Media
11 - Brookstreet chef second in national competition
The Ottawa Citizen
February 6, 2007
Chef Michael Blackie of Kanata's Brookstreet hotel took second place at a prestigious national competition Saturday to raise money for Olympic athletes. The silver Gold Medal Plates victory in British Columbia places him in the ranks of Canada's very best chefs.
The gruelling three-day event at the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa involved cooking with surprise ingredients, preparing food to match a mystery wine and presenting a final plate for a gala on Saturday evening.
In all, seven chefs from across Canada, each allowed to bring only limited support staff, qualified to compete by making a short list during a series of regional competitions held earlier across the country.
Winning the top gold award was chef Makoto Ono of Gluttons restaurant in Winnipeg, while the bronze went to chef Mark McEwan of North 44 restaurant in Toronto.
Mr. McEwan is known to TV viewers as host of The Heat on Food Network Canada.
"It was fantastic to go up against some of the best chefs in Canada," Mr. Blackie said in a telephone interview from Whistler.
Others on Mr. Blackie's cooking team included sous-chef Clifford Lyness and chef de cuisine Ian Bilodeau. Brookstreet food and beverage director Vincent Cotte was also there to provide background knowledge of wines.
The Brookstreet team was the only one that worked off-site in the kitchens at nearby Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Mr. Blackie said his team worked hard, putting in a lot of hours over a three-day period.
"It was a euphoric experience. We're ecstatic. I was only a few points away from the gold. It was very, very close."
Mr. Blackie was selected to represent Ottawa after winning the regional Gold Medal Plates competition in November at the Hilton Lac-Leamy, where he was judged best among eight teams from the area.
Other chefs competing at Whistler were Ray Bear of Gio restaurant in Halifax, Michael Brown of the Westin in Edmonton, Robert Clark of C restaurant in Vancouver, and Michael Lyon of Giorgio's Trattoria in Banff.
Each chef was given a black box with surprise ingredients they had to use that included scallops, venison, quince (a tart fruit), sweet peppers and dulce (a seaweed).
In the second competition, chefs had to prepare food to match Jackson-Triggs Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve 2004 (a full-bodied Canadian red wine).
Finally, each prepared a dish for the closing gala on Saturday.
"Everyone thought Michael Blackie's food was spectacular," said Anne DesBrisay, the Citizen's restaurant critic and a judge at the event.
At the gala, she said, Mr. Blackie presented a very complicated dish that included pancetta-wrapped loin of rabbit on cauliflower puree, Quebec veal encrusted with morel mushrooms with foie gras and apple cheddar foam, and egg poached at precisely
147 F (64 C) for 90 minutes, served with lobster, truffles and masago, a type of caviar.
For the wine pairing, Mr. Blackie matched the Jackson-Triggs wine with cherry-smoked black cod and pulled veal cheeks. "It was a beautiful dish," Ms. DesBrisay said from Whistler. "It was my favourite of his, and it was very complicated."
In the end, she said, the top three chefs were very close. The winner, Mr. Ono, presented tuna tartare with beets, olive oil-poached tuna with black olive candy on a spicy sweet potato puree and caesar pancetta with pea-smoked and air-dried tuna.
"Everybody was impressed by the clarity of his flavours and his artistry on the plate," Ms. DesBrisay said.
Gold Medal Plates competitions are held across Canada to raise money for Canadian Olympic athletes.
In Ottawa, Mr. Blackie has gained a reputation among gastronomes as one of the city's most cutting-edge and innovative chefs since he designed and opened the kitchens when Brookstreet opened in 2003.
11 - Brookstreet chef second in national competition
The Ottawa Citizen
February 6, 2007
Chef Michael Blackie of Kanata's Brookstreet hotel took second place at a prestigious national competition Saturday to raise money for Olympic athletes. The silver Gold Medal Plates victory in British Columbia places him in the ranks of Canada's very best chefs.
The gruelling three-day event at the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa involved cooking with surprise ingredients, preparing food to match a mystery wine and presenting a final plate for a gala on Saturday evening.
In all, seven chefs from across Canada, each allowed to bring only limited support staff, qualified to compete by making a short list during a series of regional competitions held earlier across the country.
Winning the top gold award was chef Makoto Ono of Gluttons restaurant in Winnipeg, while the bronze went to chef Mark McEwan of North 44 restaurant in Toronto.
Mr. McEwan is known to TV viewers as host of The Heat on Food Network Canada.
"It was fantastic to go up against some of the best chefs in Canada," Mr. Blackie said in a telephone interview from Whistler.
Others on Mr. Blackie's cooking team included sous-chef Clifford Lyness and chef de cuisine Ian Bilodeau. Brookstreet food and beverage director Vincent Cotte was also there to provide background knowledge of wines.
The Brookstreet team was the only one that worked off-site in the kitchens at nearby Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Mr. Blackie said his team worked hard, putting in a lot of hours over a three-day period.
"It was a euphoric experience. We're ecstatic. I was only a few points away from the gold. It was very, very close."
Mr. Blackie was selected to represent Ottawa after winning the regional Gold Medal Plates competition in November at the Hilton Lac-Leamy, where he was judged best among eight teams from the area.
Other chefs competing at Whistler were Ray Bear of Gio restaurant in Halifax, Michael Brown of the Westin in Edmonton, Robert Clark of C restaurant in Vancouver, and Michael Lyon of Giorgio's Trattoria in Banff.
Each chef was given a black box with surprise ingredients they had to use that included scallops, venison, quince (a tart fruit), sweet peppers and dulce (a seaweed).
In the second competition, chefs had to prepare food to match Jackson-Triggs Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve 2004 (a full-bodied Canadian red wine).
Finally, each prepared a dish for the closing gala on Saturday.
"Everyone thought Michael Blackie's food was spectacular," said Anne DesBrisay, the Citizen's restaurant critic and a judge at the event.
At the gala, she said, Mr. Blackie presented a very complicated dish that included pancetta-wrapped loin of rabbit on cauliflower puree, Quebec veal encrusted with morel mushrooms with foie gras and apple cheddar foam, and egg poached at precisely
147 F (64 C) for 90 minutes, served with lobster, truffles and masago, a type of caviar.
For the wine pairing, Mr. Blackie matched the Jackson-Triggs wine with cherry-smoked black cod and pulled veal cheeks. "It was a beautiful dish," Ms. DesBrisay said from Whistler. "It was my favourite of his, and it was very complicated."
In the end, she said, the top three chefs were very close. The winner, Mr. Ono, presented tuna tartare with beets, olive oil-poached tuna with black olive candy on a spicy sweet potato puree and caesar pancetta with pea-smoked and air-dried tuna.
"Everybody was impressed by the clarity of his flavours and his artistry on the plate," Ms. DesBrisay said.
Gold Medal Plates competitions are held across Canada to raise money for Canadian Olympic athletes.
In Ottawa, Mr. Blackie has gained a reputation among gastronomes as one of the city's most cutting-edge and innovative chefs since he designed and opened the kitchens when Brookstreet opened in 2003.