Ten BC Chefs Awarded Gold Medal Plates Emblem of Distinction

Last week we rushed off to Victoria, and thanks to Helijet, we got there in time to catch the Gold Medal Plates Culinary Competition.   If you’ve been following Good Life Vancouver, you’ll know that I am basically a Gold Medal Plates groupie, and that I try make it to the BC Competition in the fall and the finals in February in Kelowna every year.  I interview the chefs beforehand for some insight into their approach, and it’s always a pleasure to run into them at the competition, say hello to the ones I already know and meet the new chefs that have made it to the finals each year.

The BC competition is now held in Victora and the competition was very tough this year, as always, many dishes were contenders for the top spots.

Gold: Chef Jesse McCleery from Pilgrimme paired with Sea Star Estate Farm & Vineyards.

Silver: Mark Filatow from Waterfront Wines paired with Tantalus, 2014 Chardonnay and

Bronze: Ricardo Valverde from Ancora paired with The Hatch “Black Swift Vineyards” 2014 Pinot Noir.

Chef McCleery will go on to Canadian Culinary Championships, the Gold Medal Plates Finale, in Kelowna on February 3rd and 4th, 2017. Chef McCleery dish was a stunner, he baked and smoked a rutabaga an served with onion, pear and sourdough. Chef Filatow’s dish was smoked arctic char with corn gnocchi and sunchoke carbonara, and Chef Valverde of Ancora crafted a duck confit tortelinni, charred brussel sprouts, red onion marmalade, and aji panca mole sauce. The other chefs competing in Victoria were from: Cacao, Vancouver (Jefferson Alvarez) Toque Catering, Victoria (Nicholas Waters) Ocean Wise, Vancouver (Ned Bell) North 48, Victoria (Sam Chalmers) Big White Ski Resort, Kelowna (Rob Walker) Fairmont Empress, Victoria (Morgan Wilson) Nourish Kitchen & Café, Victoria (Sergio Hernandez).

Judging the 2016 competition in Victoria were: Sid Cross, International Wine & Food Judge; Andrew Morrison, Editor Scout Magazine; Gary Hynes, Editor Eat Magazine; Sinclair Philip, Owner Sooke Harbour House, national head judge James Chatto and Chef Alex Chen from Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar who won gold in Victoria last year.

Each dish was judged out of 100 points, based on visual presentation (20%), texture (10%), technical achievement (10%), taste (40%), wine compatibility (10%), and wow factor (10%). All competing Chefs were awarded the Gold Medal Plates Emblem of Distinction, the gold standard in Canadian fine dining and a guarantee of excellence to all who enter their dining establishments. This Distinction is offered only to Chefs selected to compete at Gold Medal Plates dinners.

Funds raised from this event are granted to the Canadian Olympic Foundation to support highperformance athletes through programs facilitated by national sport organizations and the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSIN).