Bocuse d'Or Europe: Hunguest Sóstó chef reaches world final

2026. március 26.

On 15-16 March 2026, Marseille hosted the European round of the Bocuse d'Or, where the stakes were once again set at the World Final. With a confident performance, the Hungarian team secured its place in the finals of the world's most prestigious cooking competition, which will be held in Lyon, France, in January 2027.

This year's European selection of the Bocuse d'Or was held in Marseille, where, as usual, emblematic products of the host country were among the mandatory ingredients. The theme of the dish had to include morels and purple artichokes, while the plate had to evoke the flavours of Mediterranean cuisine with squid and Camargue bull steak, among other dishes. But the Hungarian team also added their own flavours to this southern French-inspired world: Tokaj wine, sour cream and a classic idea of paprika added Hungarian character to the Mediterranean inspiration.

A new feature of this year's competition was the "on stage" challenge: the chefs stepped out of the kitchen and in front of the jury and the audience, in ten minutes, prepared a Provençal-style aioli, in which they had to use a typical ingredient to express their own national character.

The members of the Hungarian team entered the pit box on 15 March with cockades over their hearts. This year's contestant was again Hunguest Sóstó's chef Roland Kelemen, who was taking part in the European Bocuse d'Or for the second time. The commis, or chef's assistant, in this year's competition was Zoltán Vincze, who joined the team from Iszkor in Mályinka as a pupil of former Bocuse d'Or competitor Ádám Pohner. The preparation was led by Bence Dalnoki, Bocuse d'Or Finale bronze medallist chef-coach, while Tamás Széll represented Hungary in the tasting jury.

The Hungarian delegation performed confidently and coped well with the strict regulations, the less familiar ingredients, the new "on stage" task and the control of the jury supervising the cooking.

Once again, the Scandinavian countries have come out on top at the European Bocuse d'Or finals. Here are the placings:

Best dish: Finland

Best plate: Sweden

Best commis: Norway

1st place: Denmark

2nd place: Norway

3rd place: Italy

4th place: Sweden

5th place: France

6th place: Finland

7th place: United Kingdom

8th place: Belgium

9th place: HUNGARY

10th place: Iceland

Bálint Zsoldos (Hunguest Hotel Pelion) and István Tamás Balogh (Hunguest Béke), two young Hunguest Hotels chefs who worked for several months to prepare for the event, were part of the Hungarian team's success and came home with a lifetime of experience.