The most extraordinary culinary weekend you will ever experience!
February 10 – 11, 2012 Kelowna, British Columbia
The Gold Medal Plates Grand Finale takes place February 10 and 11 in Kelowna. The Canadian Culinary Championships promises to be a very exciting weekend and one of the most intense culinary competitions you will ever witness. This year, nine incredible chefs, each representing their given city who will be crowned Gold Medal Plates winners across Canada will vie for the title of The Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Champion for 2012 and get the bragging rights for the next year as Canada’s Greatest Chef! Each Chef will partake in three thrilling and grueling challenges in Canada’s own intense ‘Iron Chef’ competition!
The Canadian Culinary Championships
Thursday, February 9
7:00 pm – The VIP Welcome Reception
Quails’ Gate Winery, 3303 Boucherie Road, Kelowna, BC
Dress Code: Business
This is the official kick off to the competition! Chef, sous chefs, judges, sponsors and executive committee and media are invited.
A short question and answer session will be conducted with each chef, by way of an introduction. The details of the three competitions will be explained and the rules reiterated. Chefs will be assigned their apprentice assistants. During the reception, the chefs will be presented with an unlabelled bottle of the “mystery wine” and be given a sum of money to spend on ingredients that will be part of the Wine Pairing Competition on the following evening.
Friday, February 10
6:00 pm – The Welcome Reception and Mystery Wine Pairing (Competition I)
Hotel Eldorado, 500 Cook Road, Kelowna, BC Dress Code: Cocktail Chic
Chefs will be presented with a mystery bottle of wine on Thursday night and are then required to prepare a dish that best complements the mysterious vintage. During the event guests will taste the mystery wine and play ‘judge’ as the chefs create a fabulous dish to pair with a challenging Mystery Wine. Food and wine included. Guests will vote for who they feel best paired their dish with the wine in the ‘People’s Choice Award’.
Saturday, February 11 – The intensity mounts!
8:00 am – 10:35 am OR 10:15 am – 12:45 pm – The Black Box (Competition II)
Okanagan College Culinary Arts Department, 1000 KLO Road, Kelowna, BC
Dress Code: Casual
Chefs will receive only 10 minutes notice, and a black box containing a small array of diverse foods before having to produce and plate two spectacular dishes for the national judges. All in one very short hour! You won’t get much closer to watching an Iron Chef type competition than this – you will be a spectator in the kitchen! You will be provided with tickets for either time slot.
Saturday, February 11 – The Grand Finale (Competition III)
5:45 pm – VIP Reception
6:45 pm – Competition Opens
Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel, 1310 Water Street, Conference Centre
Dress Code: Cocktail
Your VIP tickets include access to the VIP reception featuring 2011 Canadian Culinary Champion Martin Juneau of Newtown Restaurant, Montreal; the Grand finale competition, show co-produced by Jim Cuddy featuring Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies and Canadian music icon Barney Bentall. During the competition guests will sample the actual competition dishes being judged by the national panel from all nine gold medal contenders. Each competing chef will have a paired wine from the winery he competed with regionally. The evening will conclude with the crowning of Canada’s Gold Medal Chef for 2012!
For more information regarding the event please visit goldmedalplates.com or contact Gold Medal Plates Manager, Lisa Pasin, at 780-448-5945 or goldmedalplates@comlinks.ca
Canadian Culinary Championships 2012
The competitors and the winery pairing for the grand finale:
WINNIPEG – Michael Dacquisto – Wow Hospitality
Paired with Gray Monk Estate Winery
MONTREAL – Jean-Philippe St-Denis – Kitchen Galerie Poisson
Paired with McAuslan Brewery
CALGARY – Michael Dekker – Rouge
Paired with Stratus Vineyards
VANCOUVER – Rob Feenie – Cactus Club Restaurants
Paired with Haywire Winery
EDMONTON – Jan Trittenbach – Packrat Louie
Paired with Peller Estates Winery
SASKATOON – Anthony McCarthy – Saskatoon Club, Saskatoon
Paired with Nichol Vineyard
OTTAWA – Marc Lepine – Atelier
Paired with Hidden Bench Vineyards & Winery
TORONTO – Jonathan Gushue – Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa
Paired with The Organized Crime Winery
ST. JOHN’S – Mike Barsky – Bacalao
Paired with Pelee Island Winery
