L’Abattoir’s Jasper Cruickshank has won gold at the 20th Anniversary Kitchen Party Vancouver All-Star Invitational, earning a place at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa. Held October 7, 2026, at The Pipe Shop in North Vancouver, the competition brought together six chefs for an evening celebrating Canadian food, wine and culinary talent.
Cruickshank will represent Vancouver alongside its appointed Chef of Distinction, Alex Chen, at the national championship on January 29–30, 2027. Both chefs have previously taken the national title: Chen in 2018 and Cruickshank in 2024.
Gold for L’Abattoir’s allium-inspired dish
Cruickshank’s winning creation, Alliums, explored the onion family through a detailed collection of preparations. Scallion pasta ravioli filled with braised beef cheek was joined by baby leek terrine and cave-aged Gruyère, a cipollini soubise tartlet, and braised shallot with leek cream.
Ramp gelée with buttermilk ranch, a garlic “caper,” chive emulsion, French onion consommé and an onion tuile completed the plate. The pairing was Fort Berens Estate Winery Pinot Noir Reserve 2025 from Lillooet, B.C.
For Cruickshank, the result brings another opportunity to represent Vancouver, this time working with Chen in the anniversary championship’s two-chef city format.
Robert Lee wins silver and People’s Choice
Robert Lee of Five Sails by Alex Kim earned both the silver medal and the People’s Choice Award with Duck and Prawn Duet, paired with Nomad Cider.
The dish combined duck and spot prawn terrine with foie gras and duck consommé glaze; a taro puff with confit duck, Japanese curry and prawn aioli; and spot prawn tartare with lotus root and lotus seed crème. Apple, watercress emulsion and a duck, foie gras and spot prawn jus rounded out the presentation.
Bronze for Desi Indian Lounge
Bal Ajagaonkar of Desi Indian Lounge took bronze with Botanical Reverie: A Journey Through Roots, Fruits & Leaves. His dessert brought together paan mithai filled with strawberry compote, a carrot and fennel pudding sphere, cherry-beet-lime mousse, and rabri crémeux on a cardamom chocolate feuilletine disk, served with saffron crème anglaise.
The pairing was La Stella Moscato d’Osoyoos 2025 from the Okanagan Valley.
The six Vancouver competitors
- Jasper Cruickshank — L’Abattoir
- Bal Ajagaonkar — Desi Indian Lounge
- Robert Lee — Five Sails by Alex Kim
- Bo Li — The Fish Man
- Felix Zhou — ATLAS steak + fish
- Clement Chan — The Apron
B.C. wines earn recognition
The evening also celebrated Canadian wine, with an expert panel judging the wines blind. Unsworth Vineyards Pinot Noir from the Cowichan Valley received Wine of the Year and Best of Show honours.
Ailm Chenin Blanc 2025 from the Okanagan Valley earned silver, while Joie Farm En Famille Chardonnay, also from the Okanagan, received bronze.
Jasper Cruickshank and Alex Chen head to Ottawa
The Canadian Culinary Championship, presented by MNP, will bring 20 All-Star chefs from 10 Canadian cities to Ottawa on January 29–30, 2027. For the first time, each regional winner will join a pre-selected Chef of Distinction from their city.
Vancouver’s team pairs Cruickshank with Chen, chef-partner of Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar in Whistler and culinary director of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in Vancouver.
The competition begins with the Mystery Wine Pairing Competition on Friday, January 29, followed by the Black Box Competition and Grand Finale on Saturday, January 30. Alongside the city competition, an East versus West showdown will pit Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon against Ottawa, St. John’s, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg.
The Grand Finale will feature the Steven Page Trio, with former Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page, Craig Northey of Odds and Kevin Fox.
A kitchen party with a purpose
Canada’s Great Kitchen Party has contributed $19.9 million to charitable causes across the country. National beneficiaries include MusiCounts and Spirit North, supporting young people’s access to music education and sport. The Ottawa championship will also support local organizations working on food insecurity and access to nutritious food for children and youth.
Find the Vancouver results and event gallery and Canadian Culinary Championship details on the organizer’s website.
Photo: Vancouver medalists Bal Ajagaonkar, Jasper Cruickshank and Robert Lee, from left. Image supplied via Canada’s Great Kitchen Party.
