TORONTO — Canada’s Great Kitchen Party (CGKP) competitions — formerly Gold Medal Plates — are well underway, with eight of 11 regional heats now complete.
This year’s regional competitions kicked off in Moncton, N.B., with events crisscrossing the country leading up to the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna, B.C. February 1 and 2. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded at each regional event, with the top chef from each competition moving on to the national finale.
Canadian Culinary Championships finalists include:
Moncton, N.B. — Irwin MacKinnon, Papa Joe’s
Ottawa-Gatineau — Yannick LaSalle, Restaurant Les Fougères
Edmonton — Davina Moraiko, RGE RD
Halifax — Thomas Carey, Fresh Twenty One
St. John’s — Katie Hayes, Bonavista Social Club
Victoria — Takashi Ito, Aura waterfront restaurant + patio
Saskatoon — Christopher Hill, Taste Restaurant Group
Toronto — Elia Herrera, Los Colibris
The remaining regional competitions will take place in Calgary on November 1, in Winnipeg on November 8 and in Regina at a private event, the date of which has not yet been announced.
As part of its rebranding, CGKP’s new business strategy focuses on providing young Canadians the opportunity to be extraordinary through sport, music and food through beneficiaries B2ten, MusiCounts and Community Food Centres Canada.
“As a two-time Canadian Culinary Champion, I am impressed with the organization’s transition to Canada’s Great Kitchen Party,” says Marc Lepine, chef of Atelier in Ottawa. “I am so pleased that there will be a contribution to the food pillar, in addition to sport and music. Canadian youth will be transformed through the support provided by CFCC’s food programs. As a chef, this resonates very closely with me and I believe, with our entire Canadian chefs’ community.”
