Grilled! Grilled Cheese Challenge

Croque-monsieur, Toastie, Grilled-cheese sandwich... whatever you call it, the result is the same: melting cheese between two slices of bread, a simple, comfort-food pleasure that has conquered taste buds all over the world. 8 candidates representing 8 countries will compete in an energetic, relaxed atmosphere to sublimate the surprise cheeses selected at the Show. Compulsory products, surprise cheeses, a touch of music, a young and friendly panel of judges and some crack MCs - let’s Grill!

If we take a look at the Grilled Cheese Sandwich, the trendiest name in recent times, we can attribute it to several countries.

Leaving aside France, which has had the annoying habit since the 19th century of slipping jam-bon in with the cheese to make a croque-monsieur, certainly a mainstay of family food that has spawned Proust's Madeline for generations, but not solely centred on cheese.

So it's a safe bet that the English toastie is the one that started it all, even if it's not just topped with cheddar and is cooked in a special machine, as in France, finding its place at breakfast or as street food on the go.

An ocean further on, and thanks to thousands of university studies, we can pinpoint the birth of a hot sandwich filled only with a mixture of melted cheeses in the USA in the 1920s, which quickly took on the name Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Affordable with the development of industrial dairies and bakeries, comforting, quickly eaten with a bowl of tomato soup, easy to make - these are just some of the advantages that have seen it through a century and several crises, including the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Second World War, when it was served to GIs.

The historical difference between the European versions and the New World version is certainly the use of a generously buttered frying pan to grill the sandwich and a mixture of several cheeses, often pasteurised (Cheddar, Monterey Jack, etc.), or even "processed cheeses", the equivalent of our processed cheeses.

Since then, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches can be found all over the world, particularly in countries with a large Anglo-Saxon population. It's virtually inconceivable for a retail creamery-cheesemonger in Australia not to offer one for lunch, every trendy bar has a more or less convoluted version and there are even best address guides province by province. Clarified butter is king to add even more indulgence and the thread that drips between the two halves of the sand-wich is celebrated on all the social networks.

And the world has caught on to the phenomenon, following in the footsteps of the 'digital no-mad' generation who are importing their eating habits to major international hubs (Singapore, Dubai, Bali, Shanghai...) and even, back to basics, with several dedicated addresses in Paris.

The winners 2024