PARIS, September 24. /TASS/. Russian chefs will join the International gastronomic competition Bocuse d'Or, named after legendary French master chef Paul Bocuse, in Lyon this weekend for the first time since 2008, Viktor Beley, the Russian participant of the world finals of the competition and the brand chef of the Moscow-based Uhvat restaurant, told TASS on Friday.

"The Lyon competition is as prestigious as the Cannes Film Festival in the cinema industry. We had been looking forward to the invitation and we were delighted to receive it, since we qualified for the final for the first time in 13 years," the chef noted.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be the guest of honor at the traditional "chef’s dinner" in Lyon on Sunday, with the world's best chefs as participants. "It is a token of respect for the representatives of this industry, which has been hit hard by the health crisis," Beley believes.

According to him, the Bocuse d'Or is an incredibly difficult competition, with not only one person’s efforts, but the joint endeavor of a whole team of professionals. The Russian team is going to compete with representatives from 23 countries.