INTERVIEW
It is the story of a "real French passion" to which many fellow citizens indulge once the good weather returns: the barbecue. The magic of grilling, the pleasure of the flame, the happiness of embers ... To celebrate the "favorite outdoor leisure of the French" in this particular period, the organizers of the French barbecue championship postponed the final to September 12 and 13 next, in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the Camargue. Jean-François Dupont, one of the people at the origin of this competition of a particular kind, tells Monday at the microphone of Europe 1 how this meeting was transformed, with a new test.
A contest ... from a distance
First there was the "home sweet BBQ contest", a competition organized from March 20 to May 4, with original rules for participants. Thanks to this distance tournament, confinement requires, "people were able to cook at home, make a small multimedia file and send it to us," says Jean-François Dupont. "So obviously, there is one essential thing missing, that is the taste. But we received absolutely wonderful, hyper appetizing files, where everyone made their recipe step by step, showed their cooking and their technique."
Attention, the technical word is not overused here: the dressing of the plate is noted coefficient 3, the cooking coefficient 2,5, the originality coefficient 2, with even a bonus for the presentation, from 1 to 5 points.
The "barbecue spirit" coefficient 2.5
And before the high mass of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, organized at the end of the summer, "play-offs" will be "open to all": "Four teams will compete at the same time, live, in front of the public and the jury. The jury will choose the best candidate. We will keep busy until September so that the passion for barbecue continues ", underlines Jean-François Dupont, who has a preference for the charcoal barbecue, which gives the meat an "inimitable" smoky taste.
Because if the barbecue is lived since 2013 through a hexagonal championship, it remains above all a "spirit", defends the organizer: "We are the only competition whose purpose is to make a meal together after the event. They are competitors on the event, but afterwards they are all friends. It is this spirit of conviviality, this sharing and this originality that we must feel. " Proof that the "barbecue spirit" is fundamental here, it is even noted coefficient 2.5.