Venison Loin with Leek Ash | submitted photo

GOLDEN WIN

Years of hard work for the Culinary Youth Team Canada culminated in a history-making performance at the highly anticipated IKA/Culinary Olympics last month in Stuttgart, Germany. With two gold medals and fourth place overall, it was a first for a Junior Canadian team to be awarded two gold medals. It was also the highest placing ever for a Junior Canadian team in this prestigious culinary competition.


The team of young chefs are from across Canada, with BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and PEI representatives and have been training at the Culinary Institute of Canada over the past year as a team.


Stefanie Francavilla, Chelsea Hoeppner, coach Joerg Soltermann, Korae Nottveit, Sydney Hamelin, coach Kevin Boyce, Leah Patitucci, Jacob Brandt, coach Austin Clement, coach Peter Dewar, Ryan Llewellyn, coach Hans Anderegg, coach Logan Rafuse, coach Christian Marchsteiner, Raymond Mock | submitted photo

On February 16th, the team took home a gold medal (a gold medal is awarded to a team with between 90 and 100 points) in the first competition they participated in, the IKA Buffet category. The buffet competition was time-sensitive, with five members of the team preparing their dishes for 12 judges in only five hours. The buffet menu included two hot and two cold finger foods, a seafood platter with three terrines, garnishes, and sauces as well as a main course. The buffet finished off with a dessert.


The team prepared the following dishes to gold medal perfection: cold finger foods were Fois Gras with Cherry Glaze and a Lobster Roll, the hot finger foods were Baby Potato with Caramelized Shallot and Duck Savoy Cabbage Roll. There were three buffet platter elements served, the first consisted of Snow Crab and Brined Halibut Terrine, Sweet Potato and Parsnip Quenelle, and Miso Emulsion. The second platter had Braised Octopus and Herbs, Tomato Avocado Mousse, and Champagne Vinaigrette. The final platter was Smoked Arctic Char and Trout Terrine, Compressed Cucumber with Lemon Herb Chévre, and Crème Fraîche with Chive Oil. After the platters, the main course was served, Prosciutto Wrapped Rabbit Saddle with Pistachio Filling, and the final dessert of White Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry and Citrus.


One of the platters the team prepared for the buffet course | submitted photo

The second competition for the team was the Restaurant of Nations, in which a three-course menu was prepared for 60 people, some of whom were judges. The team prepared an appetizer (Terrine of Halibut, Seabuckthorn, Glazed Oyster Panna Cotta), a main course (Venison Loin with Leek Ash) and dessert (Ruby Chocolate Mousse).

The team came home with two gold medals | submitted photo

About Cheryl Young

A “Jill of all trades” describes Cheryl to a T. From operating her own handyperson company, to selling luxury cars, to working as a film and TV crew member, her resume is diverse. But her dream as a kid was to be a journalist and she started down that path many years ago at CBC Charlottetown. Returning to her journalism roots, she’s excited to be editing Salty’s content and occasionally writing herself.

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