Congrats to all the competing chefs in this year’s Gold Medal Plates. Looking forward to seeing all the photos! GLV
The competition was fierce, the determination was evident, as eleven of Canada’s best chefs competed for top honours during the coveted Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships on February 7 and 8, 2014 in Kelowna, B.C.
The new Champion, Chef Lorenzo Loseto of George Restaurant in Toronto, won with his Ahi Tuna with Carrot and Pear, a delicious dish expertly paired with KEW Vineyards Old Vine Riesling from Niagara. Chef Loseto’s reaction when he realized he won: “I’m at a loss for words. It feels like all the years of hard work have been recognized tonight. Just to be with these amazing chefs – I couldn’t look at the other dishes because it made me nervous. It means so much in such great company.”
Amid high fives, cheers, applause and tears the winners of the bronze and silver medals were announced. Chef Danny St Pierre from Auguste in Montreal took the bronze, and the silver was awarded to Chef Duncan Ly of Yellow Door Bistro in Calgary. Pairings included warm beef salad with beets, quail egg, cranberry confit and croutons paired with Vignoble Carone Venice Cabernet Severnyi 2011 for the bronze; and Vietnamese style braised pig’s head and side strip prawn press, apple and mint salad, Asian hot mustard and garlic sauce paired with Peller Estates Ice Cuvee Rose for silver.
The two-day event started with a Friday evening Mystery Wine Pairing where chefs prepared a dish they felt perfectly suited the mystery bottle of wine they had received less than 24 hours before. It was Laughing Stock 2012 Blind Trust White from the Okanagan Valley, BC. They were given $550 to shop for ingredients to provide a small plate nosh for the 425 guests in attendance. Invited guests were able to taste the chefs’ creations and cast their own ballot. Emerging as the People’s Choice for this single event was Chef Duncan Ly of the Yellow Door Bistro in Calgary.
The Black Box Challenge held at Okanagan College gave all eleven competing chefs one hour to prepare two dishes using six mystery ingredients:
- a container of Cornect Family Farm honey butter
- a container of Saskatchewan cherries from Over the Hill Orchards
- a whole chicken from Sterling Springs near Kelowna
- 50 g dried mushrooms from Champignon Le Coprin in Gatineau
- two West Creek Farms trout, whole but gutted and
- organic parsnips from Green Croft Gardens in Grindrod in the Okanagan Valley.
The Grand Finale at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort and Conference Centre saw the eleven chefs competing in an all-out, slam-down competition. Dishes were partnered with their chosen Canadian winery. The evening was simply delicious, with the very best of Canada’s culinary scene fully evident.
James Chatto, Gold Medal Plates’ National Culinary Advisor and Head Judge, was very impressed with this year’s competitors. Experienced veterans, repeat CCC competitors and eager young bloods battled for the recognition to be called the best in Canada. He said, “It was a great weekend at the CCC with every chef showcasing their best – inspired and inspiring. The first two contests were very tight – impossible to call – which meant that this year the Championship was going to be decided on the final dish. And so it proved. We have a brilliant new champion. All the chefs performed magnificently. Their sous chefs, too, gave a master-class in how you support your chef.”
The other big winner of the evening was Kelowna itself. Currently in its fourth year of hosting the Canadian Culinary Championships over a 5 year period, the food community crossed its fingers to be able to extend the hosting agreement to become the home of the Canadian Culinary Championships for an additional 5 years. Tonight, Co-Founder Stephen Leckie and General Manager of the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort, Daniel Bibby, together announced that Kelowna will indeed be the home of the Canadian Culinary Championships for an additional 5 years.
“We’re thrilled for the news that we will extend the CCC in Kelowna for another 5 years,” said Daniel Bibby. “Kelowna is a worthy and enthusiastic home of this national culinary competition. We are confident that we will be able to announce the new sponsorship agreement in the next few weeks to keep this great event in our community.”
The Grand Finale event at the Delta Grand Okanagan was the hottest ticket in town. Playing to a sold-out audience of 640 wine and food enthusiasts were Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies and Barney Bentall, who headlined the entertainment. Olympians in attendance included:
- Julia Murray, Olympian, Ski-Cross
- Gabriel Bergen, Olympic Silver Medallist, Rowing
- Christine Girard , Olympic Bronze Medallist, Weightlifting
- Kristi Richards, Two-time Olympian, Freestyle Skiing
- Curtis Myden, Olympic three-time Bronze Medallist, Swimming
- Darcy Marquardt, Olympic Silver Medallist, Rowing
- Richard Hortness, Two-time Olympian, Swimming
- Jeremiah Brown, Olympic Silver Medallist, Rowing
- William Dean, Olympian, Rowing
Julia Murray had this to say about the event: “This is the first Canadian Culinary Championships Grand Finale that I have attended and I am so proud to see the chefs putting their hearts into their work. You can feel the energy in the room! It is great to be a part of this and see how hard these chefs work to achieve success just as athletes do for their sport; it’s a great alignment.”
As well as indulging in amazing food and wine, Saturday night guests were able to compete for items during the live auction. Some of the items up for bid were experiences hosted by Olympians and celebrities and included cycling in Tuscany or Provence with Jim Cuddy or Ed Robertson, and hiking in the Scotland Highlands with Chef de Mission Steve Podborski (2014 Sochi Olympic Games).
Stephen Leckie Co-Founder of Gold Medal Plates said, “I salute Kelowna and all of the Okanagan for supporting and helping to sell out all three of our events. The contributions of the Okanagan wineries was also incredible. This event shines the spotlight on Kelowna and we are thrilled to see the Canadian Culinary Championships thrive here. A huge salute to the many volunteers, committee members and chairs for leading such an excellent Championships!”
This memorable two-day event is held in Kelowna for a period of five years, currently in its fourth year of the agreement, with proceeds from Gold Medal Plates and the Canadian Culinary Championships given to the Canadian Olympic Foundation to support high performance athletes. To date, over 8.2 million has been raised.
