LYONS, Jan 25: Fabrice Desvignes of France won the prestigious Bocuse d'Or award on Wednesday after a two-day cooking contest in Lyons, which likes to call itself the culinary capital of the country.

An international jury monitored chefs from 24 countries and tasted their dishes at the end of the competition, which is named after Paul Bocuse, one of France's best-known chefs.

Working in 12 small kitchens lined up to front an audience of noisy supporters, including Swiss with cowbells and Japanese with headbands, the contestants were asked to make dishes with halibut, Nordic crabs and Bresse chicken.

“Never before have the contestants been so close. There was a very high level of perfection,” said Bocuse.

Desvignes is the chef of the speaker of the French Senate.

It was the second time in a row that France won the award.

The winner will have his name added on a plaque outside the main restaurant of the now 80-year-old Bocuse in the Lyon suburb of Collonges.

“This is Formula One cooking,” said Jacky Freon, the first winner of the prize in 1987. “But just as Formula One helps to improve the car of the average man, top cuisine helps to improve the standards in all restaurants.

“Now we work to get more of the taste of herbs, of fruit, of vegetables, but we no longer add butter and cream in industrial quantities as in the past,” said the now retired Freon, who worked at the Grand Hotel Cafe de la Paix in Paris.—Reuters