial review of the recipes proposed and the subsequent semi-finals, 10 teams are handpicked by our expert jury to battle it out in a live cooking session at Tour & Taxis.
In 2019, our finalists had to come up with a surf & turf main course or a vegetarian alternative based on mushrooms. Second dish was a desert, but one without added sugars. Finalists have two months to finetune their recipes before the final, live event.
D-Day
On Battle of the Chefs day, the teams began production in the early afternoon. The goal: to create 5 dazzling servings of their menu, 4 for tasting and 1 for presentation. For the sake of impartiality, the Finals jury members couldn't represent a client of a participating team. Review and deliberation was done based on a set list of parameters which measured creativity, skill and waste management, amongst others.
Early evening, the tension rose as the final teams chopped and diced while the first batches of Compass Group colleagues arrived to view the proceedings. Catering was of course provided by our Gourmet Invent-team.
Finally, around 9 pm, Managing Director Bart Matthijs took to the stage to announce the winners. The European Parliament and CPAS Landen took 3rd and 2nd place, respectively. Winner of the Battle of the Chefs 2019 was: Barco with Chef Vicky Vromman, assisted by Frederic Thiriet and Annelies Vande Velde. Theirs was the coveted trophy and the year-long respect of their colleagues.
The winning recipe: Sea Bass with Pork Belly and Carrot Cream Sauce.
[Video] Battle of the Chefs 2019
