Catch This: Chef Chris Parsons competes for Bocuse D'Or spot


Photo courtesy of the James Beard Foundation.

Photo courtesy of the James Beard Foundation.

This week the Bocuse D’Or USA Foundation released the list of 12 semi-finalists who will go on to represent the States in the 2011 competition, which is kind of like the Olympics of the food world. And guess who’s on it? None other than Chris Parsons of Winchester’s Catch restaurant.

In addition to snagging our own Best of Boston award for his locavore ways, Parsons has been quietly garnering all sorts of acclaim and doing his best to put New England seafood on the map. Back in October, he was invited to cook a dinner at New York’s James Beard House, which functions as a showcase for top-tier and emerging chefs, and he presented a whole menu of locally sourced fish and shellfish dishes.

Here’s the complete list of competitors, which includes Kevin Gillespie from the current season of Bravo’s Top Chef:

1. Luke Bergman, The Modern, New York, NY
2. Danny Cerqueda, Carolina Country Club, Raleigh, NC
3. Michael Clauss, Daily Planet , Burlington, VT
4. Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta, GA
5. James Kent, Eleven Madison Park, New York, NY
6. Mark Liberman, Roxy’s Black Sheep, West Palm Beach, FL
7. Christopher Parsons, Catch, Winchester, MA
8. Jennifer Petrusky, Charlie Trotter’s, Chicago, IL
9. John Rellah, New York Yacht Club, New York, NY
10. Jeremie Tomczak, French Culinary Institute, New York, NY
11. Andrew Weiss, The Chef’s Workshop, Las Vegas, NV
12. Percy Whatley, The Ahwahnee, Yosemite, CA

Go get ’em, Chris!