The S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition is a cooking competition that brings together students from more than 35 culinary institutions across the United States and Canada. During the competition they battle for a chance to compete and be judged by nationally renowned chefs at the finals competition in Napa this March.
Vancouver’s Local aspirant chefs prep for San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef 2011
They’re young, they’re keen and they’re honing their recipes. Two aspiring chefs from the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Vancouver are preparing now for the S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef competition in Toronto on February 7, 2011.
Winston Lin has some interesting tales about eating strange animals when he lived in China (crocodile, scorpion) and talks about how his martial arts training is helping him prepare for this competition. Christine Amanatidis is loving being at the Art Institute for the business classes as well as the cooking – she wants to run her own restaurant so is keen to get this training as well.
The competition is composed of both a regional and finals competition. The 10 regional events bring together four diverse culinary schools from a single region to compete for one winning spot to represent that region at the finals event. All regional competitions are held approximately 30 days prior to the finals event. The finals competition takes place in March in Napa Valley, CA, where all 10 regional winners compete for the coveted S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef title.
Competitors are judged on creativity; plate appearance, taste, texture, and aroma; and sanitation at their work station; as well as on their personality while being questioned by judges and media, and on their ability to perform under pressure.
When was it started?
2011 is the 9th year of the program. It was started in 2002.
What Canadian schools are participating in 2011?
Culinary students selected from the top of their class to participate in the Canada Regional Competition are:
The George Brown Chef’s School: Wendy Mah and Jean-François Daigle
The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Vancouver: Christine Amanatidis and Winston Lin – pictured above
École hôtelière de la Capitale (Québec City): Alexandre Raymond and Francis Traversy
Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (Montréal): Nathalie Des Rosiers and Emile Balk
How many Canadian students have qualified for the regional competition?
8
What qualifications do they need to participate?
Each school faculty will select two students to participate in the regional competition. Each student:
- Must be enrolled and currently taking culinary classes or on practicum (receiving credits)
- Must be at least a second-year student in a culinary degree or certificate program
- Must have a minimum of two but not more than four years of industry experience
- Must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
- Would preferably be fluent in English and outgoing, with a dynamic personality
When is the Canadian regional event and where?
It’s on February 7th at the Calphalon Culinary Center in Toronto
How does the regional event work?
Each student will be given two hours to prepare eight servings of an entrée signature dish, seven for judges and one for display. There will be a judging panel at each regional competition featuring chef judges, kitchen judges and media judges.
- Judges will be in the kitchen while competitors prepare their signature dish within two hours; all competitors will have a staggered start time.
- Judges have the opportunity to speak with the competitors while they are cooking their signature dishes, as well as to ask questions.
- Once each competitor is finished with his/her signature dish, he/she will present the dish to the judging panel, who will evaluate on kitchen, chef and personal impact & presence skills.
- At the end of judging, judges are encouraged to advise and take questions from competitors to mentor and assist in their culinary development.
- Judges will have the opportunity to score all competitors based on the criteria they are judging.
- All judges’ combined scores will help in selecting the candidate to represent his/her region at the finals competition event.
A reception will be held at each regional event for approximately 100-150 invited guests; the Calphalon Center will replicate tasting portions of each competitor’s signature dish.
Who are the Canadian judges?
A panel of highly respected chef and media judges will evaluate the competitors on kitchen skills, taste and presentation of the dish plus their personality and general charisma:
Chef Jeff Dell, Executive Chef for Milestones Restaurant in Toronto
Chef Laurent Godbout, Chef Owner of L’Épicier in Montréal
Chef Chris Mills, Executive Chef for Joeys Restaurants in Vancouver
James Chatto, Senior Editor, Food and Drink Magazine
How many other regions are participating this year?
There are ten regional events, including the event in Canada.
When is the finals event and where?
The finals competition will be held at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA, on March 11–14, 2011.
What does the regional winner receive?
Regional prizes are the following:
- Each participating student will be awarded a gift of appreciation from participating sponsors, including chef ware from Chef Revival.
- Each winning regional student will be provided an all-expense-paid trip to the finals competition, one-on-one time with nationally recognized chefs judging the competitions, public relations training prior to the competition and media exposure during the competition.
How does the finals event work?
Three competitions are incorporated into the finals competition: Mystery Basket, Signature Dish and People’s Choice:
- The Mystery Basket Competition is a two-hour task to prepare an entrée with provided ingredients.
- The Signature Dish Competition is a duplicate of the recipe; however, this time it is prepared for up to 200 distinguished guests.
- In the People’s Choice Competition, distinguished guest attendees vote on their favorite student dish.
What does the overall winner receive?
Finals prizes are the following:
- The Mystery Basket Winner will receive a $3,000 cash prize.
- The Signature Dish Winner will receive a $3,000 cash prize.
- The People’s Choice Winner will receive a $3,000 cash prize.
- The overall S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition Winner will win:
- A $10,000 cash prize
- An offer of a position to work for a nationally recognized chef for one year
- Media tours, interviews and various other public appearances around the U.S. and Canada
- The overall winner’s school will be awarded $1,000 to be given as a scholarship award.
