EDMONTON — The new, four-year term, Culinary Team Canada for the 2016 IKA Culinary Olympics, Erfurt, Germany, was a topic of discussion at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Canadian Culinary Federation in Edmonton last week.
The team — set to build on the gold-winning record of its 2012 predecessors — will be lead by team manager John Carlo Felicella, department head of Culinary Arts at the Vancouver Community College. Team members include: Hamid Salimian, culinary arts instructor at Vancouver Community College; Peter Dewer, culinary arts instructor at the Nova Scotia Culinary College, Centreville, N.S.; Luis Claval, executive chef at Alantica Hotel, Halifax; Clement Chan, chef and proprietor of Le Tigre Cuisine in Vancouver; Natalie Fortier, House of Commons, Ottawa; Giulia Nardiello, The Empress Hotel, Victoria, B.C.; and Scott Baechler, culinary arts instructor, Fanshawe College, London, Ont. The support team members include: Daniel Davyduke, team chef; Shawn Lang, equipment and logistics; and James Hutton and Laura Sharpe Dawe as administrator and assistant manager.
In October 2012, the previous Culinary Team Canada won gold in the Restaurant of Nations Hot Kitchen competition (one of only four teams) and silver in the Cold Platter Display Table competition, with only one gold medal awarded.
“Going for the Gold” will be the new team’s theme in Windsor, Ont., on Friday, June 28 at a fundraiser dinner and gala sponsored by the Windsor Culinary Guild and chefs Vincenzo Del Duca and John Kukucka.
The team’s inaugural international event will be the Salon Culinaire Mondial 2013 in Basel, Switzerland, which runs from Nov. 23to 27. This by-invitation-only competition includes only the World Association of Cooks’ Societies top 10 ranked national culinary teams in the world. The team will prepare and present 110 portions of a three-course meal of their choosing, cooked and served in the Restaurant des Nations. The chefs must also create an artistic cold table, which includes a buffet platter for eight persons, four varieties of finger foods (tapas) for eight persons, three varieties of hors d’oeuvres for six persons, a five-course New Year’s-themed menu, a sugar/chocolate showpiece, four varieties of plated desserts and fancy pastries for six persons.
