Orléans chefs smash the World Egg-Mayo Championship

Published: February 4, 2025 by Gill Harris 991

Three chefs from Orléans have claimed the crown in the World Egg-Mayonnaise Championships, making the capital of the Centre-Val de Loire region the place to go for this French bistro classic.

Maëlle Jambou, Marie Gricourt and Maud Boksebeld, who are chefs at Gric, created an elevated egg mayo using organic eggs, a mustard mayo enhanced with Martin-Pouret vinegar (an Orléans speciality) and a flourish of celery remoulade for added crunch.

The World Egg-Mayonnaise Championship, organised by the Association for the Safeguarding of the Egg Mayonnaise (ASOM), is an annual event that celebrates this quintessential French dish. This is the first time the top prize has gone to chefs outside the capital.

Egg mayonnaise is a quintessential French bistro dish and despite its simplicity – hard-boiled eggs served with a creamy mayonnaise – it holds a cherished place in French gastronomy. It is thought to have been invented pretty much at the same time as mayonnaise itself, in the 18th century. One popular theory attributes its creation to the Duke of Richelieu’s chef in 1756, who supposedly crafted a sauce using eggs and oil after the French victory at Port Mahón in Menorca, the name ‘mayonnaise’ allegedly deriving from ‘Mahon’. By the 19th century, France saw the rise of bistros and brasseries, where simple yet elegant dishes were served to a growing urban population, and oeuf mayonnaise became a staple offering.

However, by the 1970s and 1980s, traditional dishes like egg mayo began to disappear from menus in favour of fancier offerings. It was in response to this decline that in 1990, French food critic Claude Lebey founded the Association for the Safeguarding of Egg Mayonnaise (Association de sauvegarde de l’œuf mayonnaise, or ASOM), dedicated to promoting the dish and protecting its rightful place in French culinary heritage.

One of ASOM’s most notable initiatives is the World Egg-Mayonnaise Championship, which has contributed to a resurgence of interest in œuf mayonnaise, with top restaurants and bistros now using different types of high-quality eggs, artisanal mayonnaise, creative garnishes and elegant presentation.