Torquay chef does Australia proud at Bocuse d’Or

SOU’WEST Brewery’s Alex McIntosh has made his mark on the world’s most prestigious culinary contest, Bocuse D’or, claiming it is the highlight of his career.

After successfully winning his way through the Australian selection competition at Foodservice Australia in February 2022 and the Asia Pacific Selection in July, Mr McIntosh joined fellow Australian and commis chef Tristan Spain to represent Australia in the renowned cooking championship a fortnight ago.

“For any chef, this is a huge honour,” the executive head chef of the Torquay venue said.

“It was more than I thought it could possibly be – the atmosphere, the people, the camaraderie, it was a fantastic experience all round.

“Representing my country at the world’s most prestigious culinary contest is definitely the highlight of my career, and something I have been working towards for a long time.”

Bocuse d’Or, named after French chef Paul Bocuse, has determined the chefs of tomorrow for the past 35 years and was hosted in front of a live audience and televised internationally for the world to watch live.

The competition showcases chefs’ commitment, passion, creativity and technical skills across two predominant themes.

Twenty-four countries took part in the two-day event, with competitors presenting three entrees in the children’s nutrition-based “feed the kids” course, and a second “elaborate platter” course that included Scottish monkfish, in a five-and-a-half hour timeframe.

“I have two young boys so children’s nutrition is something I care about very much, and I also particularly enjoy cooking with seafood, so the monkfish theme excited me,” Mr McIntosh said.

“Having said that, they were both challenging – Scottish monkfish is not available in Australia and even the pumpkins used in the ‘feed the kids’ challenge were different to the ones we get at home.”

Chefs had to include an element of self-expression in their dishes, and Mr McIntosh chose to use a familiar ale from Sou’West Brewery.

“I wanted to include a taste of Torquay and the brewery where I work, so it was important to include the Sou’West Pale Ale in my dishes,” he said.

“The beer gave great flavour and was a real point of difference for my dishes.”

Australia ranked 18th in the competition, with Denmark taking out first place, followed by Norway and Hungary.

The Torquay chef said the result was a “team effort”, and praised team-mate Tristan Spain, coach Dan Arnold and the crew of chefs and sponsors in Australia and France for being a huge support to him during the event.

Mr McIntosh has worked under world-renowned chefs including Jamie Oliver and Neil Perry, and under his guidance as executive chef, Sou’West Brewery landed the 2022 Best Tourism Restaurant in Victoria in the Restaurant and Catering Australia Awards.