Stack Brewhouse executive chef Nicolas Gignac will be bringing a taste of the North to the preliminary rounds of the Canada-wide Garland Discovered Culinary Competition in Toronto on Nov. 11.
As one of only 64 chefs selected to compete, Gignac said he’s proud to represent the North.
“People seem to think that the North doesn’t have its own food culture, but it does and it’s really unique," Gignac said. "Smoked foods, seasonal items like fiddleheads, mushrooms, berries, corn, not to mention all the game meat and fish people have from hunting and fishing.
“There are so many talented chefs in the north doing amazing things and celebrating northern food."
In the opening rounds, each chef will be provided with a basket of mystery ingredients and a stocked pantry, and will have 20 minutes to create an appetizer. From these dishes, one chef will be eliminated from the competition and the remaining three chefs will receive another basket of ingredients for the second round.
In the second round chefs will have 30 minutes to complete an entrée. After the entrée judging, one more chef will be eliminated and the remaining two chefs will be given their final basket of mystery ingredients and 20 minutes to prepare a dessert. After the judging of the desserts, the winner of the round will be announced.
Gignac is no stranger to competitive culinary competitions and feels Northern Ontario has been overlooked in the past.
"Culinary competitions often tend to focus on central Ontario or the big cities, and that doesn’t really offer a lot of opportunity for chefs, especially in more rural areas of the north,” he said. "I want to change that and make these kinds of competitions more accessible to chefs in the North. Hopefully this competition will be a step in the right direction.”
The finalists from the preliminary rounds will be announced in February and will compete in the semi-finals and finals at the Restaurants Canada Show, from March 1-3, 2020, at the Enercare Centre in Toronto.
Ryan Marcotte is a co-operative education student from Lasalle Secondary School.
