Hawksworth chef de cuisine Kristian Eligh is headed to Kelowna next week to take on the best chefs in the country at the annual Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships.
Eligh is hoping to become the first BC chef to win since 2007, when Melissa Craig of Bearfoot Bistro brought home the gold.
Eligh won the right to represent BC after winning the regional Gold Medal Plate competition in Victoria in November. This time around, Eligh will be up against some of the brightest culinary stars in the country, including John Horne (Toronto), Antonio Park (Montreal), Dave Bohati (Calgary), Renée Lavallée (Halifax), Luc Jean (Winnipeg), Ryan O’Flynn (Edmonton), Chris Hill (Saskatoon), Mark McCrowe (St. John’s), Patrick Garland (Ottawa), and Milton Rebello (Regina).
The competition starts Feb. 6 at the Delta Grand Okanagan with a mystery wine pairing. Chefs will be given a bottle of wine and must create a dish with local ingredients that best complements the mysterious vintage, in a set amount of time and with a set budget.
Round 2 is the infamous Black Box, where chefs will receive only 10 minutes notice, and a black box containing 10 ingredients. Then they will have to produce and plate one spectacular dish using at least six of the 10 ingredients for the judges, all in less than an hour, Iron Chef-style.
The grand finale closes out the competition, and anything goes. Chefs create their best dish for guests to sample, paired with a great wine from their regional winery partner.
For more info, visit GoldMedalPlates.com
