Local chef leads Team USA in world's "most rigorous culinary competition"

Driving the competition: Chefs prepared a pair of dishes that incorporated south Louisiana ingredients like wild boar rack, grits and alligator sausage.

Zoom in: De Palma worked her way up from pastry chef to chef de cuisine over 15 years at Addison — San Diego's first and only Michelin three-star restaurant.

• She worked under Addison chef/director William Bradley when the restaurant earned each of its Michelin stars before leaving in 2022 to explore new culinary endeavors, per the Union-Tribune.

Fun fact: Addison's fine-dining experience includes a 10-course tasting menu that changes with the seasons and costs $375 a person.

Flashback: Last September, de Palma was selected to lead Team USA at Bocuse d'Or competitions. She and Waddle have since been training in Napa with a full team of coaches.

One proud dad: "Stefani was the kid who, growing up, could do anything she put her mind to," said her father, Vince, who waved a giant American flag as he watched her compete. "She could put together these 1,000-piece puzzles in an hour."

• "When she got promoted to chef de cuisine… that's when we knew that she's special," he told Axios New Orleans.

Catch up quick: The Bocuse d'Or was created in 1987 and takes place every two years in Lyon, France.

• To get there, chefs must survive multiple qualifying rounds, which the U.S. is hosting for the first time.

What's next: The awards ceremony Thursday will reveal who moves on to France and who goes home.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Stefani De Palma is the third (not the first) woman to lead the U.S. team.