This September, Havenbrook Media is releasing The Contender, a documentary that takes place in the winter of 2012, where certified Master Chef Rich Rosendale and Corey Siegel earn the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the prestigious cooking competition known as the Bocuse d'Or. The documentary is directed by Josh Baldwin who also serves as producer along with Mark E. Trent. 

Held every two years in Lyon, France, the Bocuse d'Or represents the pinnacle of competition cooking. With the U.S. determined to make the podium for the first time, Rich and Corey embark on an intense one-year training regimen that includes the construction of a secret test kitchen inside of a decommissioned cold war bunker. Together with some of America’s greatest chefs, they vied for culinary glory.

“This film will give you the perspective of what it is like to compete at the very top of culinary competition,” Rosendale says. “The dizzying workload and the attention to detail is unlike anything you have ever seen before. And in the end, you will see if the United States will finally make history.”