If you stop by some of your favorite restaurants next weekend and wonder where the chef is, he may not be fishing or skateboarding, but off judging the Bocuse d'Or. Walter Manzke (Church & State), David Myers (comme Ça, Sona) and Michael Cimarusti (Providence) will all be at the Culinary Institute of America's campus at Hyde Park, New York, on February 6th for the Bocuse d'Or competition. Good thing they're going, as nobody from Los Angeles is competing for the actual prize. (A list of the teams is after the jump.)

The Bocuse d'Or was established by Paul Bocuse in 1987. 12 chef teams (one chef and one commis, or assistant) will compete to represent the United States in the 2011 Bocuse d'Or International Culinary Competition, to be held in Lyon, France in January 2011.

Each of the 12 teams will create two elaborate presentations before a live audience and a panel of judges. Also on the judges panel are Grant Achatz, Paul Bartolotta, Traci Des Jardins, Paul Liebrandt, Daniel Patterson, Georges Perrier, Alain Sailhac, André Soltner, Susan Spicer, Laurent Tourondel, Alan Wong, Norman van Aken and Eric Ziebold. And even to get to this point, the contestants had to get by Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and Jerome Bocuse. Imagine that culinary gauntlet.

The list of competitors for the 2011 Bocuse d'Or International Culinary Competition:

Luke Bergman, The Modern, Sous Chef (New York, NY)

Commis: Joseph Piccione, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

Jim Burke, James, Executive Chef/Owner (Philadelphia, PA)

Commis: Simon Solis-Cohen, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

Danny Cerqueda, Carolina Country Club, Executive Sous Chef (Raleigh, NC)

Commis: Wayne Goode, Caroline Country Club, Prep Cook

Michael Clauss, The Daily Planet, Executive Chef (Burlington, VT)

Commis: Marcella Ogrodnik, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

James Kent, Eleven Madison Park, Sous Chef (New York, NY)

Commis: Tom Allen, Per Se, Chef de Partie

Mark Liberman, Roxy's, Consulting Chef (West Palm Beach, FL)

Commis: Leland Cummings, The Culinary Institute of America, Student

Christopher Parsons, Catch, Executive Chef/Owner (Winchester, MA)

Commis: Nathaniel French, Catch, Garde Manger

Jennifer Petrusky, Charlie Trotter's, Sous Chef (Chicago, IL)

Commis: James Caputo, Charlie Trotter's, Cook

John Rellah, NY Yacht Club, Executive Chef (New York, NY)

Commis: Alexander Flynn, The French Culinary Institute, Student

Jeremie Tomczak, French Culinary Institute, Executive Chef – Event Operations (New York, NY)

Commis: Cameron Slaugh, Park Avenue Seasonal, Sous Chef

Andrew Weiss, The Lakes Club at Lake Las Vegas, Executive Chef (Las Vegas, NV)

Commis: Fernando Salazar, The Lobby Bar and Café at Encore, Cook

Percy Whatley, The Ahwahnee, Executive Chef (Yosemite, CA)

Commis: Melissa Marshall, The Culinary Institute of America, Extern

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