COMPETING CHEFS FOR 2008 | ATHLETES | WINERIES |
AUCTION | 2007 EVENT SUMMARYEDMONTON
Chair: Bernie Kollman
Gold Medal Plates is a celebration of Canadian excellence in cuisine, wine and athletic achievements.
Gold Medal Plates Edmonton
Thursday November 6, 2008
Shaw Conference Centre
To order tickets please download the following 3-page sales package:
Download Sales Package (PDF Reader Required - Download Adobe Acrobat)
Or contact:
Lisa Pasin
200, 10924 - 107 Avenue
Edmonton, AB, T5H 0X5
780-448-5957 - phone
780-428-1030 - fax
E: lisa@comlinks.ca
Michael Brown - The Westin Edmonton
David Cruz - Sage
Andrew Ihasz - Fairmont Hotel Macdonald
Jeff Jackson - Century Grill
Brian Leadbetter - Murrieta's Bar & Grill
Blair Lebsack - Madison's
Frank Olson - Red Ox Inn
Simon Smotkowicz - Shaw Conference Centre
Sonny Sung - Sorrentino's
Eric Wah - The King & I
Judges:
Clayton Folkers, NAIT chef educator
Gail Hall, Educator
Mary Bailey, Edmonton City Palate publisher
Judy Wu, Wild Tangerine, Gold Medal Winner '07
To be determined.
2008 WINERIESTo be determined.
"Gold Medal Plates was founded to promote awareness in the excellence of Canadian cuisine and wine, while raising funds for Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes. My job is to put Canadian chefs and Canadian wineries in touch with each other and to ensure the Gold Medal Plates food and wine pairings truly reflect excellence. This program carries forward my personal goals expressed through the founding of Canadian Wine Awards in 2001 - to let Canadians know that a great industry is growing and flourishing under their feet. I first began to sense the potential and need for national wine pride based on quality as a wine columnist for the Globe and Mail in the mid-nineties, prompting me to make Wine Access a national publication in 1997. Gold Medal Plates is, for me, the logical next step in putting the idea directly on to Canada's tables."
David Lawrason
National Wine Advisor
To be determined.
Running smooth, running sweet - thanks very much to event planner Lisa Pasin - the Edmonton Gold Medal Plates gala was a total triumph with vast sums raised for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, coaxed from a merry, civil and very well fed crowd of over 650 - the largest number of tickets sold in the whole country. And Edmonton provided us with another first - of which more later.
Touring the great hall at the Shaw Conference Centre where the chefs set up their stations, I found them all keen and itching to get started by half past four! The judges and culinary jury were also raring to go but it would have been folly to miss Makoto Ono's awesome little canapés served during the VIP reception and we all exercised a commendable patience, listening to sledge hockey gold medallist Paul Rosen's inspiring words and watching young athletes leap hurdles in our midst (the VIP salon is a large room). Then, as our watches tolled six, we raced for the elevators and the fun began. Ninety minutes later, the judges met and found an extraordinary unanimity in the scores we awarded.
Taking the bronze medal was David Cruz of Sage who offered a perfectly cooked, pan-seared wild Baja scallop dressed with a delectable, almost puréed ragout of black truffle and chanterelles. A stripe of a robustly flavoured purée of roasted butternut squash decorated the plate alongside a fleeting moment of citrus salad. The pretty presentation was finished with a little sauce like the essence of chanterelle and a flourish of green basil oil. It was a beautifully balanced presentation and worked extremely well with the wine Cruz chose - Mount Boucherie 2006 gewurztraminer from Kelowna.
Our silver medal was awarded to another seafood dish, presented by Frank Olson of Red Ox Inn. In the starring role was a giant Australian prawn, marinated for a moment with orange juice and then sautéed very briefly leaving it tender, juicy and altogether irresistible. Beneath it lay a slice of a lobster-and-scallop sausage, poached and then fried, with a charmingly lightweight texture. Olson added a loosely wrapped tortellini filled with a mixture of apple, leek, mascarpone and dill and surrounded everything with a sauce of beet juice quickened with butter, ginger and vinegar. Grey Monk Latitude 50 rosé 2005 proved the best wine match of the entire evening.
Our gold medal went to Judy Wu of Wild Tangerine, the first woman ever to win a Gold Medal Plates event. She prepared an "Olympian Duck Trio" that began with impeccably tender slices of duck breast that had been smoked with jasmine tea, acquiring a subtle but exotic aroma. A miniature Vietnamese-style salad roll contained duck foie gras refreshed by chopped lettuce. The third component was a perfect little potsticker filled with minced shiitake mushroom and duck confit, its flavour ringing out across the palate like a carillon of bells. Wu decorated her plate with a tangy mandarin orange mayonnaise and a spoonful of bright green chili jelly that started sweet and finished with a sly spicy heat. The wine she chose worked well with all elements of the dish, especially the tea-smoked breast - Lake Breeze Seven Poplars 2005 Pinot Noir from the Okanagan.
Judy Wu will be coming to Toronto in February to take part in the Canadian Culinary Championship, pitting her skills against our other gold medal winners, Anthony Walsh of Canoe (Toronto), Martin Ruiz Salvador of Fleur de Sel (Halifax), Roland Ménard of Manoir Hovey (Montréal), Pino Posteraro of Cioppino's (Vancouver), Paul Rogalski of Rouge (Calgary) and whomsoever should emerge as the victor at our final event on Thursday in Ottawa-Gatineau.
James Chatto
National Culinary Advisor
Gold Medal Plates
The following chefs have been selected by Edmonton's top food and wine critics and will compete for a gold, silver and bronze medal.
Paul Campbell - Café de Ville
David Cruz - Sage
Blair Lebsack - Madisons Grill
Kevin Lendrum - Il Portico Ristorante
Shonn Oborowsky - Characters Fine Dining
Frank Olson - Red Ox Inn
Darcy Radies - The Blue Pear
Simon Smotkowicz - Shaw Conference Centre
Tim Wood - The Eco Café
Judy Wu - Wild Tangerine Cucina Domestica
Judges:
Judy Schultz - Edmonton Journal food columnist
Clayton Folkers - NAIT chef educator
Gail Hall - Educator
Mary Bailey - Edmonton City Palate publisher
Michael Brown - Westin Hotel (Gold Medal Plates '06 Winner)
2006 Winner - Michael Brown will be a guest judge and will be inducted into the GMP Hall of Fame
Carrie Anton - Goal Ball
Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games - Gold medallist
Athens 2004 Paralympic Games - Gold medallist
Barb Armbrust - Rowing
Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games - Silver medallist
Tara Berrett (Croxford) - Field Hockey
Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games
Tim Berrett - Athletics
Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games
Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
Athens 2004 Olympic Games
Judy Diduck - Ice Hockey
Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games - Silver medallist
Viviane Forest - Goal Ball
Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games - Gold medallist
Athens 2004 Paralymlpic Games - Gold medallist
Cheryl Gibson - Swimming
Montréal 1976 Olympic Games - Silver medallist
Moscow 1980 Olympic Games
Jujie Luan - Fencing
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
Lori-Ann Muenzer - Cycling
Athens 2004 Olympic Games - Gold medallist
Ross Norton - Wheelchair Basketball
Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games - Gold medallist
Athens 2004 Paralympic Games - Gold medallist
Karen Percy Lowe - Alpine
Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games - Double Bronze medallist
Georgette Reed - Athletics
Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games
Paul Rosen - Sledge Hockey
Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games - Gold medallist
Kyle Shewfelt - Gymnastics
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Athens 2004 Olympic Games - Gold medallist
Simon Whitfield - Triathlon
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games - Gold medallist
Athens 2004 Olympic Games
2007 WINERIES"Gold Medal Plates was founded to promote awareness in the excellence of Canadian cuisine and wine, while raising funds for Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes. My job is to put Canadian chefs and Canadian wineries in touch with each other and to ensure the Gold Medal Plates food and wine pairings truly reflect excellence. This program carries forward my personal goals expressed through the founding of Canadian Wine Awards in 2001 - to let Canadians know that a great industry is growing and flourishing under their feet. I first began to sense the potential and need for national wine pride based on quality as a wine columnist for the Globe and Mail in the mid-nineties, prompting me to make Wine Access a national publication in 1997. Gold Medal Plates is, for me, the logical next step in putting the idea directly on to Canada's tables."
David Lawrason
National Wine Advisor
Gold Medal Plates would like to thank the following wineries for their generous donations to the 2007 campaign:
| WINERY | WINE |
| Quail's Gate | 2005 Old Vines Foch |
| Mt. Boucherie | 2005 Summit Reserve |
| Henry of Pelham | 2005 Baco Noir |
| Mission Hill Winery | 2005 Shiraz Reserve |
| Gray Monk Estate Winery | 2005 'Latitude 50' Rose |
| Lake Breeze Winery | 2005 Seven Poplars Pinot Noir VQA |
| Red Rooster Winery | 2005 Pinot Noir |
| Mount Boucherie | 2006 Gewurztraminer |
| Gehringer Brothers | 2006 Ehrenfelser |
The Edmonton Gold Medal Plates team would like to thank the following donors for their generous donations to our Live Auction, Silent Auction and our Rare Wine Auction.
National Live Auction Donors
Adam van Koeverden
Air Canada
Alex Tagliani
Chef Makoto Ono
Chef Shaun Desaulniers
Chef Yousef Djelab
EPCOR
GE: General Electric Canada
James Chatto
Kyle Shewfelt
Lori-Ann Muenzer
Mike Van Dyke
Mme Francine Martin
Paul Rosen
Robert Head
Simon Whitfield
Sixthman
Tara McCarty and Paul Vickars
Team Tagliani and Professional Sports Management
The Barenaked Ladies
The French Laundry
Tim Parker
VINCOR
Paired Wine Donors
International Cellars Inc.
Lake Breeze Winery
Medallion Wine Marketing Inc.
Mission Hill Winery
Pacific Wine & Spirits
Regional Live Auction Donors
Café de Ville
Characters Fine Dining
Il Portico Ristorante
Jack's Grill
Kevin Lowe and Karen Percy Lowe
Madison's Grill
Chef Michael Brown
Red Ox Inn
Rob Filipchuk
Sage Restaurant
Chef Simon Smotkowicz
The Blue Pear
Wild Tangerine Cucina Domestica
Wine/Silent Auction Donors
Bin 104
Century Hospitality Group
Condon Barr Food Equipment
Denise Brisson
Don & Betty Carlson
Don Wheaton
Douglas Goss
Dr. Bob Westbury
Dr. David & Brenda Hewko
Dr. P.J. White
Foster's Wine Estates
Gurvinder Bhatia
Liquor Depot
Lisa Kartusch
Maxxium Canada
Morrison Bowmore Distillers
Pacific Wine & Spirits
Peter Jackson and Bruce Ambrose
Red Ox Inn
Rob Filipchuk
Sam Abouhassan
Scott Parker
The Wine Cellar
Vines Riverbend Wine Merchants
Wild Tangerine Cucina Domestica
Winspeer International
Volunteer Athletes
Alberta Table Tennis Association
Edmonton Fencing Club - Jujie Luan - Head Coach and Olympian, Sam Hardwicke-Brown, Sarah Morrison and Adrian Yapp
Ian Diaz and Chris Lemire
The Alberta Weightlifting Association - Justin Byers, Brennan Link, Quinton Kroschinski
University of Alberta Athletics
Raffle Donors
Bob Westbury
Edmonton Airports
Manulife Place
Other Supporters
Big Top Tent Rentals
Bill Brown Canadian Remarketing Group / ADI Systems
Canadian Ging Wu Kung Fu Martial Art Association
Edmonton Eskimo Cheer Team
Elegant Touches
EPCOR
J. Alleyne Photography
Mark Connolly, CBC Olympic Commentator
NAIT Culinary Students
Pierre and Dianne Tremblay
Sandra Huculak
Showtech Power and Lighting
Susan Chibri
Volunteers - EPCOR staff
William Huff Advertising
World Cup Triathlon Edmonton