VANCOUVER — Tobias MacDonald of La Belle Auberge Restaurant, in Delta B.C., is the winner of the Global Chefs Challenge Semifinals for the Americas held in Vancouver June 11 in conjunction with the 2011 National Conference of the Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC).
MacDonald, assisted by Jasper Cruickshank of La Belle Auberge, will compete in the final world competition of the 93-country World Association of Chefs Societies event to take place in Daejeon, South Korea between May 1 and 5, 2012.While the official announcement will be made at the CCFCC President’s Dinner tomorrow, June 15, the news was posted on the American Culinary Federation website, which said Michael Matarazzo, executive chef at Bear Mountain Inn in N.Y., placed second, “Ecuador came in third,” and “Canada placed first.”
“On behalf of the American Culinary Federation, I’d like to extend our congratulations to chef Matarazzo for his second-place win,” said Michael Ty, ACF national president. “It was a pleasure watching him compete, and we are grateful to have had such a qualified candidate represent our country and our federation.”
In the five- nation competition, each chef had five hours to produce eight portions of a three-course meal (appetizer, main course and dessert) featuring a list of required ingredients. The appetizer (hot or cold) featured Australian Agricultural Company Master Kobe flat-iron steak; the main course featured Sterling White Halibut with appropriate garnishes, including a starch; and the dessert featured strawberries.