VANCOUVER — Chef Jasper Cruickshank of Whistler’s Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar claimed the gold at Canada’s Great Kitchen Party 2023 Vancouver regional qualifier event with his dish, the Wild B.C. Experience. The dish was an ensemble of coastal-inspired flavours, featuring a Side Stripe Shrimp Terrine, a Tartlet of Dungeness Crab, Wakame Leek Crisp, and Essence of Geoduck Clam paired with Roche Wines’s 2021 Tradition Pinot Gris. Cruickshank will head to Ottawa in February 2024 to represent Vancouver in the national Canadian Culinary Championship.
Placing second and earning Silver was chef Akira Kishimoto of Vancouver’s Kishimoto with a complex dish featuring Gobo and Matsutake Takikomi B.C. rice, Kobujime duck breast, duck fat roasted leek puree, sage tuile, Kinome miso cauliflower, pickled carrot, microgreens, and more, while this year’s bronze went to chef Warren Chow of Vancouver’s Wildlight Kitchen + Bar who served Peace Country Lamb Sirloin, lamb-belly sausage, smoked Fraser Valley duck, parsnip puree, fermented gooseberry jus and onion tuile paired with Rust Wine Co.’s 2020 Syrah, from the Similkameen Valley in B.C.
The competition also awarded honours to three Canadian wines as part of the event. This year’s gold went to L’Acadie Vineyards’ 2020 Vintage Cuvée from Nova Scotia. Two B.C. wineries claimed silver and bronze, respectively: Ursa Major’s 2022 Exile, Love & Misunderstanding Gamay from the Naramata Bench and Tantalus’ 2021 Chardonnay from the Okanagan Valley.
The panel of judges included acclaimed local chefs and food industry insiders, including some past CCC competitors and winners. Judges included national culinary advisor Chris Johns (food and travel writer); B.C. head judge Joie Alvaro Kent (cookbook author); 2022 KP Vancouver gold medallist and 2023 CCC silver medallist chef Bobby Milheron (Wentworth Hospitality Group); chef Andrea Carlson (Burdock & Co); chef Douglas Chang (Ai & Om Knives); chef Hamid Salimian (VCC International Culinary Arts instructor); chef Roger Ma (Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar); and chef Scott Jaeger (The Pear Tree Restaurant).
“This was an incredible night celebrating the exceptional calibre of talent in Vancouver’s culinary community,” says Kent. “Our judging panel was highly impressed by the remarkable diversity showcased among all the competitors. Each dish conveyed a strong sense of place and connection to local ingredients, and we could all truly taste that the chefs put their heart and soul into their dishes. The judges are confident that Jasper will carry on British Columbia’s legacy of culinary excellence as he goes on to represent our province at the Canadian Culinary Championship.”
“I’m incredibly humbled and proud to have earned the gold medal and against such an amazingly talented field of fellow chefs,” says Cruickshank. “I’m so excited to represent Vancouver – and Wild Blue’s Whistler – in the national finals, and I hope I bring home the title.”
Funds raised through ticket sales for the event are directed towards vital charities that ensure Canadian youth have equitable access to healthy food, music education, and sport opportunities. This year’s selected charities are MusiCounts, SpiritNorth, and Vancouver-based Fresh Roots.
