El Bizcocho Sous Chefs Preparation Pays Off In Paris Cooking Competition

Sous Chef Gavin Kaysen places first in the Hot Food category and second place overall at La Trophee Internationale de Cuisine et Patisserie in Paris, France


RANCHO BERNARDO, Calif. - After an experience of a lifetime, 24-year-old Gavin Kaysen, Sous Chef of El Bizcocho restaurant at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, places first in the Hot Food category with Le Vendage de LOcean  a fish platter including seared potato-crusted hake, scallop mousseline, tomato and fennel Napolean, calamari a la Basque, red bell pepper sauce. This entrie, coupled with Kaysens Parfait en Cage  Grand Marnier and Orange parfait inside a puff pastry cage, orange gelee, Valhrona chocolate sorbet, walnut tuile, helped him clinch second place overall in the international competition in cooking and pastry making.
The competition was held September 29-30 at the enormous Parc des Expositions-Villepinte outside Paris. Kaysen, represented the United States and competed against 15 chefs from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Great Britain, France, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Norway, and Switzerland. The competition was held over two days, with nine countries on the first day and six on the second day. Kaysen was the first to start on day two, starting at 8 am, with the fish platter ready by 1 pm and the dessert ready by 1:30pm. After turning in the fish platter, Kaysen had this to say,  it is amazing to see the amount of people that have come to watch, they treat it like the super bowl in America. After I turned in my platter people went nuts, screaming and jumping up and down, they were just happy to see the food and know that I was done on time. The chefs were judged on the two prepared courses and receive 30 points for presentation and 70 points for taste. Chefs were given 5 1/2 hours to create their masterpieces and every minute over can be deducted from points earned. The head of the jury was led by three-star Michelin Chef, Pierre Gagnaire.
My legs were like rubber, and my hands shook for a while, but I got over it,  said Kaysen of his experience during the competition. I was upset when I found out the freezer was broken, but
I couldnt dwell on it. I couldnt lose the time. Winning second place was terrific, but the absolutely best part was just being there, doing the work the way I planned, and sending my platters off to the judges. That was great! Kaysen spent countless hours practicing with El Bizcocho Chef and coach, Patrick Ponsaty. Ponsaty went along with Kaysen to watch his every move and make sure he stayed calm and ready to go for what was really a once in a lifetime experience.
Jerome Le Miner from France was the overall first place winner. Now that the competition is over, Kaysen is back to work at El Bizcocho restaurant. Kaysen assists with implementing El Bizcocho's menu, which is well rooted in classical French cuisine, but speaks to Californians with its fresh and edgy take on flavor. Top-rated by Zagat for food, service and dicor, El Bizcocho is the highest rated restaurant in a golf resort in Southern California. "El Biz," as known by locals, also boasts one of the most extensive collections of wines in California with a wine cellar valued at more than $1 million, providing chefs with much room for creativity.
Kaysen is very excited about new developments at the restaurant, including its "Cuisine by Request" program. The culinary team at El Bizcocho offers their kitchen expertise to bring delicacies, or legacies, to life. Guests are invited to fax or email personal or extravagant recipes to the chefs 72 hours before visiting the restaurant. Upon arrival, diners are greeted by special menus created just for them. Chefs also will create specially requested menus to suit certain tastes or to complement particular wines. There are no limits to the imagination of the chefs and the guests. Kaysen is certain to win over the masses with this and the many other o