The Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation has announced that chef James Kent will represent the United States at the prestigious Bocuse d'Or International Culinary Competition, to be held in Lyon, France on January 25-26, 2011. His commis (assistant) in the competition will be Tom Allan. Currently, Chef Kent serves as sous chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York City and his commis is a sous chef at Eleven Madison Park as well.

On Saturday, twelve finalist teams (one chef plus one commis) competed in the U.S. Finals Competition which was held at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Each team created two elaborate culinary presentations before a live audience and a prestigious panel of chef judges chosen from The Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation's esteemed Culinary Council. Judges for the competition included The Foundation's Board of Directors - Chef Daniel Boulud, Chef Thomas Keller and Jerome Bocuse - as well as Chefs Grant Achatz, Paul Bartolotta, Timothy Hollingsworth, Traci Des Jardins, Paul Liebrandt, Walter Manzke, Daniel Patterson, Georges Perrier, Alain Sailhac, André Soltner, Susan Spicer, Laurent Tourondel, Alan Wong and Eric Ziebold.

Chef Kent's Scottish “Label Rouge” salmon pavé with leeks, Osetra cavier and sauce fumet blanc was garnished with the following: roulade with Alaskan king crab, relish of Cucumber and Meyer lemon; chilled mousse with tartare and roe; pickled heirloom beets with crème fraiche, dill and black pepper. Whew.

To have been eligible to compete, Chef Applicants must be American citizens and 23 years of age or older at the time of the final competition in Lyon on January 25, 2011. They must also have had at least three years of experience in a fine dining establishment.

The full list of competitors at The Bocuse d'Or USA Finals Competition 2010 included:

Luke Bergman, The Modern, Sous Chef (New York, NY)
Commis: Joseph Piccione, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

Jim Burke, James, Executive Chef/Owner (Philadelphia, PA)
Commis: Simon Solis-Cohen, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

Danny Cerqueda, Carolina Country Club, Executive Sous Chef (Raleigh, NC)
Commis: Wayne Goode, Caroline Country Club, Prep Cook

Michael Clauss, The Daily Planet, Executive Chef (Burlington, VT)
Commis: Marcella Ogrodnik, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

James Kent, Eleven Madison Park, Sous Chef (New York, NY)
Commis: Tom Allan, Eleven Madison Park, Sous Chef

Mark Liberman, Consulting Chef (San Francisco, CA)
Commis: Leland Cummings, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

Christopher Parsons, Catch, Executive Chef/Owner (Winchester, MA)
Commis: Nathaniel French, Catch, Garde Manger

Jennifer Petrusky, Charlie Trotter's, Sous Chef (Chicago, IL)
Commis: James Caputo, Charlie Trotter's, Cook

John Rellah, NY Yacht Club, Executive Chef (New York, NY)
Commis: Alexander Flynn, The French Culinary Institute, Student

Jeremie Tomczak, French Culinary Institute, Executive Chef - Event Operations (New York, NY)
Commis: Cameron Slaugh, Park Avenue Seasonal, Sous Chef

Andrew Weiss, The Lakes Club at Lake Las Vegas, Executive Chef (Las Vegas, NV)
Commis: Fernando Salazar, The Lobby Bar and Café at Encore, Cook

Percy Whatley, The Ahwahnee, Executive Chef (Yosemite, CA)
Commis: Melissa Marshall, The Culinary Institute of America, Extern