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JUST ANNOUNCED: GOLD MEDAL PLATES 2010 ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS
In 2010, Gold Medal Plates is pleased to announce that National Entertainment Advisor Jim Cuddy will produce a stellar 30 minute entertainment show featuring:
- Rock and Roll entertainers Colin James, Barney Bentall, Sean McCann (of Great Big Sea), Anne Lindsay of Blue Rodeo, Holly Cole (tbc) and Jim Cuddy
- Comedian and TV Host Ron James
- Opening Ceremonies uber-poet Shane Koyczam (tbc)
- Comedian/Dancers Rex Harrington and Sheila McCartney (tbc)
Performers Include:
| Edmonton, AB | Jim Cuddy and Colin James |
| Vancouver, BC | Colin James and Barney Bentall |
| Saskatoon, SK | Jim Cuddy and Barney Bentall |
| Toronto, ON | Jim Cuddy, Barney Bentall and Holly Cole |
| Calgary, AB | Jim Cuddy and Colin James |
| Ottawa, ON | Jim Cuddy and Holly Cole |
| St. John's, NFLD | Jim Cuddy and Sean McCann |
MAY 1ST, 2010: 2010 DATES ANNOUNCED
| Edmonton, AB | Wednesday October 27th | Shaw Conference Centre |
| Vancouver, BC | Friday October 29th | The Sheraton Wall Centre |
| Saskatoon, SK | Saturday October 30th | TCU Place |
| Toronto, ON | Thursday November 4th | Metro Toronto Convention Centre |
| Calgary, AB | Friday November 12th | The Hyatt Regency Calgary |
| Ottawa, ON | Tuesday November 16th | National Arts Centre |
| St. John's, NFLD | Thursday November 18th | St. John's Convention Centre |
| Montreal, QC | TBD | TBD |
| Kelowna, BC | February 17, 18, 19, 2011 | Gold Medal Plates Finale Canadian Culinary Championships |
Canadian Culinary Champion Crowned
Canadian Culinary Challenge 2009 Report
By James Chatto (Gold Medal Plates National Culinary Advisor and Head Judge)
Participating chefs (in alphabetical order):
Chef Nathin Bye from Lazia in Edmonton
Chef Matthew Carmichael from 18 in Ottawa
Chef Mathieu Cloutier from Kitchen Galerie in Montreal
Chef Rob Feenie from Cactus Club Café in Vancouver
Chef Jan Hrabec from Crazyweed Kitchen in Canmore
Chef Ivan Kyutukchiev from Bianca's in St. John's
Chef David Lee from Nota Bene in Toronto
The Wine Pairing Challenge
The Canadian Culinary Championships began on Thursday night with a reception at Gotham steak house in Vancouver. Gold Medal Plates CEO, Stephen Leckie, quickly recapped the regional campaign that had brought the champion chefs from seven Canadian cities to Vancouver. James Chatto's dream team of judges was introduced - the senior judge from each city (Karl Wells from St. John's, Robert Beauchemin from Montreal, Anne DesBrisay from Ottawa, Sasha Chapman from Toronto, Clayton Folkers from Edmonton, John Gilchrist from Calgary and Sid Cross from Vancouver) plus culinary referee, Andrew Morrison. Each chef then stepped forward and introduced the crowd to his or her sous chefs. And we met some of the students from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, two of whom would be assisting each chef.
An anonymous bottle of the mystery wine, chosen by GMP's National Wine Advisor, David Lawrason, was given to each chef and the rules were reiterated. The chefs were given 24 hours to create a dish that would be a perfect match for the wine. They were told to make enough of the dish to feed 250 people and handed a meagre $400 to spend on ingredients. Furthermore, they had to buy all their ingredients at Granville Island Market, the most expensive grocery-shopping precinct in Vancouver. They had to prepare their dish in the friendly confines of the Dirty Apron cooking school and taxi the food to the venue, a hip nightclub on Granville called the Republic.
This was truly a challenge for our intrepid chefs - and, it turned out, for the judges. The wine itself was a fascinating test - Black Hills 2008 Alibi, an Okanagan blend of 80 percent Sauvignon Blanc with 20 percent Semillon; half the Semillon had seen some oak. It was a tight, acidic, Canadian Sauvignon but there were riches under the surface - herbal nuances, a gloss of ripe fruit hovering over the glass, plenty of citrus on the palate and a faint suggestion of spicy vanilla from the oak. Some chefs chose to challenge the wine's acidity with a dish that had its own strong acidity; others flattered the wine with a more mellow flavour and fattier textures, coaxing the Alibi's shy fruitiness and oaky spice into the open air.
Culinary Referee Andrew Morrison kept close tabs on the chefs and all of them came in just under budget (one chef spent $399.65). As the crowd gathered at the Republic, it was clear that the game was on. Two hours later, after the dust had settled, we had a leader in Mathieu Cloutier of Kitchen Galerie in Montreal but the other chefs were close on his heels and no one was lagging far behind. Many of the dishes were exceptionally skillful and delicious but not quite as good a match for the difficult wine.
Cloutier and his sous chef prepared a very pretty dish, a layered presentation of poached Dungeness crab, the juicy flesh tossed with mayonnaise, chives, yellow carrot and enhanced by a celeriac remoulade, held between two very crisp wontons for textural interest. One storey below, the judges found a julienne of braised veal tongue, its suave texture contrasted with a coarser moment of chorizo, its smoky edge just a whisper in the general splendour. On the plate, a basil and olive oil emulsion offered additional richness, with russet drops of the oil from the chorizo beading on the surface of the sauce. The topmost garnish reached out to the wine - a tiny jumble of confited lemon and orange zest, yellow beet and paper-thin dimes of pickled red carrot. On its own, the dish was spectacular but it also embraced the wine, the richer elements luring out flavours, though the basil emulsion and the pickled carrot came dangerously close to slapping the Sauvignon around.
Matthew Carmichael of Restaurant E18hteen in Ottawa took a different approach. He spent much of his allowance on gorgeous, creamy, meaty kushi oysters which he began to shuck as the competition began. Playing to the citrus face of the wine, he dressed the oysters plainly with a dot of the juice and flesh of yellow grapefruit and a trace of watercress. His second component was two small postage stamps of lightly seared tuna dressed with a loose salsa of raw corn kernels and cucumber brunoise in coconut milk spiked with cane sugar, rock salt and julienned kaffir lime leaf, topped with a couple of fingerling potato crisps. The tuna was a great match for the wine. But was the grapefruit on the oyster too bitter and pungent for the wine's more delicate citric character? The judges were divided over that one.
Rob Feenie of Cactus Club Café in Vancouver detected nascent sweetness and creaminess in the wine and determined to bring those qualities out. He made a tartare of raw scallops, chopping up the shellfish and tossing them with lemon zest and juice, a hint of jalapeño, celery and olive oil. This he smothered with a lukewarm moussey sauce of caramelized onion and some grated pecorino cheese. Dotted around the plate were orange-coloured steelhead caviar, espalette pepper and a sharp lemon dressing. Two tiny perfect toasts provided scrunch. It was a rich dish, well seasoned and the salty elements on the plate proved a nice balance to the wine's acidity.
David Lee of Nota Bene in Toronto presented his dainty dish in a small bowl. He paired a gorgeous sea scallop, lightly torched but still rare at heart, with a generous quantity of poached Dungeness crab. Acidity came from grapefruit, the flesh pulled apart into its tiny, juice-packed cells. A salad of crunchy fennel with coriander and dill added vegetal flavours that worked beautifully with the wine while miniature croutons gave unexpected crunch. The seafood bathed in a cold consommé made of Granville Island sake flavoured by the grapefruit and herbs.
Nathin Bye of Lazia in Edmonton was down at Granville Island Market before anyone else and managed to buy wild red snapper, which he cooked perfectly with a clover honey-infused mustard glaze. The small piece of fish was set atop a slice of fig and anise bread pudding and was topped with an autalfo mango and cippolini onion jam and prosciutto crisp. A dramatic green comma on the plate was a sweetly pungent coulis of basil and garlic. A second sauce used the snapper trimmings, halibut bones, Coronation grapes and half the bottle of mystery white wine. It was a wonderful dish though some judges felt its bouquet of flavours proved too much for such a subtle wine.
Ivan Kyutukchiev from Bianca's in St. John's decided to work with wild salmon, grilling a miniature fillet for each guest and setting it over young leeks softened in olive oil and roasted with garlic. He added a confit of shiitake mushrooms in olive oil, garlic and basil, and some big, juicy chunks of grilled zucchini. On top of the fish lay a garnish of fresh pear, pickled daikon and olive oil, and beneath it was a warm cucumber broth, its green cucumber aroma lifting right out of the bowl. The wine match earned much praise from the judges.
Jan Hrabec of Crazyweed Kitchen in Canmore chose a very different path, brining pork tenderloin, stuffing it with a mixture of goat cheese and orange zest and wrapping it in double-smoked bacon. She built a thick sweet sauce out of dates and orange and posed the meat on a bed of vanilla-scented celeriac purée. Did it work with the wine? Surprisingly well - indeed it was the only dish that seemed to seek out the hint of oak in the wine and encourage it to take a bow.
While the judges hugged their opinions and their marks to themselves, the guests at the event cast their own votes for a "people's choice" winner. By a single vote over Rob Feenie, the popular champion was Mathieu Cloutier.
The Black Box Competition
Many thanks to the staff of the Sheraton Wall Centre, especially manager Daniel Tennant and Executive chef Javiar Alarco (himself a former GMP competitor) for welcoming us to the Grand Ballroom kitchen in the hotel for the Black Box competition. We had three working stations for the chefs, with identical equipment, and a general pantry close by. There was room for the enthusiastic crowd and for the judges table, tucked away beside the dish pit. Each chef was instructed to create two dishes, using all six mystery ingredients from the black box in one or the other dish, making eight plates for the each, for the judges.
As is customary with the CCC, the local judges chose the mystery ingredients. Sid Cross and Andrew Morrison set out to flummox the chefs with their choice of farm-raised arctic char fillets, quail, dragon fruit, fresh fennel, arborio rice and as an exotic, a quantity of a nicely hoppy local IPA beer called Hoppelganger. The chefs were brought down to the kitchen one at a time, each accompanied by a single sous chef. The chef had ten minutes to ponder the ingredients and devise his or her dishes, then 50 minutes to cook. Points would be deducted if an ingredient was not used or if the chef went over time.
Nathin Bye was the first competitor, but he had barely opened his knife kit when he gashed his hand badly. Undeterred, but now wearing a latex glove, he prepared a roulade of arctic char, stuffing the delicate, coral-coloured fillet with beautifully seasoned mousse made from the char. This he served with a salad of crunchy julienned fennel and diced dragon fruit with subtly sweet vinaigrette. Sharing the plate was a seafood risotto made with fish stock and fennel fronds and a hint of lemon.
Chef Bye's second dish was bulgogi-style quail, marinated in soy, ginger, garlic and demerara sugar from the common pantry. The mahogany-coloured skin was soft but delicious, the flesh tender and moist and strongly flavoured with the marinade. Chef Bye used the beer to make a sauce based also on veal stock and Asian flavours and raided the pantry to make boulangère potatoes, stewed in stock with soft onion and fennel.
Matthew Carmichael was the second chef, taking the station beside Chef Bye. He opted to debone the quail, then threading each filleted bird on a stick of fresh thyme. He lacquered the skin with a mixture of soy, ginger, garlic and the beer reduced to a sticky glaze together with the quail bones then roasted the birds until they were perfectly cooked, their skin crisp. Beneath the quail, he made a risotto using wilted spinach and scattered crunchy fried garlic over the mixture.
Every chef, it turned out, chose to use his or her arborio to make a risotto and it was fascinating to compare the different textures and flavours of each. Interestingly, it became clear that many of the judges had their own opinions about what constituted a perfect risotto texture - some preferring slightly softer rice, others looking for the moment of resistence inside each garin of arborio.
Chef Carmichael's second dish involved pan-frying the char, skin side down, and not turning the fillet, so that the skin was delightfully crisp and the flesh gradated from cooked-through opacity closest to the skin to a blushing pink rareness on the surface. He diced the dragon fruit - and for once the black dots of the seeds against the grey flesh of the fruit really did look like dice - and built a refreshing salad of raw shaved fennel with a ginger-scented vinaigrette. His sauce was a subtle lemon gastrique montéed with butter.
Jan Hrabec was our third competitor. She poached her char in a lemon-ginger broth giving the fish a gorgeously moist texture and changing the colour of the flesh to a creamy pink. She made a salad of crunchy fennel slaw and soft-diced dragonfruitdressed with olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest. Green spinach leaves lay below the fish and a chiffonade of basil was the garnish.
For her second dish, Chef Hrabec enriched her risotto with soft onions sweetly caramelized in beer. She chose to present each judge with a whole quail, first poaching the birds in stock flavoured with the beer, brown sugar, soy and cinnamon, then frying them in a wok. Juicy and tender, the quail's own flavour rang true.
David Lee was our fourth contender. He chose to present the char raw as a very coarsely chopped tartare seasoned with coriander and surrounded by crunchy sliced fennel with the dragon fruit added for visual effect and its own vague sweetness. He used his vinaigrette of olive oil and white wine vinegar as a marinade for the tartare, timing it perfectly so that the rosey surface of the fish had just started to cloud, taking the first step on a long journey that might have ended as a ceviche.
Chef Lee's risotto was the firmest of the morning's, a perfect texture for me, creamy but with each grain of rice having its own distinct identity. Subtle onion and cream enhanced the risotto, which served as a bed for the portioned and roasted quail. Some judges found the meat a tad too rare; others of us loved it for the same reason. Chef Lee's sauce was a buttery beer emulsion that allowed the hoppy bitterness of the ale to make its contribution.
Rob Feenie was up next. While his sous chef rapidly deboned the quail, he made a reduction of beer and chicken stock, using a little sugar to quell the beer's bitterness and butter to enrich it. This ended up as the sauce for the quail which he set atop a delectable risotto made with reduced cream, shallots, thyme and garlic, the rice just a tiny bit softer than Chef Lee's.
Chef Feenie pan-seared his char, cooking it through but leaving it perfectly moist and enhanced with butter, thyme and lemon juice. He used the root and the fronds of the fennel in his salad, piling them on top of a slice of dragon fruit with a tangy sauce involving vinegar, lemon, olive oil, soy, ginger and beef stock.
Ivan Kyutukchiev was our sixth competitor. He portioned his char into identical pieces and pan-seared the fish, timing it perfectly until each fillet was cooked through, the juices nicely seized. He made his risotto with fish fumet that allowed the flavour of the fish to shine and sauced the plate with a dragon fruit coulis and a delicate lemon beurre blanc.
His second dish featured whole quail marinated in soy and pale ale and simply roasted, the flesh wonderfully tender and moist. He served the birds with lightly sautéed spinach and accidentally repeated his two sauces on this dish too. Fortunately, they worked equally well with the quail.
The last competitor was Mathieu Cloutier. While some of the chefs had been visions of intense concentration, he and his sous chef were ostentatiously relaxed, chatting and joking with the crowd, Cloutier whistling as he stirred the risotto. He began by enhancing the pantry veal stock using carrot, tomato and other vegetables, thyme, rosemary, garlic, butter and plenty of the beer. In this he braised the quail legs, using the reduction again as a sauce for the perfectly pan-seared breasts. He served the quail with a risotto flavoured with basil and lemon zest.
For his second dish, he pan-seared the char fillets, cooking them through but leaving them beautifully moist, the skin crisp. Beneath the fish he set a salad of fennel and dragon fruit dressed with zippy, lemony, peppery vinaigrette freshened with a brunoise of tomato and a hint of mint. A chiffonade of spinach finished the dish.
The judges retired to a deliberation room, hoping that no chef had opted to prepare quail and risotto for the grand finale that evening.
The Grand Finale
The third element of the Championships is a Grand Finale party that looks very like the first half of a Gold Medal Plates regional event. The chefs were each at their own station in a great ballroom where they served their signature dish to the hundreds of guests. The mood was merry, the excitement intense and the line-ups long, though not for the judges. We sat at a table while gallant food runners brought us each dish and the wine the chef had chosen to accompany it. We had worked out an order in which the dishes would show to best advantage, starting with the lightest.
The first dish came from Mathieu Cloutier, a reprise of his gold medal-winning dish from the Montreal GMP gala. It starred a tiny, delicate rack of rabbit; each wee bone frenched and cleaned, the tender meat wonderfully moist and flavourful from being slowly confited in duck fat. Beside this was a quenelle of super-rich foie gras parfait and some miniature pink cubes of lightly pickled beet. What looked at first glance like a Brussels sprout turned out to be rabbit rillettes and foie gras wrapped with soft spinach leaves. A dramatic stripe of red beet caramel painted the plate while a single tooney-sized crisp of fried bread added scrunch to the dish.
The accompanying wine was the Huff Estates 2007 South Bay Chardonnay from Prince Edward County in Ontario, its rich, oaky personality a great compliment to the dish.
Michael Carmichael's dish was the second to be tasted. The first element was a large mussel shell filled with a piece of rich, creamy Qualicum Bay scallop, some sea urchin and salmon roe all bathing in a foamy coconut milk. It was a fabulously marine mouthful, the many sweet sea flavours splashing about on the tongue. The second element was a small slab of black cod lacquered with honey, lemon and ginger juice. The fillet parted into glossy petals at the touch of a fork. Beside it was a comma of carrot and coconut purée. The Closson Chase South Clos 2007 Chardonnay (a most delectable wine) picked up the scallop and coconut flavours beautifully.
Nathin Bye's dish was next. He had prepared a written description of his intentions at the start of the competition and the complex relationships on the plate were exactly as he had described them. Three elements... The first was a slice of sablefish and fruits de mer roulade using king crab and lobster morsels in a matrix of scallop mousse. The little disc lay in a cream Thai green curry with a dot of mango and rice wine jelly and a quarter-teaspoon of a sweet redcurrant and pepper compote. It was a most invigorating mouthful. The second part was a demitasse of corn and butternut squash mulligatawny, spiked with garam masala spices, the rich broth topped with a creamy cardamom foam. Two shortdough pastry fingers lay across the cup, sandwiched together around a dab of apple and currant jam. Slow-braised Alberta bison shortrib was glazed with "French-Asian fusion" blend of veal/bison demiglace with cream and a different garam masala spice blend. A dab of cauliflower and celeriac purée anchored the meat which wore a toupée of microgreens. Chef Bye's choice of wine was the excellent 2008 JoieFarm Rose from JoieFram Wines in B.C.'s Okanagan valley.
David Lee also chose to reprise the dish he used to win the Toronto GMP event, though he added a number of different elements to the plate. Describing the dish to the judges, he brought over some wild ginger stems he had pickled in vinegar two years earlier and which he used to add flavour to a sour apple compote. A dab of this compote appeared on the long strip of very crispy chicken skin, served cold, that grounded his dish. On top of it was a two-inch piece of chicken breast cartilage, slow-cooked in a pressure cooker over 24 hours with ginger and coriander. Its texture was considerably softened but it still had the curious, alien soft-crunchiness of cartilage. Beside this, Chef Lee offered a couple of bites of confited chicken with creamy cauliflower purée and a silky ribbon of pancetta brought from his restaurant in Toronto, garnished with some colourful miniature flower petals and some marjoram leaves. It was a fascinating dish, beautifully paired with the off-dry 2007 June's Vineyard Riesling from 13th Street Winery in Niagara, the wine's honeyed, petrolly bouquet reaching out to the apple and ginger flavours in the dish.
Rob Feenie's dish was next up. He offered a trio of elements. The first was a rectangular crouton of spiced brioche topped with a little honeycomb apple butter and finished with a piped mousse of foie gras scented with maple and vanilla salt. An extraordinarily fragile shard of caramel lay on the top. The second element was a single raviolo filled with butternut squash and mascarpone and strewn with black truffle. The perfectly tender pasta was sauced with a black truffle beurre blanc. The third component was Canadian prime beef short rib slow-braised for 36 hours and sauced with a seriously reduced Peking duck jus. Vancouver Island chanterelles shared the plate and the general richness was leavened by some pickled celery leaves. Chef Feenie's chosen wine was Road 13's "Fifth Element" 2006, a fabulous Bordeaux blend from the Okanagan that thrilled the judges.
Ivan Kyutukchiev's dish starred pork belly brined for 24 hours and smoked over applewood. Fat and lean kept their distinct integrities and the subtle flavour was enhanced by a soft white bean purée. A spoonful of red pepper marmalade was marvellously supple, sleek and tasty, the natural sweetness of the peppers bringing out similar qualities in the pork. Alonside the meat Chef Kyutukchiev placed a red bell-pepper scented marshmallow that slowly melted, releasing its sweet fragrance into the sauce of smoked pork juices. The accompanying wine was Hillebrand Estates Trius red 2006, a traditional Bordeaux blend from Niagara.
Jan Hrabec's dish was the last one the judges tasted. She presented a sphere of Thai-spiced minced chicken on a sweet, richly aromatic sauce of lime, cilantro and coconut with a good kick of chili heat. A hollow hen's egg shell held a rich red coconut curry flan to be eaten with a tiny spoon, the mouthfilling flavours delighting the judges. Sesame crusted sticky rice held the egg shell in place and was quickly eaten together with the last element on the plate, a hot-and-sour chicken salad, the tangy meat sweetened by toasted coconut flakes. Row 13 2008 Riesling from the Okanagan was the chosen wine.
While the live auction began, the judges retired to their deliberation room to collate all the numbers from the three competitions. The final marks for the second, third and fourth-placed competitors were incredibly close - all within a single percentage point. David Lee came second, Matthew Carmichael third and Rob Feenie a heartbreakingly close-run fourth. The winner, by a margin of three percentage points was Mathieu Cloutier from Kitchen Galerie in Montreal. He had aced the Wine Pairing Challenge, had barely maintained a narrowing lead during the black box and won the Grand Finale with a clean decision. The judges returned to the party and the winners were announced. Chef Cloutier's name was greeted with a great roar of approval from the crowd who had adored his rabbit rack as much as the judges did. A rousing rendition of Oh Canada followed as the victorious chefs waved from the podium in a truly Olympian moment.
Entertainment and Emcees for 2009Gold Medal Plates has just announced its official lineup of entertainment and emcees for the Fall 2009 Campaign.
Entertainment
Edmonton - Matt Dusk
Vancouver - Steven Page and Jim Cuddy
Montreal - Michael Burgess
Ottawa - Jim Cuddy
Calgary - Matt Dusk
St. John's - Jim Cuddy
Toronto - Steven Page
Emcees
Edmonton - Rod Black
Vancouver - Brian Williams
Montreal - Claude Mailhot
Ottawa - Rod Black
Calgary - Catriona Le May Doan
St. John's - Seamus O' Regan
Toronto - Lisa LaFlamme and Jennifer Hedger
Gold Medal Plates is pleased to announce that there will be a 7th city in the 2009 campaign. St. John's, Newfoundland, led by an esteemed group of advisory members, will share in the celebration of Canadian Excellence in the anticipation of the Vancouver 2010 games. This event will feature some of the east coast's most talented chefs and athletes as well as some of Canada's greatest wine and entertainment. Jim Cuddy, of Blue Rodeo will be performing. Click Here for Details.
Calgary Chef awarded Canada's Best ChefTHE CANADIAN CULINARY CHAMPIONSHIP
Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championship was held at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel over the weekend of February 19 to 21. It was the ideal location for the competition - vast yet self-contained, with huge well-equipped kitchens and dramatic public rooms large enough to accommodate the hundreds of guests who came to observe and take part in the events. The hotel's executive chef, Martin Luthi, was a most generous host, providing everything we asked for, from the exclusive use of his busy banquet kitchen for three days to a dozen apprentices.
The competitors were the chefs who had triumphed at the Gold Medal Plates regional events across the country in the autumn of 2008. Here are their names, in alphabetical order, with a little information about their backgrounds supplied by the senior judge from each chef's respective city.
David Cruz is chef of Sage and won the Edmonton GMP event. David was destined to become a world-class chef. With both his mother and father accomplished chefs and restaurateurs, he was groomed from a young age in the culinary arts. His enthusiasm and passion for food and cooking eventually led him to the River Cree Resort and Casino's fine-dining haven, Sage. Prior to this he worked at La Cote Basque, Boulevard, Mary Elaine's, Evergreen and Simon Telluride, also at such restaurants as Masa's, Tru, Charlie Trotter's, Daniel, Motos, San Dominico, Spagos and La Folie. A key for David is respecting the source of the ingredients and keeping the chain from small growers and farmers to the restaurant table alive and well.
Deff Haupt is chef of Le Renoir at Le Sofitel hotel in Montreal. Born in Dortmund, Germany, Deff Haupt, age 42, apprenticed at the Hilton International in Mainz, Germany, and then worked for Emile Jung in Strasbourg, Paul Bocuse in Lyon, and Joel Robuchon in Paris before moving to Chile to work at a ski resort at Vallenevado. During that period, he trained the Brazilian team of chefs for the Bocuse d'Or culinary competition and married a Brazilian wife. Next stop was a ski resort at Val d'Isere, and then Berlin, where he was co-owner of a German-French brasserie near the Brandenburg Gate. Although his Berlin restaurant was a success and his guests at different times included George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Henry Kissinger, he moved to Canada in 2005 with the dream of opening a small restaurant in Mont Tremblant, Quebec. Le Sofitel beckoned in 2006 before that dream became a reality. Now Executive Chef of Hotel Le Sofitel and Restaurant Renoir, Montreal, Haupt describes his cuisine as French-based with German touches. He avoids endangered fish species and serves as much local Quebec food as he can.
Patrick Lin is Executive Chef of Senses restaurant in Toronto, the jewel in the crown of the Metropolitan Hotel. Lin was born in Hong Kong, and has spent much of his career shuttling between Hong Kong and Toronto. Gray Kunz was an early mentor for him at the Regency Hotel, where he embarked on his career in 1980; a decade later, he immigrated to Canada and became the chef at Truffles restaurant at the Four Seasons during executive chef Susan Weaver's tenure. Since then, he has returned to Hong Kong several times. In 2007, he came back to Toronto to take over the helm at Senses restaurant. He is best known for combining Asian ingredients with classic European techniques.
Hayato Okamitsu is chef of Catch Restaurant & Oyster Bar in Calgary. "The dreams of a young Japanese Chef can become a reality," write Adam Geml and Pat Insole. "After six years of unstinting dedication to Catch Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Hayato Okamitsu was named Executive Chef in 2008. Hayato has created Japanese-influenced dishes such as Wonton Crusted Tempura Prawns with Togaroshi Dip which quickly became a Catch signature dish and is still the most popular appetizer after seven years on the menu. Hayato's creativity shone through at Calgary's Gold Medal Plates Competition when his dish was the most ambitious of the night in terms of complexity, but truly set a record when it became the first vegetarian dish to win the Gold Medal honour."
Frank Pabst is chef of Blue Water Café in Vancouver. A master of local seafood, Frank Pabst came to Vancouver in 1993 after working in several Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe (among them Aachen's Le Becasse, the Hotel Negresco in Cannes, and Antibes' Restaurant de Bacon). He led the kitchen at Lumiere as chef de cuisine before opening Pastis in 2000, which won Best New Restaurant at that year's Vancouver magazine restaurant awards. As the executive chef at Blue Water Café since 2003, Pabst is recognised in the industry as a leader in celebrating local producers and sustainable-savvy fishermen.
Charles Part is owner-chef of Les Fougères and won GMP's Ottawa-Gatineau event. His first restaurant was in Toronto, a little gem in the Beaches called Loons. Together with his wife, Jennifer Warren-Part, Charles has been the chef-owner of Les Fougères in the village of Chelsea, Quebec (12 minutes from Parliament Hill) since 1993. Charles is British by birth, received his culinary training at the Westminster Hotel School and had his first restaurant experiences in London, UK. Charles and Jennifer's 2008 book, A Year at Les Fougères, won gold in the Canadian Food Culture category at the 2008 Cuisine Canada's Book Awards.
The chefs were all introduced at a small reception at the hotel on Thursday night. They introduced their sous chefs to the gathering (each chef was allowed to bring two from his restaurant, though Chef Cruz opted to bring only one friend). Then our host, Chef Luthi, introduced the apprentices who would assist each chef. It was also a chance for me to introduce my panel of judges...
From Montreal, Julian Armstrong, food writer for The Gazette and a founding member of both Cuisine Canada and the Association of Food Journalists. She is the author of A Taste of Quebec.
From Ottawa, Anne Desbrisay, restaurant critic of the Ottawa Citizen for the last 17 years. She writes about food, restaurants and travel for many publications and for CBC radio and is the author of Capital Dining, a Guide to restaurants in the National Capital Region.
From Toronto, Sasha Chapman, former food editor of Toronto Life who now writes regular columns about food in the Globe & Mail, Toronto Life and Report on Business Magazine as well as major U.S. and Canadian magazines such as Saveur and Chatelaine.
From Vancouver, Sid Cross is the wine and food guru for Western Living magazine and is a world-renowned wine and food judge. He has been honoured by the French and Italian governments and is the only Canadian to be awarded The Gourmet of the Year by The Society of Bacchus in the USA.
From Edmonton, Clayton Folkers is a world-class pastry chef, international judge and educator, and was the first pastry chef to captain the Canadian National Culinary Team. He has captained Culinary Team Alberta and Culinary Team Canada to gold medals, won the IKA Culinary Olympics and was twice named Canadian Chef of the Year.
From Calgary, John Gilchrist is a familiar voice on CBC Radio. He's also the author of eight national best-sellers on dining in southern Alberta. He has a column in the Calgary Herald, writes for dozens of magazines and teaches Food and Culture programs for the University of Calgary.
Last but not least, from Vancouver, Andrew Morrison is the restaurant critic for the Westender newspaper, the editor of Scout Magazine, and a regular contributor to Western Living and Vancouver magazines. He had a special role this weekend as our culinary referee, making sure all rules were followed during and between the three competitions.
The Thursday evening reception was the start of the first of these three events, the Wine Pairing Challenge. Each chef was given a bottle of the same wine with no label and an unmarked stopper. All they knew about it was that it was Canadian and that GMP's National Wine Advisor, David Lawrason, had selected it especially for the competition. The chefs were instructed to taste the wine and devise a dish that would perfectly match it. They had 24 hours to do this but there were certain added provisos that made the task a little more challenging. We asked them to make enough of their dish to feed 235 people (the number of guests at our Friday evening party) and we told them they were only allowed to spend a very small amount of money on ingredients - $350. They could go shopping wherever they wanted - in Banff, Canmore, Calgary - anywhere except in the hotel where we were staying. They could be as ingenious and creative as they wished with their shopping but they had to present us with receipts for everything they purchased. To mitigate things a little, we provided a communal pantry of basic seasonings, herbs, spices, oils and stocks, etcetera.
The Wine Pairing Challenge
On Friday evening, the event took place in the baronial splendour of one of the hotel's halls. The chefs' stations were arranged around the room. The guests were able to taste the mystery wine (later revealed as Inniskillin Okanagan Malbec 2005) and each of the dishes.
Deff Haupt took everyone by surprise by deciding to match this dense, hearty red wine with fish. He cooked a fillet of red snapper perfectly, leaving it juicy and sweet under a savoury crust of cinnamon, an element he had detected in the wine. For a sauce he made a red wine butter and a white wine butter which swirled together on the plate, both of them with a lovely silky weight and a well-judged citrus edge. The two colours of purple and white were echoed throughout the dish. Tangy, acidulated, finely chopped beets formed another bridge into the wine. The dish was finished with a little wilted spinach on top. The sauces, beets and cinnamon worked admirably with the wine, but the flavour of the actual fish struggled to make itself apparent.
David Cruz braised pork shoulder, giving it a delicious sweet flavour and a variety of textures. Beneath it he set a semi-purée of Tuscan cannelini beans topped with juicy chopped chard and sautéed crimini mushrooms that were particularly good with the wine. A streak of yellow carrot purée lacked flavour and focus, as did a streak of green basil oil. Crunchy shallots were the final garnish. The general lack of edge and acidity in the flavours of the food actually brought out those qualities in the wine a little more, accentuating its fruitiness.
Hayato Okamitsu also chose to work with pork, roasting a pork shoulder to tender succulence then slicing it for the plate. Working within his budget, he made peppery hand-pressed gnocchi (he found considerable pepperiness in the wine, as did several of the chefs). His sauce was a rich brown butter spiked with finely chopped beets. Some judges felt he served a little too much sauce for the dish. A few leaves of arugula proved a refreshing little garnish. On top lay a bacon and thyme "maxime" like a crisp transparent tissue of herbed bacon that was utterly delicious. The dish worked well with the wine, its homespun flavours in a good balance with the wine's intensity.
Patrick Lin prepared a relatively complex plate. He roasted a leg of lamb seasoned with garlic and cumin - it was delectably tender and sapid but perhaps a little too pungently "lamby" for the wine. Beside it he made a meat ball of miced pork stuffed with crab meat (subtle but fabulous and a better match than the lamb). The meatball was set on a disc of king oyster mushroom scored with a knife for textural interest. On top a single rasher of bacon had been crisped with honey. On the bottom two mustard greens provided green crunch and refreshment - lovely for the dish, irrelevent to the wine. The natural jus of the lamb was refreshed with diced granny smith apple.
Charles Part also chose lamb, carefully sourced from a farm outside Calgary. He cooked the shoulder sous vide, its flavour ending up a tad more subtle than Patrick Lin's roast. The jus was enriched by whole cloves of roast garlic, blackcurrants and a brunoise of root vegetables. A minted pea risotto had a perfect texture and seemed like a breath of summer. On top of the lamb, a bright green teaspoonful of salsa verde made with fresh herbs and anchovy was a deliciously intense condiment. Presentation was pretty and the dish's internal balances were very well achieved. Some judges felt it was too big a dish for the wine. If it had been a Cabernet Sauvignon, it would have been more successful but this soft Malbec turned out to be less powerful and structured than it appeared to be at first sniff.
Frank Pabst created a cabbage roll filled with a subtly flavoured mince of braised elk, pork shoulder and double smoked bacon. He bought two more bottles of the wine from Gold Medal Plates (at a price of $30 per bottle) and added them to the jus to create the dish's sauce. A celeriac and apple purée had a lovely fresh, rooty flavour. A mix of black rice and carrot, interestingly, produced a flavour close to sweet corn. On top was a mound of crunchy purple beet "straw".
The guests voted that night for a "people's choice" favourite, an award that went to Charles Part, by a considerable margin. The judges kept their marks private but Hayato Okamitsu was in first place with three other chefs clustered a few percentage points behind him - Charles Part, Deff Haupt and Patrick Lin.
The Black Box Saturday morning brought the intensity and drama of the Black Box competition, where each chef is given an identical group of secret ingredients. They must devise two dishes that will use these ingredients (all six must be used, though not necessarily in the same dish) and they have one hour to finish the dishes and plate one of each for each of the judges. Points would be deducted for failure to use all ingredients, for going over the allotted time by even a few seconds and for failing to provide the requisite number of dishes. Each chef was allowed to use only one assistant.
There was room in the hotel's banquet kitchen for three chefs to work at one time and for the crowd of fifty guests and camera crews, but we staggered the chefs working time to allow a 15-minute gap between each start time and a longer break in the middle so there were never more than three chefs competing at any one time. While the judges sat apart in the kitchen's servery, the chefs set to work.
The six mystery ingredients had been chosen by Gold Medal Plates regional senior judge, John Gilchrist. They had to be local Alberta product and we asked for a meat, a fish, a grain, a fruit, a vegetable and a dairy product. His selection was challenging indeed - a kilo of organically raised Alberta pork tenderloin with a good fat cap on it; three farmed rainbow trout, gutted but with heads on; a bag of rolled oats; a bottle of saskatoonberry syrup (fresh local fruit being impossible to find in Alberta in February); a bag of fabulously swet, crunchy organic carrots; a substantial wedge of a local gouda cheese, recently voted the fourth best gouda in the world at the cheese championship in Wisconsin.
First up was chef David Cruz. He filleted his trout, rolled the fillets in ground oats and served it with the carrots which he had prepared two ways, candied and as a deliciously spiced savoury purée with some real chili heat. For his second dish, he roasted the pork medium rare, sliced it and sauced it with a beurre spiked by the saskatoonberry syrup. He turned the gouda into a golden crisp that he used to garnish the pork.
Chef Hayato Okamitsu was next. He mixed the oatmeal with sesame and used it as a crust for the trout fillets. He turned the carrots into a purée scented with ginger from the communal pantry, added some wilted spinach and a rich brown butter sauce spiked with soy, clove and the saskatoonberry syrup. Visually, it was an exceptionally pretty dish. His herb-rubbed roast pork loin was sliced and set over a ragout of finely diced potato flavoured with shallots and the gouda and sharpened with a dash of a mustard and sherry vinaigrette.
Chef Charles Part was the third competitor. He rolled his trout fillets in the oats and pan-fried them, timing them to a perfect point of juiciness. He also borrowed pantry items, serving the fish with spinach and a confit of lemons that brightened the plate and the palate. For his second dish, he cut the pork into escalopes and sandwiched gouda in between then rolled the meat in panko crumbs and pan-fried it until the cheese melted. He used the saskatoonberry syrup carrots and other pantry vegetables to create a pickle that he served with the pork and crowned it with a perfectly timed poached egg. Its runny yolk formed the sauce for the pork dish.
Chef Patrick Lin aced the texture of the trout which he served as a sort of melt, crowned with molten gouda. Butter-sautéed spinach shared the plate and he sauced it with a lightweight tomato-herb bouillon. For his pork dish he pounded the meat into schnitzels, coated them with oats and deep-fried them, fisnishing the plate with a sauce meuniere and carrots spiked with the saskatoonberry syrup.
Chef Deff Haupt stuffed the pork tenderloin with gouda and fines herbes and roasted it off, slicing it and crowning the plate with a gouda crisp. He braised the carrots and scented them with curry spices, saucing the dish with a beef stock and rosemary jus spiked with saskatoonberry syrup. The trout fillets were simply pan-seared, which brought out their flavour beautifully, then set atop a sturdy galette of grated potato and oat flakes. He opted to make a version of the classic sauce Albertine using the pantry stocks hit with butter and herbs.
Chef Frank Pabst finished the competition. He coolly brined his pork loin for 20 minutes to tenderize the meat and served it with a delicious saskatoonberry gastrique sharpened with sherry vinegar, thyme and shallots. He used the gouda as a subtle component of a classic Pommes Anna, the tissue-thin potatoes fanned and pan-fried. Braised baby carrots picked up hints of ginger and shallot from their braising liquid. His trout fillets arrived crusted with mustard-spiked oatmeal then panfried. He set the fish over a delectable onion soubise, a little baby spinach and topped it with a clever crisp of the fried trout skin.
The judges were impressed by all the dishes, though they wondered why no one had thought to use the oats as a biscuit or be a tad more creative with the pork. Three chefs scored particularly highly in the black box competition: Hayato Okamitsu, Frank Pabst and Deff Haupt. But going into the third and final element of the competition it was still anyone's race.
The Grand Finale
For this event, each chef was allowed to create any dish he wished, the limits set only by his own imagination and the fact that he only had Saturday afternoon to pull the masterpiece together. He could bring in whatever ingredients he wished but he had to prepare enough to serve 300 guests and he could only be assisted by his two sous chefs (one in David Cruz's case) and his two hotel apprentices. Wine pairing was again a component. Each chef was instructed to work with the same winery he had chosen to pair with during the regional events, though not restricted to the same wine.Chef Deff Haupt presented three ethereal cornmeal gnocchi, light as any mousseline, smothered in a nutmeg-spiked parmesan sabayon and strewn with crispy little nuggets of pan-fried sweetbreads. Black winter truffle was grated over the dish and it was finished with a dramatic spiral of sweet tuile and some whisps of wheatgrass. His wine was from Prince Edward County, Ontario - Black Prince Winery's First Crush unoaked Chardonnay 2005.
Chef Frank Pabst chose to showcase the great seafood of the west coast. His plate consisted of three elements - the first a gorgeous raw kushi oyster, out of its shell and set on a mound of chopped cucumber jelly, topped with horseradish foam. A slice of raw Qualicum Bay scallop was turned into a delicate ceviche, its natural sweetness perfectly balanced against the tart citrus of the dressing. Beneath it was a spoonful of salad made from green seaweed and fine shavings of Humboldt squid. The third element was a cold parfait of sea urchin, its marine pungency mitigated by a cap of ponzu jelly. Dotted here and there were tiny amounts of green onion, preserved watermelon rind, black dots of a sauce made from sake, soy and nori, and a dab of tangy yuzu-sake "pudding". Chef Pabst paired his dish with Sumac Ridge Stella's Jay Brut 2004 sparkling wine from B.C.
Chef Hayato Okamitsu also presented a triptych. The first component looked like a cube-shaped chocolate smothered in a glossy black sauce. It turned out to be Alberta beef short rib braised sukiyake-style with a profound soy-based sauce. A finger of Quebec foie gras torchon gained extra flavour from a light soy cure; Chef served it on a tiny morsel of toast. A demitasse held a spectacularly rich and intense lobster bisque. Across the rim of the cup a lattice sesame crisp supported a shiso-scented B.C. spot prawn, out-of-season but still charming to most of the judges. A dab of ginger-yuzu "pudding" was as intense as any of the powerful flavours on the plate. Sumac Ridge Private Reserve Merlot 2005 was a fine match for the beef.
Chef David Cruz began with flatiron steak cut from Alberta kobe cattle. He grilled it rare and sliced it delicately - it proved surprisngly tender. On top he laid a julienne of carrot, apple, radish and micro greens. Two sauces competed for attention - a tangy lime emulsion and a rich dark shiitake sweet-and-sour sauce, made even more irresistible with brown sugar, garlic and Szechuan pepper. He astonished the judges by pairing it with See Ya Later Ranch Chardonnay 2007, a coup that proved surprisingly successful.
Chef Charles Part presented a dish he described as the dish he would choose for his last meal - "it means that much to me..." Its principal was a generous helping of confited Quebec moulard duck, rich, tender and moist with a skin that was crisp where it needed to be and fatty elsewhere. The flavour was wonderful, the sweetness enhanced by threads of orange zest. It sat on a thick disc of cooked pear with a spoonful of soft, tangy chevre cheese at its hollowed heart. Beneath that was an Agria potato rösti. The dish was finished with some forthright spinach and a delicious sauce of New Brunswick partridgeberries zapped with vinegar to become a classy ketchup. This dish was honest-to-goodness bistro taken to the bistro extreme. Some judges loved its democratic lack of fuss; others found it too plain. Chef Part paired it with a Prince Edward County wine, Huff Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005, made with Niagara grapes.
Chef Patrick Lin also offered duck - an extraordinary and complex five-part treatment of Ontario King Cole duck, to be precise. On a silver spoon was a sliver of sweet, cured, oolong-tea-smoked duck breast. A round slice of duck galantine using the duck's neck was garnished with a dot of kumquat compote and a slender lotus root crisp. Cured duck breast appeared with a Thai-style fruit salad all arranged on a round disc of iceberg lettuce - a refreshing, texturally complex mouthful that played with the fresh sweetness and tartness of the fruits and the salty fat of the cured duck. A foie gras ball had been rolled in a crust of crushed candied walnuts and then set on a cone of crisp wonton wrapper like some angelic ice cream cornet. The final iteration of the canard was a hollowed eggshell filled with a loose, lightweight foie gras custard brûlée topped with a sugestion of dried tangerine peel. The last component was amazingly delicious with the chosen Inniskillin Niagara Cabernet Franc Icewine 2006 - the weekend's most obvious wine-food epiphany. Chef Lin also presented a second wine - Jackson Triggs Okanagan Grande Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 that worked well with the smoked breast.
Opinion was divided about Chef Lin's dish. Some of us felt it was a three-Michelin-star effort; others found it too much, with one or two elements too many. When the scores were fed into the number cruncher, however, Chef Lin's dish won the day at the Grande Finale. Would that be enough to win the entire Championship? The judges retired to a quiet room and the math was done. The honour fell to me to return to the crowded ball room and make the announcement. First, I invited the retiring champion, Chef Melissa Craig, up on stage. Melissa had travelled across the country with us during the 2008 Gold Medal Plates campaign, cooking for the VIP reception in each city, and had proved a delightful companion, a great sport (even when half her crabs were left out of the refrigerator in Calgary) and a true champion. I speak for the entire GMP organisation when I say that she will always be part of our team.Joining us on stage was GMP CEO, Stephen Leckie and representatives of our two title sponsors, Denise Carpenter of Epcor and Mark Toner of GE. Then came the moment of truth. When all the numbers were crunched, the bronze medal went to Deff Haupt of Le Renoir in the Sofitel hotel, Montreal. The silver medal went to Frank Pabst of Blue Water Café in Vancouver. And the gold medal was awarded to Hayato Okamitsu of Catch in Calgary. He becomes the new Canadian Culinary Champion.
The six competing chefs:
Edmonton - Chef David Cruz, Sage Restaurant
Calgary - Hayato Okamitsu, Catch Restaurant
Toronto - Chef Patrick Lin, Senses Restaurant
Montreal - Chef Denise Cornellier, Denise Cornellier Traiteur
Ottawa - Chef Charles Part, Les Fougères
Vancouver - Chef Frank Pabst, Blue Water Café
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Ottawa - Thursday October 15, Hilton Lac Leamy
Wine Report
Toronto - Thursday October 16, The Royal York
Event Summary | Wine Report
Montréal- Thursday October 23, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Event Summary | Wine Report
Vancouver - Wednesday November 5, The Westin Bayshore
Event Summary | Wine Report
Edmonton - Thursday November 6, Shaw Conference Centre
Event Summary | Wine Report
Gold Medal Plates is proud to announce the emcee list for 2008. It is an impressive list of Canadian talent which complements the extraordinary quality of the Canadian chefs, wineries and athletes who will be present at the events.
Ottawa: Silvia Bigras
Following 16 years working with National Sport Federations, Sylvie Bigras set up her own communications company specializing in event hosting, public speaking, conference facilitation, media relations and voice work. Some of the events she hosted included State Dinners for President George W. Bush and President Vicente Fox, the Nelson Mandela Citizenship Ceremony, Queen's Jubilee Celebrations, the First Ladies Conference (the Americas), the Canadian Sport Awards, Ceremonies for the International Year of Volunteers, various government press conferences and more.Sylvie holds a Masters Degree in Sport Management from the University of Ottawa. She has worked at 11 Olympic Games, three Pan American and two Commonwealth Games. For four Olympic Games (2000-2006) she worked with CBC and Radio-Canada, and is now working with the Canadian Olympic Committee as Press Chief, a position she held at the Pan Am Games in Rio De Janeiro in 2007, and at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. She is currently working on communications planning and creating a team for the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010.
Sylvie is fluent in both written and oral English, French and Spanish and has an understanding of German, Italian and Portuguese. She has hosted and facilitated international events in up to four languages at a time. She was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada where she currently lives with her family, including two boys, ages 12 and 15.
Toronto: Kevin Brauch
Kevin is host of the show The Thirsty Traveler on the Fine Living Network (originally on the Food Network) and currently is the floor reporter for Iron Chef America on the Food Network. He received the Canadian Gemini award for "Best Host in a Lifestyle/Practical Information or Performing Arts Program or Series" (The Thirsty Traveler).
Brauch appeared as a guest on NBC's Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno, taped on the afternoon of St. Patrick's Day, Friday, March 17, 2006. In 2006, he was host of the program Superstar Chef Challenge on Food Network Canada.
Montreal: Ron Maclean and Marc Durand
Thankfully, in 2002, thousands of Canadians demonstrated their unrelenting desire to have Ron MacLean continue as the long-time host of Hockey Night in Canada. MacLean is best known as the straight man on Coach's Corner, the listener and, some might argue, the voice of reason that saves Don Cherry from getting a puck in the head.His broadcasting career began in 1978 when he took over a 16-month part-time position at a radio station in Red Deer, Alberta. One night in 1984, a hockey producer saw MacLean doing an ad-lib weather forecast and hired him to host the Calgary Flames telecasts on CKPD, an independent TV station in Calgary. He then became the sports anchor on the local evening news. MacLean's first love is hockey, which led him to Toronto in 1986 and Molson Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. The six-time Gemini Award-winning sportscaster has expanded his professional duties to include hosting CBC's coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympics - including the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Calgary Stampede, Commonwealth Games and World Track & Field Championships. In his spare time, he is a Level 5 referee for the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.
As a host, master of ceremonies or featured speaker, MacLean's quick wit, thoughtful insights and humorous, engaging style have entertained audiences from coast to coast.
Marc Durand is a sports journalist born in Loretteville, QC, April 25th 1964.
He started his broadcasting career at TQS where he was host and producer of Hebdo Sports from 1994 to 2002. He then joined CBC where he contributed as a journalist to several shows including: « Adrénaline », « Le Revers de la Médaille » et « Au dessus de la mêlée ». Marc specializes in biographical profiles of athletes.
To date he has covered the 2004 and 2008 summer Olympic Games in Athens and Beijing, the 2006 winter Olympic Games in Turin and three major World championships in Athletics (Paris, Helsinki), aquatics (Barcelona, Montreal) and in freestyle skiing (Salt Lake City). He also co-hosted the network's soccer broadcast of l'impact de Montréal in 2007.
Marc is a two-time Gémeaux nominee (2001, 2008) for best host in a sports program in Canada.
He is now the host of "Tellement Sport" a sports program dedicated to elite athletes across Canada.
Edmonton/Calgary: Kelly Hrudey
Kelly Hrudey returns for his ninth straight season as an analyst with CBC'S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, working alongside host Scott Oake for the western broadcasts of the Saturday night doubleheaders. A popular and knowledgeable hockey commentator, Hrudey became a full-time hockey analyst with CBC'S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA during the 1998/99 NHL season, after providing stellar commentary during the previous four playoff seasons with host Ron MacLean. During the 1999 NHL playoffs, Hrudey's segment Behind the Mask became a regular feature on CBC'S Hockey Night in Canada and currently airs during the first intermission of game two of the Saturday night doubleheaders. Hrudey, a former NHL goalie, also offers his intriguing insights and analysis during CBC'S Hockey Night in Canada post-game show After Hours.
In February 2006, Hrudey worked as an analyst for CBC's broadcast of Torino 2006 - The Olympic Games, marking his second Olympic broadcast experience.
Hrudey strapped on the pads with the Calgary Flames in the Fall of 2001 for Basic Training - a feature on the Flames training camp that aired as part of CBC'S Hockey Night in Canada pre-game show during the first five weeks of the regular season. It provided fans with a rare glimpse of what players, rookies and veterans alike experience en route to hopefully making an NHL squad.
During his 15-year NHL career as a goalie with the New York Islanders (six years), Los Angeles Kings (seven years) and San Jose Sharks (two years), the former Medicine Hat Tiger compiled a record of 271-265-88, with a goals against average of 3.43 and 16 shutouts.
Vancouver: Terry David Mulligan
Terry has gained a high profile and national prescence in the radio, film and tv business for over 40 years. He a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and has been voted VJ and broadcaster of the year in Canada.Currently the Host of the radio show Mulligan Stew- CKUA, Alberta, a much loved 2 hour weekly music program..that's in its 11th year.
Hosts and produces a syndicated TV wine show with Jason Priestley called Hollywood and Vines. They're currently planning year Two.
Most recently:
The Host and West Coast Producer of MT- MovieTelevision & Senior Segment Producer, Startv.
As well Terry has endless film and tv acting credits... and yes its true, he was once a Mountie.
JUST ANNOUNCED! Richard Pound will be the featured speaker at the Gold Medal Plates Montréal event.
Ottawa - Wednesday October 15, Hilton Lac Leamy
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Toronto - Thursday October 16, The Royal York
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Montréal - Thursday October 23, Palais des congrès de Montréal
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Vancouver - Wednesday November 5, Westin Bayshore
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Edmonton - Thursday November 6, Shaw Conference Centre
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Calgary - Thursday November 20, The Round Up Centre
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A WINNER IS CROWNED!
Kelly Hrudey - Biography
Analyst, CBC's Hockey Night in Canada
Kelly Hrudey returns for his ninth straight season as an analyst with CBC'S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, working alongside host Scott Oake for the western broadcasts of the Saturday night doubleheaders. A popular and knowledgeable hockey commentator, Hrudey became a full-time hockey analyst with CBC'S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA during the 1998/99 NHL season, after providing stellar commentary during the previous four playoff seasons with host Ron MacLean. During the 1999 NHL playoffs, Hrudey's segment Behind the Mask became a regular feature on CBC'S Hockey Night in Canada and currently airs during the first intermission of game two of the Saturday night doubleheaders. Hrudey, a former NHL goalie, also offers his intriguing insights and analysis during CBC'S Hockey Night in Canada post-game show After Hours.
In February 2006, Hrudey worked as an analyst for CBC's broadcast of Torino 2006 - The Olympic Games, marking his second Olympic broadcast experience.
Hrudey strapped on the pads with the Calgary Flames in the Fall of 2001 for Basic Training - a feature on the Flames training camp that aired as part of CBC'S Hockey Night in Canada pre-game show during the first five weeks of the regular season. It provided fans with a rare glimpse of what players, rookies and veterans alike experience en route to hopefully making an NHL squad.
During his 15-year NHL career as a goalie with the New York Islanders (six years), Los Angeles Kings (seven years) and San Jose Sharks (two years), the former Medicine Hat Tiger compiled a record of 271-265-88, with a goals against average of 3.43 and 16 shutouts.
Hrudey resides in Calgary with his wife and three daughters.
Alexandre Despatie - Biography
McDonald's ambassador
Three-time world champion and Olympic medalist
In March 2007, Alexandre earned two silver medals at the FINA World Championships at the 3-metre and synchronized 3-metre events (with Arturo Miranda). Last year, Alexandre participated to the Commonwealth Games in Australia, where he won the 1-metre, 3-metre and the synchronized 3-metre events, in addition to a bronze medal at the 10-metre event. His performances of the last few years worth him the first International World Diver Award at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Awards.At the FINA World Championships in Montréal in 2005, Alexandre Despatie earned gold medals in both 1-metre and 3-metre springboard, becoming the first diver in history to be world champion at all three diving events. His performance in 3-metre springboard earned him a total of 813.60 points, becoming the first diver to be awarded over 800 points in 3-metre. He became the world champion at 10-metre platform in July 2003 in Barcelona.
His second Olympic experience in Athens, Greece, earned him a silver medal in 3-metre springboard, making him the first Canadian in history to win a medal. In Sydney in 2000, he finished in fourth place in the 10 metre platform event. At 15, he was the youngest member of the Canadian contingent.
After earning a silver medal at the 2001 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, he won three gold medals and one bronze at the Pan American Games held in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) in August, 2003.
When he was only 13 years old, Alexandre won the gold medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, making him the youngest gold medal winner ever in the history of the Games. This achievement earned Alexandre a spot in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records.
Alexandre recently broke a Canadian record by earning his 36th career national title. In the course of his career, he was named Junior Male Athlete of the Year four times at the Canadian Sports Awards, as well as being named three-time Male International Athlete of the Year at the Gala Sports-Québec (2003, 2004 and 2006). Alexandre also received the personality of the year title in the Sports and Leisure category of the Gala Excellence La Presse / Radio-Canada in 2006.
McDonald's has been proudly supporting Alexandre Despatie's career since 1999. Even if it has been reported that the partnership began when Alexandre stated that he felt like eating a Big Mac after the Commonwealth Games, McDonald's supports Alexandre Despatie for his values and his personality. As Ambassador, he is actively involved in the different non-profit organizations supported by McDonald's, including Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Jennifer Heil - BiographyOne of Canada's premier athletes and the 2006 Olympic Champion in freestyle mogul skiing, Jennifer Heil is a woman whose framework consists of hard work, dedication, intelligence and a fiery spirit. Introduced to skiing at the age of two by parents who loved the outdoors, Jenn came onto the Canadian mogul scene in 2000 at the age of 16, making her presence known when she captured both National Titles in moguls.
Born in Spruce Grove, Alberta, on April 11th, 1983 and now living in Montréal, Jenn's dream of becoming an Olympian was first sparked at an Edmonton newsstand, where browsing the Sports Illustrated Barcelona Olympics issue. She was enthralled by the power and determination she saw in the athlete's eyes deciding right then and there that one day she would be an Olympian. Her dream was first realized in 2002 when, at the age of 18, she finished 4th at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics. Following the 2002 season Jenn decided to take a full year away from competition and moved to Montréal where she entered McGill University as a Business Management student.
Returning to competition in December 2003, Jenn proceeded to win the World Cup Overall Title followed by a 2005 World Championship Title. She worked hard in preparation for the 2006 Winter Olympics focusing on strength, conditioning, mental toughness and nutrition in order that she achieve her personal best and ultimate competition goal. In Torino, Italy, Jenn won gold - Canada's first medal of the 2006 Olympic games and the first gold by a Canadian woman in moguls.
This past season Jenn secured her 4th consecutive World Cup Title delivering an unprecedented 6 gold and 2 silver medals in 9 World Cup races along with gold and silver medal performances in the 2007 World Championships.
Jennifer's hard work, determination and humanitarian spirit comes across in her daily life through the work she does with local and international charitable organizations. She is an Athlete Ambassador with Right To Play. An athlete driven humanitarian organization, Right To Play works to improve the lives of the world's most disadvantaged children and the communities in which they live by using sport and play for development, health and peace. Jenn is an Ambassador for an Edmonton-based community organization, Kids Kottage Foundation that helps ensure children are safe and receive the support they deserve by providing care for them when their families are in crisis. Jennifer is also a Honourary Ambassador for KidSport, an organization that operates at a national, provincial and community level to assist children by overcoming financial barriers that prevent or limit their participation in organized sport. Jenn also takes the time to empower youth at schools in Quebec and Alberta.
Sports activities have always been a part of Jenn's life. As a youth she competed in cross-country running, volleyball and swimming and currently can be spotted riding waves on a surfboard. She admires her parent's dedication and hard work in life and cites Danica Patrick as a role model both in terms of striving for excellence and determination in breaking down barriers. Jennifer continues her studies at McGill University while preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Her "Dare to Dream" theme is embedded in her talks, Jenn feeling it important to encourage young women to dream no matter what the dream entails. She views her own experience as proof positive of what can happen when one does.
Ron MacleanHockey Night in Canada
Thankfully, in 2002, thousands of Canadians demonstrated their unrelenting desire to have Ron MacLean continue as the long-time host of Hockey Night in Canada. MacLean is best known as the straight man on Coach's Corner, the listener and, some might argue, the voice of reason that saves Don Cherry from getting a puck in the head.
His broadcasting career began in 1978 when he took over a 16-month part-time position at a radio station in Red Deer, Alberta. One night in 1984, a hockey producer saw MacLean doing an ad-lib weather forecast and hired him to host the Calgary Flames telecasts on CKPD, an independent TV station in Calgary. He then became the sports anchor on the local evening news. MacLean's first love is hockey, which led him to Toronto in 1986 and Molson Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. The six-time Gemini Award-winning sportscaster has expanded his professional duties to include hosting CBC's coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympics, Calgary Stampede, Commonwealth Games and World Track & Field Championships. In his spare time, he is a Level 5 referee for the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.
As a host, master of ceremonies or featured speaker, MacLean's quick wit, thoughtful insights and humorous, engaging style have entertained audiences from coast to coast.
Alex Baumann was an outstanding athlete at the international level who has extensive background in sport administration, teaching and development. He has been instrumental in the success of various community based programs, both in his native Canada and in Australia, focusing on motivating young people to achieve consistently high standards in sport and community activities.From 1979 to 1987, his major swimming achievements included six World Records; two Gold Medals at the Los Angeles Olympics; five Gold Medals and two Silver Medals at the Commonwealth Games; four Silver and six Bronze Medals at other Games such as the Pan Pacific and World Championships. Alex was the recipient of the World Champion Award on four occasions and was the World Male Swimmer of the Year on two occasions (1981 and 1984).
Alex was recognised by his native Canada for his contributions to swimming and the community. The honours he has been presented with included The Officer of the Order of Canada, The Order of Ontario, induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame. Alex was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (PhD) in Physical Education from Laurentian University, Canada in 1996.
In 1991 Alex moved to Queensland to take up tertiary study and in 1996 was appointed Manager, Sports Programs, for the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS). In November 1997, he was appointed to the position of Executive Manager, International Sport, within the Office of Sport and Recreation. The position was responsible for the orientation of National Olympic and Paralympic Committees with the international standard sporting facilities, accommodation and other ancillary facilities, suited to pre-Games training and competition in Queensland. In 1999 Alex was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Swimming before becoming the Executive Director of the QAS in January of 2002. As the Executive Director of the QAS, Alex represented Queensland's interests on the National Elite Sports Council (NESC).
In January of 2007 Alex came back to Canada as the inaugural Executive Director of the Road to Excellence (RTE) program. The RTE program's goal is to improve podium performances at future Olympic Games and help build a system that will produce quality results.
"The Light That Guides You Home -- his first extracurricular full-length since 1998's All in Time -- delivers everything you know, love, want and expect from Cuddy: Impeccably crafted, slightly nostalgic country-rock and roots-pop laced with gorgeous melodies, bittersweet lyrics, heartfelt vocals and twangy sincerity." - The Sun Newspaper Group
It was the mid-seventies when Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor first met each other in high school. After discovering a mutual love of music, they formed an "amphetamine pop band" called the HiFi's. The pair moved to New York City in 1981 and tried to land a recording contract. Three years later they returned to Toronto without a deal but discovered a burgeoning club scene where acts like k.d. lang, The Cowboy Junkies and Jeff Healey were honing their chops. Through a series of chance meetings and the classified ads, Jim and Greg formed Blue Rodeo.
Since the release of their debut album, Outskirts, in March 1987, Blue Rodeo have established themselves as one of the premiere bands in Canadian music history. They have released ten studio albums, one live album, a Greatest Hits collection, and an award winning DVD, selling in excess of 4 million copies around the world.
In 1998, Jim released his first solo album All In Time, which went on to sell Gold in his native Canada. His second solo recording, The Light That Guides You Home, won the 2007 Juno for Adult Alternative Album of the Year and Cuddy proves once again that his songwriting ranks with the best Canada has to offer.