TORONTO — Canada’s Great Kitchen Party (CGKP) is set to kick off this week with regional competitions taking place across the country. The first of this year’s competitions will take place in Moncton, N.B., with the winner of each regional heat moving on to the Canadian Culinary Championships, which will be held in Kelowna, B.C. in February 2019.
CGKP’s regional events will also feature a New Brewery Showcase, highlighting three breweries that have been open less than three years, which will present up to three of their best beers.
Regional competitions taking place this fall include:
- Moncton, N.B. — September 29
- Ottawa — October 11
- Edmonton — October 17
- Halifax — October 18
- St. John’s — October 19
- Victoria — October 25
- Saskatoon — October 27
- Toronto — October 29
- Calgary — November 1
- Winnipeg — November 8
- Regina — TBA
Earlier this year, the Canadian Olympic Foundation and Gold Medal Plates agreed to sunset their partnership. As a result, the Gold Medal Plates regional competitions has rebranded as CGKP and launched a new business strategy focused on providing young Canadians the opportunity to be extraordinary through sport, music and food.
“The celebration of Canadian excellence has always been at the core of our business,” said co-founder, Karen Blair. “Through our rebrand: Canada’s Great Kitchen Party’s regional culinary competitions and the national finale: The Canadian Culinary Championships, we will continue to provide a platform to celebrate and showcase Canada’s best in food, wine, sport and music including a new business strategy that will ensure financial support for not just one, but all three of these areas.”
Under the new strategy, beneficiaries of CGKP will be:
- B2ten, through which Select athletes from across the country are provided optimal training and preparation to help underpin their success when representing Canada on the international stage.
- MusiCounts — Canada’s music education charity, affiliated with the JUNO Awards and supported by many of Canada’s top musicians.
- Community Food Centres Canada, which brings people together to grow, cook, share, and advocate for good food for all.
“As a social enterprise, we want to bring together a national community with a commitment to a better Canada,” says co-founder Stephen Leckie. “We look forward to continuing to provide quality experiences for CGKP guests and working with so many great people and companies across this country to achieve our vision of inspiring and impacting Canadian communities.”
