If you missed Wimbledon and couldn?t get tickets for the Olympics, don?t miss your chance to see Bermuda?s top chefs go for the glory in the preliminary rounds of the prestigious Escoffier Cup.

?We are very excited about the Escoffier Cup as it offers the opportunity for the Island?s chefs to compete under international standards before a discerning audience,? said organiser and Total Marketing Communications Limited?s managing director Graham Redford.

Up to 16 people will compete for the cup. Chefs will battle through a preliminary round and semi-final. The two finalists will go head to head during the Festival on November 13 at 2 p.m.

The winner will be crowned Bermuda?s Chef of the Year and will fly off to Lyons, France next year to observe the world?s most prominent cooking competition, the Bocuse D?Or.

The winner and runner-up will then be given the opportunity to work alongside celebrity chefs in next year?s Culinary Arts Festival gala dinner.

This year, two Bermudian chefs ? Serge Bottelli of La Coquille and Jean Claude Garzia of Cambridge Beaches ? will work with international counterparts to prepare the sumptuous gala dinner.

Participants will prepare their signature dishes of either pork tenderloin, veal loin or jumbo shrimp in the preliminary rounds; the four who advance will cook with tuna in the semi-final and the two finalists will prepare Filet Mignon in the final round of the competition.

Mr. Redford said: ?One thing that came out of the previous festival was that there wasn?t as much local involvement as there could have been. To remedy this, we added two elements, the junior competition, and the Escoffier Cup.

?We will be flying in an international judge from the American Culinary Federation (ACF) for the finals, and the entire competition will be judged under amended international rules approved by lead judges within the ACF. We sincerely hope that locals will come out and support the Island?s culinary ambassadors at the Festival and support their performances.?

The money raised during the event will benefit the Bermuda Culinary Arts Festival Scholarship Fund, that assists Bermudians who want to study the culinary arts.

?By coming out and supporting today?s top chefs on the Island, spectators will also be supporting the Island?s future chefs,? said Mr. Redford.

?We are delighted to offer this opportunity to the Bermudian public as part of the Bermuda Culinary Arts Festival.?

The preliminaries will be held at the International Imports demonstration kitchen on Par-la-Ville Road on September 21, October 5, and October 7 at 6 p.m. and the semi-final will be held at the same time and place on October 14. Tickets are available only at International Imports at $50; tickets for the final are available from September 17 online at www.bermudaculinaryarts.com . All tickets include paired wines donated by Goslings, and samples of the dishes, donated by The Supermart.

The event is being made possible by sponsors Elle & Vire, Butterfield & Vallis, The Supermart, Goslings, International imports and Certified Angus Beef.