You could chew the tension in the air as chef Ryan Cyre went head to head with chef Marc Kraima for the culinary supremacy of the city.
On Sunday afternoon at the BC Northern Exhibition, these two kitchen pros squared off in the finals of the first ever kitchen theatre competition. For Cyre, who sailed through the Iron Chef-style tournament undefeated, it established his White Goose Bistro as truly one of the new bright spots in local cuisine.
Kraima and his team from the North 54 kitchen got edged out by Cyre in the very first round but climbed back to the Top 2 through the wildcard door. It reaffirmed the high standing of one of the city's oldest downtown restaurants.
"This was one of the best weeks of my life," said Cyre when the White Goose team was announced as the winner, to the thunderous roar of the Northern Taste Market crowd. "It has made us a better restaurant. All the planning, all the pressure, all the working together in close quarters on the stage in front of all those people, and the judges - it has brought our kitchen closer together."
Celebrity chef Bob Blumer dubbed the Northern Taste Market Championships the "iron ore chef" show at the BCNA, in honour of the industrial north forging such a competitive relationship with food. He was the guest host and on-stage commentator for the event. Through the amateur rounds - won eventually by Heidi Johns - and the professional side, he was the one explaining the details to the audiences, interviewing the chefs as they toiled under the weight of the clock (30 minutes to table their appetizer to the panel of judges, 45 minutes to table their main course, one hour to present their finished dessert) and the scrutiny of the public.
The first amateur round attracted more than 100 onlookers and by the time the finals were held, it was standing room only in Kin 2 arena. And like any professional athlete or rock star will tell you, the crowd's collective energy definitely plays a role in the on-stage performance.
"There are no smiles up here on stage, it is all focus, I just can't get over the intensity," said Blumer during his running commentary. His co-host, Andy Beesley, spotted first one chef then the other mopping their brow and added, "We saw the amateurs perspiring but not the pros during the preliminary rounds. They have broken a sweat now. Both are visibly perspiring and we are only halfway through the appetizers. They are sweaty, but they are calm and cool with the preparations; this is where the professionalism really shows."
Blumer said on stage, and reiterated privately after the event was done, that "Prince George, I'm telling you, I'm not just saying this, you have something really special going on here with all these great restaurants and cafes you have. You are missing the hipster places, some of the niche places, but you have mid- to upper-fine dining totally down. I've been to other places of this size who think they do, or try to, but really and truly that scene is real and special here."
Another thing Blume took note of as a curious and educated outsider was the camaraderie. Although White Goose was crowned the winner, North 54 was smiling and applauding. Both teams met up later that night for a dinner at another medalists' location, Twisted Cork, and several other competitors dropped in to join the party. Their chatter revolved around ways of doing better next year, ways the event could be better organized, and how each of their restaurants picked up popular momentum as a result. Prince George "Iron Ore Chef 2015" was already something they were chewing on.
