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We at the Ottawa Branch of the CCFCC would like to congradulate the team on a amazing showing at the James Beard House. Thanks for making Ottawa proud and keeping us on the culinary map!
See the links below for more info on the dinner:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/food/index.html
http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2011/09/25/ottawa-chefs-did-indeed-take-manhattan/
http://treepotmedia.com/canadian-culinary-federation-promo-released/
I have often heard the expression “too many chefs spoil the stew” to explain the hierarchy of a kitchen, why our brigade system works so well. A system of delegation with one person, the chef, ultimately in charge. One of the things I’ve learned over my almost three years of being a junior member of the Ottawa Branch is that although this expression certainly applies to running a restaurant, this does not always have to be the case.
Earlier this year, I was invited to join five chefs from all over Ottawa as they created a menu they planned to take to New York City and the James Beard House. The first meeting was simple, decide how many courses and what protein would accompany that course. Most chefs could easily agree on this, the order of courses has been passed down from Escoffier himself. What amazed me most is that for the next meeting, each chef had prepared a menu that focused on local Ottawa products but could go in any direction they chose. After each chef passed their menu around for the others to look over they spread them out on the boardroom table of the Sheridan Hotel and putting themselves aside they worked together to form one menu out of five that satifised everyone.
If too many chefs spoil the stew then how could five very different chefs colaborate to create a menu good enough to bring to the James Beard House? The truth is this isn’t new to the Ottawa Branch of the Chef’s Federation. To myself that’s truly what it’s meant to be a member of this ever growing branch. Whether raising money for Culinary Student Scholarships, Haiti earthquake relief, Japanese Tsunami relief, or simply a dinner to celebrate all that our branch has accomplished in the last year, the chefs I’ve come to know in Ottawa through the CCFCC are always willing to come together and showcase the city as a whole not just themselves.
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The 1st Annual Culinary Celebration held at the Ottawa Sheridan Hotel was the first chance to showcase that menu, and on Saturday June 4th The Canadian Culinary Federation Ottawa Branch will be hosting a fundraising dinner at Algonquin College that will highlight Ontario Cuisine and showcase the same menu that will be prepared for the James Beard Foundation.
A brief description of the menu:
Warm Terrine of Northern Arctic Char
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Boreal Birch Roasted Root Vegetable Puree
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Mustard Cress & Fall Flower Salad
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Liorice Root Scented Pork Sous Vide
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Slow Roasted Venison Loin
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Maple & Clarmell Farm Goat Cheesecake
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For tickets to this memorable event please contact the Algonquin Food & Beverage Office by calling 727-4723 ext 7260
I’m pretty sure you could feel the adrenaline running through the foyer infront of Restaurant International the morning of the Maple Leaf Pork Competition. As the chefs waited for their chance to get into the Algonquin kitchens and begin their signature plates they smiled and shook hands. Discussions of plates & ingredients overlapped discussions of how long they’d practiced and how they fit in all that practicing while working or even running busy restaurants and hotels.
Finally the Culinary Chair, Executive Chef Neil Mather, walked out and gave the chefs their assigned kitchens and in a flurry of carts filled with pots, pans, small wares of all kinds and overflowing bins of fresh produce they were off.
If you looked past the cords securely taped to the floors and the School of Broadcasting students with video cameras hoisted on their shoulders it probably looked like just another day in the labs at Algonquin. You could hear gas igniting, pans hitting burners, knives connecting with cutting boards quickly. You could even hear the clogs and scratching pens of professors as they observed each Chef at their assigned station. And as Restaurant International filled with eager patrons they too could see the chefs at work. At work with pork.
Each of these signature plates focused on Maple Leaf Pork short loin and they had only 60 minutes to create their entry.
The judges were Ron Eade, of Omnivore Ottawa, Michael Durrer, president of the Ottawa chapter, chef Glen Stevenson of Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, and Russell Weir, executive chef at the Sheraton Ottawa. Judges could award ten points for clean, crisp and attractive plating, another 10 points for creativity, and up to 20 points for taste. To qualify for gold a contestant needed 36 or more points; silver from 32 to 35 points; bronze from 28 to 31 points.
In the end there were seven bronze winners were Han Lin of the Ottawa Marriott, Abisheik Shetye of the Marriott, Connor McQuay of the National Arts Centre, Algonquin culinary professor Robert Gelinas, Jamie Ullrich of Algonquin, Nitin Mehra of East India Co. Restaurant, and culinary professor Ahmad Lutfi of the Danish embassy.
In third place with a silver medal was Executive Chef Steven Gugelmeier of the Ottawa Marriott hotel with his “Forest Fire Pork Duo” of black trumpet ravaged pork loin, spicy pork vegetable trees, tepid potato Waldorf, and birch syrup sow sap.
In second place recieving a gold medal was Executive Chef Mark Steele of Algonquin College Food & Beverage Operations with his cherrywood-smoked anise-crusted pork loin, maple-glazed loin sous vide, banana poached honey crisp, apple pearls, sweet potato croquette, cassis jus and pomegranate gastrique.
The top winner with a gold medal, bragging rights, a shiny trophy & a $3000 travel voucher was Executive Sous Chef Jonathan Sobol of the Sheraton Ottawa hotel for his pork loin with lobster and roasted apple crown, peas and carrot terrine, butternut squash cup, roasted walnuts and fried sage savoy puree.
Although this is the first competition of this kind that the CCFCC Ottawa has put on, they are looking forward to this being an annual event that grows. Congratulations to all the competitors!
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For a judge’s perspective please visit Ron Eade’s Omnivore Ottawa: http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/omnivore/archive/2011/03/28/sheraton-chef-takes-top-prize-in-maple-leaf-competition.aspx