Every other year since 1987, the best chefs around the world have been pitted against each other in a bit of friendly competition, the Bocuse d’Or. The event, which was named for Chef Paul Bocuse, takes place near the end of January in Lyon, France, and is one of the most prestigious cooking competitions in the world.
Beyond being a competition, though, it’s a way to celebrate chefs around the world and their passion for cooking at its core, with three chefs taking to the podium at each edition. This year the competition happened on January 26th and 27th, and the 2025 results are in!
According to an Instagram post from Bocuse d’Or, the United States ranked seventh in the iconic competition, with a total score of 1852.
Stefani De Palma was the chef chosen to represent the U.S. in the 20th iteration of Bocuse d’Or. De Palma hails from from Arcadia, California, and attended Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. In 2017, De Palma was named as one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30 Culinary Game-Changers” and was nominated as an Eater Young Gun Semifinalist.
De Palma, along with 23 other candidates, had 5 hours and 30 minutes to showcase their culinary skills and impress a jury of elite culinary professionals through two categories: The Platter, with the theme “Venison, Foie Gras, and Tea,” and The Plate, with the theme “A Harmony of the Sea.”
The final competition took place over the course of two days as part of the Sirha exhibition, one of the largest gatherings for the hospitality and food industries.
This year’s winner was Paul Marcon, the young chef from Haute-Loire representing France. Marcon’s victory comes thirty years after his father, Régis Marcon, took home the same title, and marks France’s ninth victory. Marcon was followed closely by Denmark, taking home the silver, and Sweden, taking the bronze.
Though a video of this year’s awards ceremony has not yet been released, last year’s can be seen below: