Events & News
Coming out strong at first 2012 team practice. See photos of the practice!
Chefs bring their best to October team meeting
Congratulations to the Junior National Culinary Team
2nd Annual Chefs in the City Another Success See photos of the event
Team Canada's website re-launched
2010: Team Canada's first year a busy time
Team Canada's first major partner: Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA)
January 19, 2012
Coming out strong at first 2012 team practice
On Sunday, January 15, Team Canada chefs did their first run-through of the proposed Restaurant of Nations menu, and "the dishes were extremely good, very impressive," says Team Manager Simon Smotkowicz.
At last October's team meeting, to inspire a direction for the Restaurant of Nations menu, each team chef prepared two dishes — an appetizer and a main course. After a roundtable tasting, Team Captain Brad Horen and the coaches were charged with refining the top choices into a menu for this January practice.
On Saturday, January 14, team chefs joined Brad and the coaches in Edmonton's Shaw Conference Centre kitchen. They discussed the menu and sample dishes, and the team then started on the prep, which, to simulate competition conditions, was taken only as far as allowed under Culinary Olympic rules. Meanwhile, Brad and the coaches worked on final plating and presentation of the appetizer and main course.
And when the team finished cooking on Sunday, and the dishes were plated and tasted? "The coaches and I were very pleased — not only with how the team worked together but with the results," says Simon. "The quality of the dishes was much better than would typically be expected at this early a stage in the development of a competition menu. That makes me very confident about where we'll be with this menu come October."
Completing the Restaurant of Nations menu is a dessert course from team pastry chef James Holehouse; while his teammates worked on the other two courses, he and coach Clayton Folkers continued to refine this part of the menu.
The practice also included a first look at proposed Cold Platter Display Table entries. As with the Restaurant of Nations, details about the products and presentations in the three categories (finger food/hors d'oeuvres, three-course menus/main courses and patisserie) are kept confidential until the competition. "We've begun some good work here that I think will be exceptional ten months from now," says Simon.
As with all Olympic-level competition, training is key. In the ten-month countdown to October 5–10 in Erfurt, Germany, Team Canada will be going hard, with team practices almost every month and lots of individual practice in between.
Watch Photos of the team practice in Edmonton, January 13–15, 2012.
Chefs bring their best to October team meeting
At Team Canada's October 22 meeting, everyone's attention was on the Restaurant of Nations menu for next year's competition: what direction should the menu take, and what Canadian products should be featured.
CTC took a no-talk, all-action approach. The challenge went out to team chefs Brad Horen, Dave Ryan, Patrick Gayler, Peter Dewar and Poyan Danesh, and support member Jeffery Young: on your own, develop Olympic-worthy appetizer and main course recipes that showcase Canadian product you strongly recommend—and come to the meeting prepared to cook the two dishes. Manager Simon Smotkowicz threw a wild card into the chef mix, asking Serge Belair from his Shaw Conference Centre kitchen to also come up with two recipes.
The team gathered at the NAIT apprentice lab, each chef at his own station. And even though they're all teammates, a little friendly competition definitely surfaced! The seven chefs served up three plates of each of their dishes for round-table tasting. Details about the products and dishes selected are under wraps until the competition, but the day went really well—"some very, very good dishes, and we've narrowed down the choices," says Simon.
Between now and the team's next practice in January, the appetizer and main course recipes will be refined, and pastry chef James Holehouse and coach Clayton Folkers will continue working on the dessert course. Ten months after that, CTC is looking to deliver polished perfection with a three-course Restaurant of Nations menu that wins Olympic gold.
Congratulations to the Junior National Culinary Team
Congratulations to the Junior National Culinary Team on their 2nd place finish in Ireland at their first international competition. Read about the competition and check out the photos, videos and profiles introducing these talented young chefs on the junior team's new website.
2nd Annual Chefs in the City Another Success
Members of Culinary Team Canada along with local Edmonton chefs and producers/growers came together to raise funds for the Team and for Edmonton High School Culinary Challenge scholarships. It was the second year for an event that supports the dreams and efforts of Canada's current and future chefs as they pursue culinary excellence.
Guests enjoyed a five-course gourmet menu featuring specially selected local produce and products of the region, with outstanding wine pairings. Some of the best chefs in Canada and Edmonton prepared dinner in front of the guests in a beautifully appointed room at the Shaw Conference Centre. Dinner was served with a running commentary about what the guests were eating and where it came from.
The evening was relaxed, fun and a success by all standards. Definite highlights of the live auction were a PEI Culinary Adventure with Team member Peter Dewar (which sold twice!) and a long weekend Culinary Getaway in Victoria with Team member Patrick Gayler.
The Team thanks all of the volunteers, sponsors and supporters who stepped up to the plate to make Chefs in the City an amazing event and celebration of local bounty.
Watch Photos of Chefs in the City – Edmonton, March 25, 2011
Double gold at the Expogast Culinary World Cup competition in Luxembourg, November 2010
Culinary Team Canada won gold medals in the hot kitchen and cold display categories at the Expogast Culinary World Cup competition. In a field of 28 countries, Canada finished fifth overall, with only three points separating the top five teams. It was the new team's first competition so, with only five months of practice (instead of the year that most teams had), winning two gold medals was an impressive accomplishment. As further testimony to Canada's culinary reputation: Seating for the Team Canada three-course hot kitchen competition dinner was sold out three weeks before Expogast began! All in all, a great start as the Team works toward the 2012 World Culinary Olympics in Germany.
Watch Photos of the Team in action at Expogast 2010 in Luxembourg
Right-click to download .wmv slideshow (94 MB)
Team Canada's website re-launched
For the World Culinary Olympics, held every four years, the CCFCC sanctions the formation of a new Team Canada, and the baton gets passed on. This time, the baton included a website developed by the previous team. It came with a wish: "We hope this website will be the starting point for future Teams to showcase exciting news and events." It was a great starting point. We're pleased to re-launch the website with updated content. And invite you to explore it—especially the Team Members section, to learn about the chefs who will be representing Canada at the World Culinary Olympics in 2012, and the Partners & Friends section, to learn how you can be support Canada's chefs on their road to gold.
2010: Team Canada's first year a busy time
Team tryouts were held in Edmonton, Alberta, in January and the chefs selected met as a team for the first time in March. While their sights are set on the 2012 World Culinary Olympics, the team would enter several other international competitions before then.
First up: Expogast in Luxembourg in November 2010. Between April and October, the chefs gathered for four team practices—to present, critique and refine their dishes for the Hot Kitchen and the Cold Display categories at Expogast. They also held three Go for the Gold dinners, when the chefs simulate Hot Kitchen competition conditions. Again, they critique and refine every aspect—from plating and taste of the dishes to organization and teamwork to cleanliness and cleanup—because all that comes under the scrutiny of international competition judges.
The team also hosted a Chefs in the City fundraiser dinner in Edmonton. Proceeds were shared with High School Culinary Challenge, which fosters the culinary interests and skills of teenagers through an annual inter–high school competition. A highlight of the live auction was a four-day tour of Nova Scotia and a cooking class with Team Canada chef Peter Dewar.
Team Canada's first major partner: Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA)
The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) is providing $300,000 over the next three years. A key mission of Culinary Team Canada is to foster awareness of and promote Canadian food products. That mission "is definitely aligned with our goal of increasing demand for Alberta meat products by bringing these products to the global stage of culinary competition," says ALMA president and CEO Gordon Cove. "Not only are we showing what the chefs in Alberta and Canada can do but we're also showing what our meat products can do."
