February is rapidly approaching and in preparation for the 2020 IKA Culinary Olympics, the management, support and core members of Culinary Team British Columbia have been very busy.
What’s Been Happening:
Traditionally, summer is the time for barbeques and outdoor events. This year was no exception and Team BC were very active providing their supporters with fine outside dining. For example, on Bastille day in July, the team cooked for and served the members of the Vancouver Bailliage of the Chaine de Rotisseurs at the beautiful home of Guy and Balli Ann Collette. With perfect summer weather and an unsurpassable view of the Lower Mainland, the team manned action stations, both indoors and on the terrace and provided the guests with a wide array of traditional French specialties such as bouillabaisse, seared foie gras, duck a l’orange and beef bourguignon. The team is very thankful for the opportunity to cook for the Chaine membership and for being the recipients of the event’s proceeds.
Shortly thereafter, the team journeyed to the Predator Ridge Resort for a fundraiser / practice session and meetings. The venue provided by the resort was nothing short of spectacular as the team’s guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a five course meal on the resort’s outdoor terrace overlooking the Predator Ridge golf course and the breathtaking views of areas surrounding the resort. For the first time, the team cooked and presented the meal they planned on serving at the Community Catering Competition in Stuttgart in February. Having had the opportunity to put plans into action the team met the next morning for a debriefing and a critique of the meal they had presented the night before. After meeting and discussing changes and improvements to the menu, the members entered the kitchen and embarked on an afternoon of initiating proposed changes and experimentation in perfecting their menu.
During the meetings, a great deal of discussion was had surrounding the cold competition. The team had officially registered for the community catering event and were informed of their date of competition. However, after numerous attempts at securing an acceptable date for the cold competition failed and because of the exorbitant costs associated with the event, it was determined that the team would no longer be participating in the cold competition and would be concentrating exclusively on participating in the community catering contest.
This decision was not unanimous. Tina Tang, pastry chef at predator Ridge, passionately expressed her desire to compete in the cold competition, citing her concern that the opportunity to participate in the cold competition may not occur in the future. Fully understanding her concerns, it was established that Tina would enter the cold competition as an individual entree in the pastry category and she has since been officially enrolled. Undoubtedly Tina will be enthusiastically supported and assisted by her teammates.
Just a short week later, the team engaged in a fundraising event at the palatial Delta home of Harlow and Mary Anne Burrows. The event was organized by local culinary icon, team coach and mentor, Bruno Marti. The generous guest’s were rewarded with a variety of hors d’oeuvres and champagne followed by a wide variety of culinary specialties and vintage wines. Barbecued rack of lamb and beef strip loin, duck breast with blueberry sauce, pan seared sable fish and arctic char were among the many specialties served from stations located around the magnificent gardens. All were served with the appropriate garnishes and accompaniments, As is usually the case, team pastry chef Natasha Norton excelled by serving Bruno’s and La Belle Auberge’s signature dessert, mascarpone mousse in a chocolate teardrop. A night of hard yet rewarding work by all resulted in the recruitment of an all new group of supporters.
A very successful Delta event behind them, the team met in the kitchen of the Trump International hotel for an official practice session. The team were charged with the challenge of preparing their menu for sixty persons while facing the ticking clock. During the practice session a timeline was developed to assign tasks to the team members and to evenly distribute the workload. While the team worked they were very closely scrutinized by their coaches and advisors. With sanitation playing a very important role in the community catering event, Jane Ruddick closely examined the team from a sanitation point of view. Shawn Lang evaluated the team’s performance including the prioritizing of tasks and efficiency of movement while James Hutton analyzed technique including methods of work and use of equipment. With the menu refined and close to being finalized and with a work schedule established, it was concluded that the team had made significant progress towards achieving their collective goal. Nevertheless, it was made clear that by no means was the team ready to go and there was much work yet to be done. Special thanks to Executive Chef Jerome Norton for his hospitality, helpfulness and his much appreciated critique and advise.
September began with another practice at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. Although shorthanded because of illness the team pressed on and once again prepared their dinner for a very appreciative group of sixty people in the school’s dining room. The team support members filled in the gaps left by two of the team’s absent members and the event became a banquet rather than a practice but it was agreed that every opportunity for the team’s members to cook together only further hones their skills and develops their chemistry in the kitchen. Many thanks to the students and staff at PICA that so willingly volunteered their valuable time and utilized their skills to ensure a successful team event. Special thanks to Yves and Sylvia Potvin for so graciously providing the team with exceptional facilities for practice and especially for being dedicated, enthusiastic, and generous supporters.
With yet another practice behind them, the team engaged in preparing and serving a dinner for their friends at the annual Whiterock Hospice Society’s annual hoedown charity event. From all reports the response was very positive with attendees raving about the barbecued chicken with charred corn salad, braised beef short ribs, miso glazed salmon, pulled pork with whiskey barbecue sauce, a wide assortment of salads and accompaniments and pavlova with lemon curd and fresh fruit to finish.
Four important additions have been made to the team’s roster. Christine Cho has joined the team as official photographer and administrator of the team’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. Meanwhile, Shawn Lang is now officially overseeing the team’s logistics, while Marco Baldissera will provide general support for the team and Helen Orimaco – Pumatong will be accompanying the team to Germany assuming the very important role as team chef.
What’s Gonna Happen:
Two more complete timed practice runs are planned for October in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. The first , Hosted by chef Jeremy Luypen will take place at the Summerhill Winery in Kelowna on Sunday, October 6th followed by a second practice hosted by David Foot and team member Kurt Waddington on October 7th at the Delta Grand Hotel also in Kelowna.
Contact the winery and /or the hotel for details and tickets.
Five more practices are scheduled before the Olympics including a fundraising event at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts on November 24th
Stay tuned for further details and additional opportunities to enjoy the team’s culinary skills.