DISCOVER THE JURY OF DELICATESSEN EXPERTS FOR THE BEST OF COMPETITION

For this 2023 edition, Vincent Ferniot, once again President of the jury, has surrounded himself with exceptional jurors!

A judging panel made up of experts and professionals for 2023 edition

As a barometer for the latest trends in fine food, the Gourmet Selection “Best Of” awards distinguish products and services offering genuine added value. The judging panel, made up of experts and professionals selected for their love of good products, tastes the products and inspect them from all angles to single out the “must-have” stars of the show.

Vincent Ferniot, chairman of the "Best Of" judging panel

Vincent Ferniot, the gourmet food journalist of many talents, does us the honour each year of chairing the competition's judging panel.

Want to know a bit more about him?

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Daylight, as I get up early, generally around 6.00am, and the “invitation of coffee.” This is a hallowed moment of the day when I make myself a triple expresso. A moment of calm before the day’s hectic bustle (even during lockdown).
What is your "motto"? I have several, depending on what part of my life we’re talking about. In my job, “Imagination is more important than knowledge” (Einstein). In my private life: “Love conquers all”; at the table: “Hunger is the best sauce”. It’s not easy to make up a single one by combining those three!
What is your greatest culinary discovery? Hard to give you one, because my job is to discover things endlessly. But I’d say: the most recent one.
Who is your mentor? I owe a great deal both in terms of cooking and the table to my father Jean Ferniot who was a gastronome and a great journalist (political and gastronomic). He was behind my taste for what’s good. *
What is your most unusual gastronomic encounter? I am very aware of the need to reduce the consumption of meat-based products in our diet, so I look favourably upon vegetarians and vegans, but I am strongly against overly radical and extremist vegans and antispeciesists. I am an assumed reasoned omnivore, and I am keenly interested in solutions that replace meat with plant protein. For the first time, this year I discovered a “plant-based white meat’ which was quite an accomplishment. This was unusual for me, as I always favour vegetable-based cuisine..
What are you most proud of? Obviously the invention of the first coffee in chocolate bar format: Le Carré de Café. Looks like chocolate, but no chocolate. I had this intuition when I was small and always preferred coffee to chocolate in cakes. I conceived it with my friend, the master chocolate chef François Pralus, who makes it with talent..
In 3 words, how would you define Gourmet Selection? The Exhibition for professionals of fine food and specialities. A selection of high-quality products, unique in its diversity. The annual meeting for all sourcing people with a passion for new taste sensations and a snapshot of the health of the sector.

Jean-François Girardin

Apprenticed at the age of 15 at La Vieille Auberge in Pouilly-sur-Loire (a restaurant that no longer exists), he joined the Compagnonnage at the age of 23 and was accepted two years later. He worked at the Carlton in Cannes, the Métropole in Monte Carlo and the Intercontinental. In 1980, he met Guy Legay at the Grand Palais exhibitions. He joined Legay's team at the Ritz, a 2-star Michelin restaurant. He remained there for 32 years, until the hotel's renovation, when he retired.

He was elected President of the Société nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France in January 2018. His program focuses in particular on promoting arts and crafts: "The ambitions of our Association are simple: to showcase all our trades, those trades already highlighted by our elders who have contributed so much to us".

Gilles Brochard

In addition to a number of books devoted to tea (Le Thé dans l'encrier (Aubier and Arléa), Le Livre du thé, in collaboration, (Flammarion), Petit Traité du thé (La Table Ronde...), La Boîte à thé ((Tana)...), Gilles Brochard published in November 2018 Un Thé chez les tigres, Journal d'un buveur de thé en Inde et au Népal (éditions Pierre-Guillaume de Roux), and in September 2019 a 300-page guide devoted to 65 Parisian pastry chefs: Mon Paris sucré (éditions Verlhac). He co-founded the first Club des Buveurs de Thé before creating The Tea Tasting Institute with Monica Meschini in Florence, Italy. He is Honorary President of La Confrérie du thé and General Secretary of the new club L'Esprit du thé. He has led tea workshops at Fauchon, the first tea cruise aboard Club Med 2, and Hermès chose him a few years ago to act as ambassador for its porcelain at conferences and tastings, notably in Moscow.

Laurent Guez

A journalist for over 25 years, Laurent Guez is the "mangeur en chef" at Les Echos Le Parisien. A food columnist for both titles, he also oversees columns and supplements devoted to food (such as the "Food Checking" video series), restaurant news and travel. His newsletters "Le Sens de la food" (Les Echos) and "Bien Manger" (Le Parisien) are sent to over 400,000 food lovers every week. Before specializing in the art of living and gastronomy, he directed "Le Parisien Week-End" (2017-2021), the magazine of "Le Parisien", as well as "Les Echos Week-End", the supplement of "Les Echos" (2012-2016), and was responsible for the morning business editorial on the all-news channel LCI (2012-2016). He previously headed the editorial staff of "L'Usine Nouvelle", the Public Sénat TV channel and the economic supplement of "Le Figaro".

Baptiste Mazurier

Baptiste Mazurier is co-founder of Ferkit, a distribution platform for aperitif and beverage products for businesses. He also founded HackYourFood, the first monthly subscription to discover the best food innovations.

Hanna Medioni

Director of Offer for food startup Quitoque, and culinary journalist in her spare time, Hanna Medioni likes to juggle her pen and fork to proclaim her love of good food. Her career in food marketing has opened the doors of factories and small delicatessens alike, as she searches for the best products.