Prince George foodies will be in for a treat this fall as Culinary Team Canada will be in the city to host a fundraising dinner - and fine-tune their menu and teamwork - in the run up to taking on the best chefs in the world.
The team will be at the College of New Caledonia on Oct. 21 for what's been dubbed An Evening with the Masters as they prepare for the 2013 Salon Culinaire Mondial in Basel, Switzerland a month later.
CNC Chef Ron Christian is friends with the team's manager and convinced him to book a visit to Prince George by what are widely regarded as the top chefs in the nation.
Christian could not contain his excitement when the event was announced Friday in Kodiaks, the restaurant at CNC's main campus in Prince George.
"The flavours they come up with are just incredible," Christian said.
The team, which will arrive in Prince George on Oct. 17 with a truckload of equipment and ingredients, will cook for 110 - although it may be as many as 150 depending on interest and room - the same as the number of judges at the competition in Switzerland.
The event is held every six years and ranks as one of the three most important international team-cooking events in the world, with winners advancing to the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt Germany in 2016.
Canadian culinary teams have competed internationally since 1972 and in 1984 they were crowned champions for the first time at the World Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt. That began a string of four consecutive gold medals between 1984 and 1996.
The Canadian team also received best overall and world champions honours in 1997 and 2001 at the Culinary Grand Prix ScotHot and second overall in 2005 at the Salon Culinaire Mondial.
Team Canada has cooked in Edmonton, Windsor and Halifax this year to prepare for the competition and saved Prince George as the final practice destination before heading to Switzerland.
Tickets are $125 per person and will include wine pairings with the various courses. Appetizers begin at 6 p.m. in the CNC Gathering Place (Atrium) and the plated dinner will start at 7 p.m. For tickets call 250-561-5859 or email [email protected].
Organizers are also looking for a hotel to host the team. Those interested can contact CNC external relations director Randall Heidt.
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On the Menu
Here's what Culinary Team Canada has in store for An Evening with the Masters at the College of New Caledonia on Oct. 21
Appetizers:
48-degree Pacific salmon broken; lobster foam; vanilla oil; olive oil poached lobster salad; hearts of palm; English pea pure; cured salmon roe; ciabatta croutons.
Main course:
Lamb loin; truffled veal roulade; terrine of veal tongue and sweetbreads; squash pure, carrots, salsify and turnip; celeriac glazed bread pudding; madeira jus.
Dessert:
White chocolate lemon mousse; elderflower gel; orange frangipane; raspberry sorbet; almond hemp crumble; ganache with orange curd or honey meringue filling.
