This week was marked by the holding of two culinary competitions where local chefs stood out.
Posted at 3:00 p.m.
First there was the regional competition for the Canadian Culinary Chefs Competition, on October 24, which is being held for the first time since 2019.
In Toronto, the Canadian finals of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Academy were taking place simultaneously, with 10 young Canadian chefs participating.
Among them, two Quebecers: Samy Benabed, executive chef at Auberge Saint-Mathieu-du-Lac, and Pierre-Olivier Pelletier, co-owner chef of Kébec Club Privé, in Quebec City, who won honors with his signature dish. His creation: a Canard Goulu can, aged and cooked on a chest, lacquered with birch syrup and homemade miso made with high-quality Canadian wheat and served with lacto-fermented carrots in carrot juice.
“I wanted to represent Canada through two ingredients that everyone knows and also represent the First Nations by smoking my dish with sweetgrass”, explains the young chef, still on cloud nine after his victory which will bring 14 other young chefs from around the world to Milan in 2023.
Samy Benabed did not leave empty-handed: he won the “The Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought” prize, rewarding the candidate who presented the dish that best represents his personal convictions.
Next meeting: the Bocuse d’Or final, in which the Canadian team participates, in January 2023, in Lyon.