Le Cordon Bleu Paris students at the heart of the 2026 Espoir de l’Année competition

On 21 September 2026, the Espoir de l’Année competition, held as part of Le Chef magazine’s 40th anniversary celebrations, returned to Le Cordon Bleu Paris for the seventh consecutive edition. The competition showcases six chefs or sous-chefs under the age of 30, selected for their experience in a kitchen brigade and career so far. This year, six students from our institute joined them as commis, working alongside them throughout the challenge.

This was a unique opportunity to experience behind the scenes of a high-level culinary competition and play a real part in it. The experience continued that evening at the Parc des Princes, where our students also took part in service for the Trophées Le Chef ceremony, attended by more than 900 professionals from the world of gastronomy.

Our kitchens in competition mode

From early morning, the kitchens of our institute were already bustling. Once the candidates arrived, a draw took place to determine workstations and commis pairings: Thomas Simon with Addison Hern, Loup Therezo with Karla Yga Fajer, Loïs Julhe with Viola Borgarello, Victor Limoges with Matej Rauh, Bastien Mottet-Faure with Christophe Lin, and Nicolas Keller with Victoire Gensollen.

For our students, it was a unique opportunity to learn alongside young chefs from leading restaurants and experience behind the scenes of a competition. Their role was also very hands-on: Organisation, precision, time management, communication… The competitor and commis worked as a real team throughout the challenge.

At midday, the competition got under way with two themes: “Liquide, Lien et Liant” for the savoury dish, followed by “Chocolat, Piment, Vanille” for dessert. The first encouraged candidates to move away from traditional conventions and give vegetables, protein and liquid equal importance in a dish.

Throughout the challenge, Chef Olivier Guyon accompanied the candidates, alongside Maxime Kuhlmann, the member of the judging panel responsible for overseeing the smooth running of the competition.

From 3pm, the tasting panel began discovering their creations, with the savoury dishes sent out every seven minutes, followed shortly afterwards by the desserts. Chaired by Hugo Roellinger, the panel also included Eugénie Béziat, Jean-François Piège, Florian Favario, Nicolas Masse, Louis-Philippe Vigilant, Frédéric Doucet, Franck Derouet, Enzo Goujon and Jacques Marcon.

After almost four hours of competition, it was time for the judges to deliberate. The first part of the day came to a close after several hours of concentration, precision and teamwork.

An evening at the Parc des Princes

A few hours later, direction Parc des Princes for the Trophées Le Chef gala evening, bringing together more than 900 cuisine chefs, sommeliers, pastry chefs and directors of Michelin-starred restaurants. Hosted by Anne Luzin and Laurent Mariotte, the ceremony saw the winners of the different awards announced throughout the evening.

Chef Éric Briffard, joined by Chef Debois, Chef Guyon and Chef Poupard, was also present for the final part of the day.

Loup Therezo, from La Table d’Olivier Nasti, was named Espoir de l’Année 2026. Working alongside him throughout the challenge was Karla Yga Fajer, one of our Diplôme de Cuisine with Internship Pathway students, who supported him as his commis.

For our students, the experience continued right to the end, with several of them also taking part in evening service. In total, more than 30 students from our institute were involved in the day, both in the kitchen and during service.

Thank you to all our students for their energy and commitment, and to our Chefs and all the teams involved in this event.