Chef duo crowned national champions

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This article was published 15/11/2018 (2623 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Competing in a battle-style cooking competition in Toronto last month, two Assiniboine Community College Culinary Arts students emerged victorious, earning the title “Canada’s Best New Student Chefs.”

Jessi Coulter and Kaitlin McCarthy — a team of second year culinary arts students — competed in Taste Canada Cooks the Books, with their award-winning dish: Cast Iron Seared Hudson River Arctic Char with Smoked Maple Birch Glaze on Heritage Grains. They were the only team at the event from Manitoba.

Prior to entering the tournament, the duo were provided a list of ingredients from which to build their menu from scratch, based on contemporary Canadian cuisine.

Wanting to celebrate their school, community and indigenous culture the students crafted a dish that brought these three things together.

Deciding on their protein first — arctic char — the students then got to work experimenting with ingredients.

The dish featured the fish arctic char smoked in maple birch syrup, giving it a good flavour and vibes, Coulter said.

The plate itself was served with the food items placed in a circle; a representation of the communities coming together.

“It’s just using your melon and what you find in your fridge to make something fabulous,” McCarthy said.

One of the more difficult aspects the students faced was that they had to use canola as their fat base, in place of butter.

Rising to the occasion, the girls created a canola bur blanc sauce to pair with their dish.

“We invented a new sauce,” Coulter said. “It was fun creating it.”

Having produced their recipe from scratch, Coulter and McCarthy spent the weeks leading up the competition preparing for the big day.

In this time, they became masters of their recipe so they could execute it perfectly when they finally arrived in Toronto.

“The more you look at a dish, you’re just going to find something else to make it better,” Coulter said.

Their hard work let them get into the competition confident with their game faces on.

Arriving in Toronto on Oct. 26 the duo had two days to prepare for the competition.

Bringing all their ingredients, equipment, plates, utensils and recipe to Toronto, they faced off against eight other culinary teams from across Canada in the open kitchen of restaurant Mildred’s Temple Kitchen on Oct. 28. It was the students’ first time working in an open kitchen environment. As an open kitchen, the crowd was able to chat and ask questions as they cooked.

The 45-minute event was an adrenaline rush, and offered a fun opportunity to meet fellow chefs with the same passion for the art of cooking, McCarthy said.

“It was nerve wracking, but it was enjoyable. Everybody made you feel at home,” she said.

Saturday was spent exploring the city, touring the kitchens of the Fairmont and Shangri-La Hotels and shopping for the fresh ingredients they needed for their dish.

Having the opportunity to tour the high-end kitchens in Toronto was an especially compelling experience, Coulter said, because it served as an introduction to some of the up and coming food trends.

Touring the market for ingredients allowed the duo to discover new items they could feature with their dish. Coulter said finding purple and white radishes was a fun ingredient to feature with the arctic char.

“I was really happy with how that turned out; the purple looked really nice,” Coulter said.

They also snuck in some time for some Toronto sightseeing.

After competing on Sunday, the young chefs had to wait for the gala the following day to find out how they fared in the cook-off, with both agreeing that it was surprising and humbling to learn they had won.

With the cooking contest behind them, McCarthy and Coulter now have their eyes set on obtaining their Red Seal certification.

Culinary arts instructor Bryan Hendricks was proud to see his students find success at Taste Canada Cooks.

“It was a really nice dish; it was really well balanced,” he said. “It really showcased Manitoba ingredients.”

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