Young Singaporean chef Mathew Leong is gearing up for the culinary Olympics

The hard-working Leong has been training for the Bocuse d’Or competition for the past three years and hasn’t taken a single day off. — Photos: MATHEW LEONG

In the culinary world, the Bocuse d’Or is often compared to the Olympics, simply because for some of the top chefs in the world, it is their Olympics.

The biennial international world chef competition has been around since 1987 and is named after legendary French chef Paul Bocuse. The celebrated cook-off features 24 chefs from different countries competing against each other in a battle to do their nations – and themselves – proud.