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Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2026: Japan Wins With Tetsuya Asano of Kyoto

Japan has won the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2026 in Macau and leads five teams from the region to the world final in Lyon in January. No Asian country has won gold there in the contest’s 39 years.

Eva Winterer

Japan has won the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2026. Tetsuya Asano, head chef of TOKI at Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, cooked with his commis Yuto Sasaoka and coach Masataka Tsuchiya and finished ahead of Thailand’s Chutima Srichai and China’s Chun Kei Wong in Macau on 2 November. New Zealand and Malaysia also qualified for the world final at Sirha Lyon on 24 and 25 January 2027, the competition’s 40th year.

● In brief

The chef. Asano trained in the Netherlands and France and in 2017 became the first Japanese deputy head chef across the kitchens of the Ritz Paris. He now runs TOKI, the restaurant of Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, and was chosen for the national team in November 2023.

The contest. Eight countries cooked for five and a half hours, in the first Asia-Pacific selection held in person since the pandemic. The plate combined chicken, prawn, pak choi and ginger; the platter was lamb with daikon and fermented products.

The record. France has won more world finals than any other country, and Norway holds the most medals. Asia has reached the podium twice, with bronze for Singapore in 1989 and for Japan in 2013. The field in Lyon competes to succeed France’s Paul Marcon.

The host. The awards were presented at The Venetian Macao. Under their concessions for 2023 to 2032, Macau’s six casino operators pledged MOP 118.8bn of investment, more than 90 per cent of it outside gaming, with gastronomy among the required areas.

Japan’s team raises its gold trophy on stage at the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2026 in Macau, with Tetsuya Asano among the chefs in white jackets
Japan’s team celebrates its win at the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2026 in Macau. Courtesy of Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto

● Why it matters

Gold in Lyon depends on budgets as much as on cooking. Norway’s government gave NOK 6.5m to host the 2024 European round, while the winner’s prize is €20,000. Simon Rogan, president of the UK team, has said the contest is “not really a level playing field”.

Asia’s restaurants lead the rankings while its chefs still wait for gold. This week Bangkok placed five restaurants in The 50 Best Restaurants. Thailand’s second place in Macau came from Srichai, sous-chef at Elements in Bangkok, in a contest whose only female gold medallist is still Léa Linster, in 1989.

Japan’s team now trains for a final named after Paul Bocuse, in the city of his restaurant. In January, 24 teams cook in Lyon in front of a crowd that has watched France and the Nordic countries win for four decades.

Sources