Following two days of competition and culinary challenges, the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2026 concluded on Monday, with the teams, along with their lead chefs, from Japan, Thailand and China taking the top three spots, while New Zealand and Malaysia came in fourth and fifth respectively.
The event, internationally regarded as the “Olympics of Gastronomy” and held in Macau for the first time from Sunday through Monday, had a total of eight competing teams from China, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a statement from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) on Monday
The five winning teams are set to compete at the Grand Final at Sirha Lyon in France in January 2027.
According to its website, the Sirha Lyon is the world’s leading food service trade show, with the 2027 edition slated for a five-day run form January 21-25 at Eurexpo Lyon.
During the award ceremony at The Venetian Macao in Cotai that night, the statement said that MGTO Acting Director Cheng Wai Tong noted in his speech that gastronomy is a key ingredient for Macau’s success as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.
He added that as Macau prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy next year, “this ‘Olympics of gastronomy’ has further inspired the city to strive for excellence, innovate, embrace its uniqueness and aim for sustainable development”.
According to the statement, the Bocuse d’Or, founded in 1987 by French chef Paul Bocuse (1926-2018), is a rigorous biennial global chef championship, with this edition having over 70 teams joining to compete across national and continental selections before entering the global Grand Final over a two-year period, culminating in 24 teams moving on to the Grand Final in January 2027, the statement said.
This undated handout photo provided on Monday shows teams competing during the recent 2026 Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific.
