Attendees at the lighthearted affair were treated to cocktails created for the occasion, a little bubbly and fare from Canadian culinary legend Michael Stadtländer, who was on hand preparing various appetizers such as smoked whitefish, artichoke and oyster soup, roast pork ribs and a whole roast lamb.
“Over the past four decades All-Clad has built its heritage on precision, reliability and innovation, pioneering the cookware category, and we are extremely proud of the success achieved thus far,” said Marc Turgeon, president of Groupe SBE Canada, All-Clad’s parent company. “Now our focus is to continue evolving our widespread cookware collection with new leading-edge technologies to maintain our global leadership position and appeal among culinary professionals and gourmet home cook audiences for the next generation.”
Not just a celebration of All-Clad’s 40 years in the kitchen, the event raised money through a silent auction for the Canadian Chefs’ Congress Eager Beaver culinary scholarship program. The first two program recipients were Amy Funk, a graduate of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, and Steven Hunt, a graduate of George Brown College’s Chef School, who were awarded $4,000 each. The scholarship will give both winners the opportunity to travel from coast to coast to coast in Canada, spending one month working with and learning from a participating chef in each province and territory.
In a bid to add a few more dollars to the pot, and help the two students along their journey, Stadtländer held an impromptu live auction, selling one of his All-Clad wok’s, a piece he claimed to have used for almost two decades. Bidding started fast and furious, and was eventually won by Oyster Boy’s Adam Colquhoun, who generously donated $1,000 to the program.
“All-Clad, as a company, took us [the Canadian Chefs’ Congress] on, and supported us from the beginning,” said Stadtländer. “Not every company would take on the tough issues, and I thank you for that.”
