Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships
The 2017 Canadian Culinary Championships (CCC) will take place this weekend in Kelowna, BC February 3-4, 2017 and I am heading up there on Thursday to cover the competition once again!
Eleven competing chefs will be aiming for gold as they compete in three events over two days testing their skills, creativity and endurance and we’ll have some pre-competition interviews up shortly. Each of the eleven chefs competed in their home city/province at a Gold Medal Plates event in the fall of 2016 and took the top spot in there.
On Thursday, chefs will be welcomed at the CCC’s opening reception where they will each receive a bottle of a mystery wine. The next morning they are tasked with the challenge of shopping locally for ingredients and ultimately creating a dish that will complement the mystery wine. They will have been given only $500 for the ingredients and must create a dish that will impress the national judges and the 400 guests in attendance. The guests will enjoy the dishes from each of the 11 competing chefs while sipping on the Mystery Wine. “It is always so amazing to see the variety of tantalizing dishes that have been created, and yet each chef had the same wine to work with,” says David Lawrason, the Gold Medal Plates national wine advisor. “This is an event not to be missed!”
The second competition is the black-box competition where the chefs are secluded into a room until it is their turn to compete. Chefs are called one at a time and are presented with a box of 7 ingredients sourced from across Canada. Each chef has 10 minutes to determine what dish they will create using the 7 ingredients and then he or she has 50 minutes to prepare their dish and present to the judges.
The final competition is the Grand Finale where the chefs will create their ultimate dish to wow the judges and the guests paired with a Canadian beverage. Most of them have shipped the ingredients with them as they traveled across Canada to Kelowna. The finale closes with the announcement of the top three medal winners being called to the podium and the bragging rights for one to be called the Canadian Culinary Champion. The winner will also walk away with a 2 year lease on a 2017 BMW 430i xDrive Gran Coupe!
There are limited tickets available for the Mystery Wine Pairing and can be purchased online at www.goldmedalplates.com or by calling 778-883-3448; the Grand Finale on Saturday is sold out.
Last year’s winning chefs. Ottawa’s Marc Lepine took the Gold.
The judging will be led by James Chatto, Gold Medal Plates’ National Culinary Advisor and Head Judge and includes the following participating Gold Medal Chefs:
Chefs Competing at the 2017 Canadian Culinary Championships:
BRITISH COLUMBIA: Jesse McCleery – Pilgrimme, Galiano Island
EDMONTON: Eric Hanson – Prairie Noodle Shop
CALGARY: Jinhee Lee – Foreign Concept
REGINA: Garrett (Rusty) Thienes – Harvest Eatery and Fresh Market
SASKATOON: Scott Torgerson – Radisson Hotel Saskatoon & Aroma Resto Bar
WINNIPEG: Jesse Friesen – Pizzeria Gusto
TORONTO: Amanda Ray – Canteen Restaurant
OTTAWA: Joe Thottungal – Coconut Lagoon
MONTREAL: Sophie Tabet – Chez Sophie
HALIFAX: Mark Gray – Battery Park Beer Bar & Eatery
ST. JOHN’S: Ruth Wigman – Oppidan
Event information:
Official Website: www.goldmedalplates.com
Official Twitter and Instagram: @GoldMedalPlates
Official Hashtag: #CCC2017
About The Canadian Culinary Championships
Net proceeds from the Canadian Culinary Championships are provided to the Canadian Olympic Foundation which supports Olympic athletes and high performance programs. Since 2004, Gold Medal Plates has generated over 12 million for Canada’s Olympic athletes.
Gold Medal Plates – Gold Medal Plates is the ultimate celebration of Canadian excellence in food, wine, athletic achievement and entertainment and has raised over 12 million for elite Canadian athletes. For more information, visit the Gold Medal Plates website www.goldmedalplates.com
Canadian Olympic Foundation –The Beneficiary: The Canadian Olympic Foundation is a national charitable organization that generates support to meet the technical, scientific, medical and coaching needs of Canada’s athletes across all Olympic sports. Proceeds from Gold Medal Plates are given to the Canadian Olympic Foundation to support high performance programs such as Own the Podium. To learn more about the Foundation and the programs it funds, please visit www.olympicfoundation.ca.
