CALGARY - A qualification event for the Canadian Culinary Championships
Event Co-Chairs: Bruce Edgelow and Lois Mitchell
Honourary Chair: Joe Gysel
Honourary Ambassador: Michelle Cameron
2011 GOLD MEDAL PLATES CALGARY WINNERS
Gold Medallist: Michael Dekker - Rouge. Paired with Stratus Vineyards 2008 Cabernet Icewine
Silver Medallist: Jan Hrabec - Crazyweed Kitchen. Paired with Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery Fumé Blanc
Bronze Medallist: Justin Leboe - Model Milk. Paired with Bartier Scholefield 2010 Rosé
JAMES CHATTO'S REPORT (www.jameschatto.com)
Last night's Gold Medal Plates event in Calgary was another triumph. It looks like we have finally found the perfect venue – the Telus Calgary Convention Centre – and our 700 guests (plus 50 Olympic and Paralympic athletes) had plenty of room to breathe. Speeches were short and pithy, the entertainment (Jim Cuddy, Ed Robertson, Barney Bentall and Anne Lindsay) had the crowd dancing in the aisles, and the food was excellent – continuing the ever-ascending curve of quality in Calgary over the years.
Once again, Hailey Pasemko of Nita Lake Lodge presented her irresistible trio of cocktails featuring three exceptional Canadian artisanal spirits – Victoria gin, Iceberg vodka and Alberta Premium Rye whisky. This time I concentrated on the G.B.G.V., a subtle concoction of Victoria gin, freshly squeezed grapefruit and lemon juices and vanilla syrup, infused with bruised basil leaves and garnished with a grapefruit twist. Layered but curiously refreshing, it allowed the aromatic botanicals in the gin to glow upon the palate.
The supreme court of judges was a powerful one – our Senior Judge in this city, as ever, was writer-broadcaster- educator-and-all-round-food-guru John Gilchrist, together with chef and educator Michael Allemeier, caterer extraordinaire and world-class foodie Susan Hopkins, writer and educator Kathy Richardier, and last year's champion, chef Duncan Ly, who also dazzled the VIPs at the opening reception with perfectly cooked lamb tenderloin and what looked like sausage rolls but were filled with moist pulled lamb shank meat.
Glancing over the list of dishes in the competition, it seems that foie gras is currently Calgary's favourite ingredient, featured in six of the ten we tasted. It was not, however, a component of the dish that took the bronze medal, created by chef Justin Leboe of Model Milk Restaurant. He began with delectably creamy hominy grits (ground in-house he explained) flecked with chervil, tarragon and chives. In the middle, he set a spoonful of chopped rock shrimp and the chopped lean meat from a ham hock, sharpened with a gentle vinaigrette. On top of that came two large pieces of a spectacular sausage made from side strip shrimp and more ham hock, full of flavour but with a soft, moist texture. Adding scrunch to the dish were fried tapioca shrimp crackers, like crisp little bubbles. It was a dish that hit directly at one's pleasure centre, as did the well-matched wine – a charming 2010 rosé from Bartier Scholefield in the Okanagan.
Our silver medallist was Jan Hrabec of Crazyweed Kitchen in Canmore who won gold here in 2009. Her dish last night was stellar, exploring south-east Asian flavours and beautifully paired with the fresh, tangily citric Fumé Blanc from Peninsula Ridge Estates in Niagara. Hrabec set a pure, tremblingly tender piece of steamed sablefish over a vibrant peanut nahm jim sauce – a perfectly pitched balance of the sweet, sour and salty made with ginger, garlic, lime, coriander, palm sugar, peanuts and fermented fish sauce. Beside it were cubes of pork belly that had been braised, deep fried, tossed in tamarind and then rolled in lemongrass and chili, lending them a fabulously subtle chili heat that built in one's mouth. A garnish of chopped herbs and threads of chili finished the dish. The wine was asked to do double duty – cutting the richness of the pork andcradling the delicate fish: success on both counts.
Our gold medal dish was the work of Michael Dekker from Rouge restaurant. He called it a Foie Gras Sundae and that's exactly what it was, served merrily in a Martini glass with a jaunty poppyseed tuille. A ball of foie gras ice cream perched on top of a layer of candied oats and a stripe of reduced balsamic. Beneath that was a slice of foie gras torchon, firm as cold butter. At the bottom of the glass lurked rhubarb compote, its sweet-sharp tang and fruitiness the key to the success of the wine match and of the dish as one dug down, mixing the different components for each mouthful. So rich and sinful! Chef Dekker's wine was the 2008 Cabernet Icewine from Stratus in Niagara.
So we have another winner heading to Kelowna in February! That makes three becauseon Thursday, while I was busy in Winnipeg, another Gold Medal Plates gala was held in Montrealwith the judging presided over by Montreal GMP's Senior Judge, Robert Beauchemin. I will report on that shortly.
DAVID LAWRASON'S WINE REPORT
Whites Rule in Cowtown!
The third city in the 2011 Gold Medal Plates campaign was Calgary, and as we moved farther west the number of great B.C. wines increased, with a who’s who of big names from the Okanagan. And there were a surprising number of white wines in the room given we were in Canada’s beef capital.
For the Best of Show Award, I was joined for the judging by Jackie Cooke, president of the Sommelier Association of Calgary, and Tom Firth, wine writer with Wine Access magazine and a Canadian Wine Awards judge. The winner was Dirty Laundry 2010 Woo Woo Gewurztraminer from BC, a beautifully defined and balanced gewurz donated to Catch restaurant. The runner-up was the impeccable Stratus 2009 Red Icewine from Niagara, followed by Laughing Stock’s 2009 Blind Trust, a modern Bordeaux blend.
Other wines donated to the chefs included: Kettle Valley 2008 Gewurztraminer (BC), Bartier Scholefied 2010 Rose (BC), JoieFarm 2010 Noble Blend (BC), Inniskillin Okanagan 2009 Marsanne (BC), Peninsula Ridge 2009 Fume Blanc (ON), and Black Hills 2010 Viognier.
The following were donated for the VIP Reception and Celebration portions: L’Acadie Vineyards 2008 Brut Prestige (NS), Hillebrand Trius Brut (ON), Le Vieux Pin 2008 Adieu Pinot Noir (BC), Laughing Stock 2008 Portfolio, and the newly released Calliope Figure 8 2010 by Burrowing Owl (BC). Many thanks to all the wineries for making Calgary one of the richest wine cities on the tour.
2011 Competing Chefs Jared Alvey -
Petite |
2011 Judges James Chatto |
PAST GOLD MEDAL PLATES CALGARY WINNERS
2010
GOLD - DUNCAN LY -
Hotel Arts : Paired with Tantalus Winery
SILVER - SHAUN DESAULNIERS -
Belgo: Paired with Noble Ridge Winery
BRONZE - JUSTIN LEBOE -
Concorde Group: Paired with Laughing Stock Winery
2009
Gold: Chef Jan Hrabec, Crazyweed Kitchen
Silver: Chef Duncan Ly, Hotel Arts Raw Bar
Bronze: Chef Shaun Desaulniers, Belgo Brasserie
2008
Gold: Chef Hayato Okamitsu, Catch Restaurant
Silver: Chef Shaun Desaulniers, Belgo Brasserie
Bronze: Chef Theo Yeaman, Chef's Table at the Kensington Inn
2007
Gold: Chef Paul Rogalski, Rouge
Silver: Chef Duncan Ly, Hotel Arts Raw Bar
Bronze:Chef Scott Pohorelic, River Café
2006
Gold:Chef Michael Lyon, Giorgio’s Trattoria
Silver: Chef Cam Dobranski, Muse
Bronze: Chef Chris Grafton, Murietta’s
James Chatto's 2010 Report (www.jameschatto.com)
After two years at the Round-up Centre, Gold Medal Plates returned to the Hyatt Regency for its Calgary jamboree on Friday night. With yet another sold-out crowd on what is proving to be a record-breakingly successful campaign, the great ballroom was buzzing with energy. Jim Cuddy, Anne Lindsay and Colin James played as superbly as ever and Alexandre Bilodeau was greeted with a standing ovation as we remembered his awesome gold medal – the first gold ever won by a Canadian on Canadian soil. Indeed, the entire video of highlights from the Vancouver Olympics had the whole crowd cheering (and quite a few people becoming misty-eyed with patriotism).
Gastronomically, it was also a most memorable occasion. Returning Canadian Culinary Champion Hayato Okamitsu was in the audience – he’s now teaching at SAIT – and last year’s Calgary gold medallist, Jan Hrabek of Crazyweed in Canmore provided delectable canapés for the VIP reception before being inducted into the Gold Medal Plates Hall of Fame. Standards were as high as we could remember among the ten competing chefs and only a fraction of a percentage point separated fourth place from third.
Our bronze medallist was chef Justin Leboe, whose new restaurant, Model Milk, is about to take Calgary by storm. He made a confit of steelhead trout, setting a square fillet of the meltingly tender fish against the side of a bowl and dusting it with fine black ashes made from charred leek and celery. A salad of tangy chanterelles, soft leek and miniature potato crisps was strewn with chopped dill, chives and marigold petals then a warm saffron potato cream was poured into the bowl from a jug to finish the beautifully presented and colourful dish. Chef Leboe’s interesting choice of wine – the rich, limpid 2009 Chardonnay from Laughing Stock winery in British Columbia – provoked a good deal of discussion among the judges.
The silver medal was awarded to chef Shaun Desaulniers of Belgo who has won both silver and bronze in years gone by. This time, he worked with Nagano pork tenderloin from Quebec, slow-cooked at 180 degrees until it was pink and trembling. The thick slice of meat was crowned with a wedge of St. André cheese so meltingly ripe it was almost a sauce. Tiny crunchy little sticks scattered on top looked like crisped potatoes but turned out to be Macintosh apple and there was more apple, chopped as a brunoise, among the perfectly cooked, bacon-flecked brown lentils that served as a pillow for the pork. A lovely apple cider gastrique had the sweet-tangy flavour to freshen the entire dish and worked very well indeed with the wine Chef Desaulniers chose, the 2007 Pinot Noir from Noble Ridge in B.C.
Our gold medallist had also stood on our podium twice before, earning silver in 2007 and 2009: chef Duncan Ly of Hotel Arts Raw Bar. The main event on his plate was a perfectly crisp, piping hot beignet stuffed with a rich, tangy mixture of tender braised beef cheek spiked with the intensity of sour cherry. While the flavour combination reminded Senior Judge John Gilchrist of classic Persian cooking the entire judiciary was full of admiration for the technical feat of making 550 beignets of such impeccable texture. The other major element on Chef Ly’s dish was some sleek, thickly sliced salmon gravlax cured with coriander and citrus zest and served over a lightly dressed salad of grated celeriac. Braised beef and gravlax? It was a courageous pairing that looked downright odd on paper but it somehow worked marvellously well thanks to a bridge ingredient – the finely minced shallots in a tomato confit vinaigrette prettied up with pink flower petals. The wine was also an effective ambassador between the meat and the fish – a great choice – Tantalus 2008 Pinot Noir from B.C.
I wish I had been able to present the gorgeous etched-steel 18-karat gold winner’s plate to chef Ly up there on the podium but he had already left the building, rushing home to be with his wife and their first baby, born just 24 hours earlier. Sous chef Colin Metcalfe accepted the trophy on his chef’s behalf.
So now we have six champions lined up for the Canadian Culinary Championships next February in the Okanagan – with only Ottawa-Gatineau and St. John’s remaining in what has been, in this reporter’s opinion, the most exciting Gold Medal Plates campaign ever.
CALGARY EVENT SUMMARY 2009
Well, we made it - the divided GMP team flying in from Montreal and Ottawa and reuniting in Calgary for our gala in the vastness of the BMO Centre (formerly the Roundup Centre). A tremendous group of athletes were the stars of the evening led by the incomparable Catriona Le may Doan as MC. Matt Dusk was smoother than smooth as he crooned to the crowd of over 600 guests. For the VIP reception, last year's gold medal winner and Canadian Culinary Champion, Hayato Okamitsu of Catch, in Calgary, reprised one of his great dishes from the Championship, an amazingly tender cut of beef cooked sous vide and garnished with a lobster and orange salad. The dish set the standard and the competing chefs rose to the challenge! Here are the three podium plates. Our bronze medal was awarded to Shaun Desaulniers of Belgo Brasserie. He played with the iconic Canadian flavours of pork, beans, beer and maple syrup in a most delicious way, braising pork belly for hours in maple-infused beer. He set the meat on a base of perfectly seasoned white bean purée and added a rich reduction of the braising liquid and a morsel of house-cured bacon to complete the dish. 
What match could be better than the beer the pork was braised in - Sap Vampire Maple Lager from Amber's brewery in Edmonton. The silver medal went to another longstanding local competitor, Duncan Ly of Hotel Arts Raw Bar. Chef Ly also chose pork belly as his central element, lightly smoking it before long, slow sous vide cooking left it magnificently tender. On top of the pork, separated by a crisp net of potato galette, lay a slice of baby squid stuffed with soft, mild chorizo sausage and that in turn was crowned by the squid's tentacles, like a surreal little crown. It was the third component of the dish that brought the others together - a rich and silky-smooth porcini purée that also formed a great flavour bridge into the wine, a fruity, spicy 2007 Pinot Noir from Quail's Gate Vineyard in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley. Cheers and applause greeted the announcement of our gold medal winner, Chef Jan Hrabec from Crazyweed Kitchen in Canmore. She gave us a roulade of braised Noble Farm duck, the pulled meat full of sweet juices, subtle curry spices and a hint of orange. A wilted chard leaf bound the duck into a timbale and Hrabec topped it with crispy filaments of fried onion and sweet potato and a sweetly glazed popadom "hat." The little tower was built on a delicious foundation of perfectly textured roasted organic sweet potato that held it above a pool of the braising liquid, reduced to a gently spiced sauce. Yellow slices of pickled garlic were strewn around the base. As a wine match, Chef Hrabec chose a young 2008 Pinot Noir from Road 13 Vineyards in the Okanagan, its light body and fruit flavours refreshing the palate beautifully. Congratulations to all the competitors! This evening was another example of great cooking from the west. Best of luck to Chef Hrabec as she goes on to the Canadian Culinary Championship in Vancouver - less than a month away!
CANADIAN WINE INDUSTRY STEPS UP TO THE PODIUM
By donating over 325 cases of wine to the seven city Gold Medal Plates culinary competitions and the Canadian Culinary Championships this fall, the Canadian wine, beer and spirits industry has contributed close to $100,000 in support of Canada's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Sixty-five wineries stepped up to either pair wines with the competing chefs or provide Canadian Wine Awards gold medalists to VIP receptions at the events. Please see the list of donating wineries, city by city, below or at www.goldmedalplates.com.
The list includes wineries owned by Vincor Canada, official wine sponsor of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Sponsorship however was not involved in deciding which wines were served by the chefs or at the VIP receptions. Each chef selected their wine independently as the success of the food-and-wine pairing was part of the judges' scoring process.
Since 2004, Gold Medal Plates has raised over $3.5 million dollars for Canada's Olympians. The program is designed to encourage and showcase Canadian excellence in the areas of sport, food and wine and entertainment, and has evolved to become the leading culinary competition in Canada!
The Winners in 2009
After local competitions in St. John's, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, the 2009 Gold Medal Plates campaign ended with the Canadian Culinary Championships in Vancouver on November 28.
The 2009 Canadian Culinary Champion is Mathieu Cloutier of Kitchen Galerie in Montreal, who paired with Huff Estate 2007 South Bay Chardonnay from Prince Edward County in Ontario. The silver medalist was David Lee of Nota Bene in Toronto, who paired with 13th Street 2008 June Vineyard Riesling from Niagara. Completing the sweep for Ontario wine, the bronze went to Matthew Carmichael of Restaurant 18 in Ottawa, who paired with Closson Chase 2007 South Clos Chardonnay, also from Prince Edward County.
The winery that won the gold in its respective city competition was automatically invited to the Canadian Culinary Championships as a partner with the competing chef. The other participating CCC wineries included the Okanagan's Road 13 which took gold in both the Calgary and Vancouver competitions, Joie Farm (its 2008 Rose took the gold in Edmonton and was also poured in Vancouver) and Hillebrand Estates (its Trius 2006 Red from Niagara took the gold in St. John's).
The Mystery Wine Pairing Competition
One of the most exciting elements of the Canadian Culinary Championships was a Mystery Wine Pairing held at the trendy Republic nightclub in Vancouver. The chefs were given an unlabeled bottle and had 24 hours to shop, prepare and serve a matching dish to 200 guests. Montreal's Mathieu Cloutier was the People's Choice winner of this leg of the competition.
The Mystery Wine was revealed to be Black Hills 2008 Alibi, a crisp, complex sauvignon blanc and semillon blend that provided great refreshment with all the chefs creations then dovetailed beautifully with the best of the evening. Black Hills donated 10 cases to this event, plus another four cases to the Vancouver event, making this premier Okanagan winery the largest single donor to Gold Medal Plates 2009. Many thanks to winery President, Glenn Fawcett, who also generously donated to the Live Auction.
Canadian Wine Awards Gold Medalists Showcase
This year, Gold Medal Plates also teamed up with the Wine Access magazine Canadian Wine Awards to provide an opportunity for almost 2,000 VIP guests to taste gold medalists from the 2009 Awards programs. Wineries that had won gold were asked to donate six bottles to one or more cities, and most came through with flying colours. Those wineries are also listed below, and complete results of the Canadian Wine Awards can be found in the December issue of Wine Access magazine now on newsstands.
The Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards participating wineries:
Burrowing Owl, BC
Fielding Estate, ON
Hillebrand (Trius), ON
Kacaba Vineyards, ON
Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, BC
Quail's Gate Winery, BC
Road 13 Vineyards, BC
Rosehall Run Winery, ON
Sandhill Wines, BC. (CWA Winery of the Year)
See Ya Later Ranch, BC
Seven Stones, BC
Stag's Hollow, BC
Thirty Bench, ON
Thornhaven Estates, BC
The Wines - City by City
St. John's
Trius 2006 Red, Niagara Peninsula, ON - GOLD
Norman Hardie 2007 Pinot Noir, Prince Edward County, ON - SILVER
Prospect Winery 2008 Larch Tree Riesling, Okanagan Valley, B.C. - BRONZE
Domaine Pinnacle Apple Ice Wine, QC
Iceberg Vodka, NL
Inniskillin 2007 Cabernet Franc, Niagara, ON
Mission Hill 2008 Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley, BC
Peninsula Ridge 2007 Reserve Chardonnay, Niagara, ON
Rodrigues Markland Cottage Sedna Vodka, NL
Montreal
Huff Estates 2008 Merlot, ON - GOLD
Malivoire 2007 Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, ON - SILVER
Rosehall Run 2007 Cuvée County Chardonnay, Prince Edward County, ON - BRONZE
Black Prince 2005 First Crush Chardonnay, Prince Edward County, ON
Creemore Springs Brewery, ON
Norman Hardie 2007 Pinot Noir, Prince Edward County, ON
Val Caudalies 2008 Vidal Demi-Sec, QC
Wayne Gretzky No. 99 Estates 2007 Merlot, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Wayne Gretzky No.99 Estates2007 Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Ottawa
Closson Chase 2007 South Clos Chardonnay, Prince Edward County, ON - GOLD
Vignoble Les Pervenches 2007 Chardonnay Seyval Blanc, QC - SILVER
Southbrook 2005 Cabernet Merlot, Niagara Peninsula, ON - BRONZE
Angel's Gate 2007 Riesling, ON
Cave Spring 2007 Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Chateau des Charmes 2006 Cabernet-Merlot, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Coyote's Run 2007 Red Paw Pinot Noir, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Peller Estates 2007 Meritage, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Stratus 2007 Wildass White, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Tawse 2006 Echoes White, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Toronto
13th Street 2008 Riesling June's Vineyard, Niagara Peninsula, ON - GOLD
Daniel Lenko 2007 Gewurztraminer, Niagara Peninsula, ON - SILVER
Cave Spring 2007 Estate Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, ON - BRONZE
Chateau des Charmes 2007 Riesling and 2006 Gamay Noir, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Closson Chase 2007 South Clos Chardonnay, Prince Edward County, ON
Fielding Estate 2008 Pinot Gris, Beamsville Bench, ON
Henry of Pelham 2007 Baco Noir, Niagara Peninsula, ON
Hidden Bench 2007 Terroir Caché, Beamsville Bench, ON
Mission Hill 2006 Reserve Merlot, Okanagan, B.C.
Organized Crime 2008 Riesling Reserve, Beamsville Bench, ON
Edmonton
JoieFarm 2008 Rose, Okanagan Valley, BC - GOLD
Kettle Valley 2008, Chardonnay, Naramata, BC - SILVER
Road 13 2007 Syrah 2007, Okanagan Valley BC - BRONZE
Cedar Creek 2006 Meritage, Okanagan Valley, BC
Gehringer Brother PR 2007 Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, BC
Malivoire 2008 Ladybug Rose, Beamsville Bench, ON
Mission Hill 2006 S.L.C Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, BC
Meyer Family Tribute Series Bill Reid 2007 Chardonnay, Naramata, BC
Morning Bay 2006 Pinot Noir, Pender Island, BC
Quails' Gate 2007 Old Vine Fosch, Okanagan Valley, BC
Calgary
Road 13 Vineyards 2007 Syrah, Okanagan Valley, BC - GOLD
Quail's Gate Vineyard 2007 Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, BC - SILVER
SAP Vampire Maple Lager - BRONZE
Black Hills 2007 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, BC
Blue Mountain 2008 Gamay Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, BC
Gray Monk Estate Winery, 2007 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Laughing Stock Vineyards 2008 Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, BC
Nk'mip Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, BC
Osoyoos Larose 2004 Petalos, Okanagan Valley, BC
Vancouver
Road 13 2008 Viognier Roussanne Marsanne, Okanagan Valley, BC - GOLD
Tantalus 2008 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, BC - SILVER
Black Hills 2008 Alibi, Okanagan Valley, BC - BRONZE
Blasted Church 2008 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, BC
Clos du Soleil 2007 Meritage, Similkameen Valley, BC
8th Generation 200 Riesling, Okanagan Valley, BC
Joie Farm 2007 Reserve Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, BC
Le Vieux Pin 2008 Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Okanagan Valley, BC
Stoneboat 2007 Pinotage, Okanagan Valley, BC
Wild Goose 2008 Autumm Gold, Okanagan Valley, BC
For more information contact:
David Lawrason
National Wine Advisor
Gold Medal Plates
Phone: 613-885-4489
Email: david@davidlawrason.com