Culinary Youth Team Canada garnered two gold medals and placed fourth in the world in the IKA / Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany earlier this month, the highest finish ever of any Canadian Junior National Team.

The team competed against 23 other junior national teams from around the world in the IKA Buffet and the Restaurant of Nations. In both competitions, the young chefs demonstrated that Canada can keep pace with the top talent from around the world. Their efforts were the culmination of more than two years of hard work and dedication, said Chef Austin Clement, program manager for The Culinary Institute of Canada and Chef de Mission, Culinary Youth Team Canada.

“The Culinary Institute of Canada and Holland College committed to supporting the national team, as we did in 2004 and 2008, throughout its development, and we are extremely proud of what they were able to accomplish. They basically put their lives on hold for two years to develop their skills and prepare to be measured against their peers in the worlds top arena.”

Culinary Youth Team Canada was formed in the fall of 2017 with a mandate from the Canadian Culinary Federation to represent Canada through to February 2020. The team trained five days a week in the Kerrilynn McInnis Culinary Skills Lab at The Culinary Institute of Canada, which was the team’s largest sponsor and provided training facilities, coaching, and team leadership.

Chelsea Delorme, from Morden, Manitoba, and Islander Ryan Llewellyn, from Stratford, are both graduates of The Culinary Institute of Canada’s Culinary Arts program. The other team members are graduates from culinary schools across the country. Jacob Brandt is a graduate of Niagara College; Stefanie Francavilla, a graduate of Humber College; Sydney Hamelin, a graduate of Saskatchewan Polytechnic; Raymond Mock, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa; Korae Nottveit, a graduate of Southern Alberta Institute of Technology; and Leah Patitucci, who graduated from Vancouver Community College. Their coaches were chefs Hans Anderegg, Kevin Boyce, Austin Clement, Peter Dewar, Christian Marchsteiner, Logan Rafuse and Joerg Soltermann.

Holland College president Dr. Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald congratulated the team and coaches on their success at the Olympics.

“I travelled with the team and witnessed firsthand the commitment and dedication of these young chefs and of the chef instructors who have coached them since the fall of 2017. Their talent, depth of training and their will to win were key elements of the team’s excellent showing in the competition,” he said.  “To witness them transition from our training kitchens in Canada to the spotlight of such a high-profile competition was truly an extraordinary experience. We were proud to be tasked with putting together the national junior team, and we are thrilled that their hard work and the training they received at the CIC was so justly rewarded.”

Team member Raymond Mock said being part of the team was the experience of a lifetime.

“IKA 2020 is a moment that will never be forgotten. The hurdles we jumped, the tears we shed and the moments we shared has showed me that it didn’t matter how old you were, or where you came from, or how long you’ve been cooking, what matters is knowing that someone always has my back and I will always have theirs. Through every up and every down, we knew that the only way we could go is forward and together. I’m very proud to be a part of this team and couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to do this with.”

For more information about the 2020 Culinary Youth Team Canada and the IKA / Culinary Olympics, visit www.youthteamcanada.com.

In this picture: Culinary Youth Team Canada members (L-R) Leah Patitucci, Stefanie Francavilla, Jacob Brandt, Sydney Hamelin Logan Rafuse, Raymond Mock, Korae Nottveit, Ryan Llewellyn, and Chelsea Delorme proudly display their second gold medal at the IKA / Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany.