The Land of the Maple Leaf Sends Its Best – And Is Bringing It On

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Posted Jul 31, 2015

The Land of the Maple Leaf Sends Its Best – And Is Bringing It On

The first-ever Canadian Food Championships (CFC) featured seven days of intense culinary competition and razor-sharp finishes as cooks and chefs convened on Centennial Plaza in Edmonton, Alberta, to try and win their way to the World Food Championships.

WFC’s CEO Mike McCloud was there for it all, including the emotional finale when 12 champions (two from six official WFC categories) learned they had earned their way into the biggest food fight in history, which will be held Kissimmee, Fla., in November.

"This was a monumental moment for aspiring cooks and chefs in Canada but also for the World Food Championships," said McCloud. "Taste of Edmonton was the perfect partner for our first International Qualifier, and the competition was world-class in every way.”

CFC designed its event to ensure that it paralleled the World Food Championships’ style and categories, bringing home cooks, sous chefs and executive chefs into the kitchen arena to compete against one another using the same turn-in process and EAT methodology.

“The talent at the Canadian Food Championships was incredible, and so was the action” Paul Lucas, Events Edmonton’s general manager said. “It was a thrill to watch so many skilled cooks from across the country and with such different backgrounds compete against one another. Based on the success of this year’s event, we anticipate that next year will draw even more competitors from all over the country.”

Competing in the World event will be category winners in Bacon, Burger Dessert, Pasta, Sandwich and Seafood, who were awarded Golden Ticket access, travel stipends and cash prizes. Each of the second place winners are also prequalified, while the third place winners will serve as alternates.

“Not one cook was disqualified, which is amazing, and every single dish that I could see was on par with or better than what we typically see at the World event," observed McCloud, who conducted pre-kickoff orientation classes for competitors and judges.

Additionally, an EAT Methodology course presented by pro BBQ chef Troy Black resulted in the certification of more than 20 official judges for future CFC competitions. These certified judges will have preferential positions should they choose to attend the World competition in November.

McCloud noted that he was particularly impressed at the inclusion of youth and children in CFC activities.

“A group of kids who had just finished a cooking camp helped me officially start one of the categories,” McCloud said. “Sixteen-year-old Alicia Hallonquist almost made it to the Pasta finals this year, and a father and son team won the dessert championship, with Amaud Valade’s 15 year-old-son serving as sous chef. This young man was so emotional, it took him 10 minutes before he could take the winner’s stage.”

McCloud said that everyone involved in the Canadian competition “brought their A Game,” and he’s certain the Canadian television special featuring the event that airs in October will bring even more enthusiasm for food sport to Canada. Canadian Food Championships International Qualifying competitions are already slated for 2016 and 2017.

About the Canadian Food Championships

The Canadian Food Championships is a high energy, high intensity, timed, double-blind judged cooking competition open to any Canadian resident with prizes valued at more than $50,000. It is the only Canadian qualifying event to get to the World Food Championships, the world’s largest food sport event, with a prize purse of $300,000. The first-ever Canadian Food Championships took place July 22-25, 2015, at Centennial Plaza, in conjunction with Taste of Edmonton. Visit canadianfoodchampionships.ca for more information.

*Photography by Heikoryll Photography

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The Land of the Maple Leaf Sends Its Best – And Is Bringing It On

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