Finnish Bocuse d'Or team in the Lyon final – Medanta designed the team's outfits

Bocuse d'Or representative Johan Kurkela, with Aino Kasanen as his assistant and Kalle Tanner as his coach, are chasing the prize for Finland. The Finnish team's training opportunities and the visibility of the competition are guaranteed by the extensive partner network gathered by the K-Group.

Medanta designed a compact, carefully thought-out formal clothing collection for the team. It consists of clothes that are easy to combine. They create a functional ensemble for both a more representative situation and as protective clothing for travel and competition preparations. "We updated the traditional blazer to a new level for a more stylish outfit. We chose the easy-care, relaxed and latest Medanta Smartsport material as the fabric," says Taina Steiner from Medanta.

The team and the support team are distinguished when they move around the competition site - there is a visible Finland embroidery on the back and the Finnish flag on the front. Johan Kurkela: "It is a great honor for me to represent Finland in the Bocuse d'Or competition. It feels like independence and freedom are increasingly important to us these days."

In the world's toughest competition, 24 teams selected from around the world will compete for five and a half hours. One of the tasks is a three-course pumpkin menu, which is a completely new type of competition task. In the previous final, a three-course tomato menu was prepared, but the menu aimed at children is a completely new challenge at Bocuse d'Or.

It certainly challenges the judges as well: the menu reviewers are adult professionals in the field, who would have to put themselves in the children's shoes and score the dishes partly based on what they think the children will be excited about, reflects Johan Kurkela.