by Sherri Hogan

President of the Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks, Bruno Marti is pleased to announce that the team from the Culinary Institute of Canada has won the National Youth Team selection competition and will represent Canada at the next World Culinary Olympics in Erfurt Germany in October 2004. The competition, another first for the CFCC, - an organization which is going through some fundamental changes - took place as part of the Canadian Restaurant & Foodservice Association International Food and Beverage Show held in Toronto, February 16 - 18, 2003.

Colleges competing were Nova Scotia Community College, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Liaison College, Campbellville, Ontario; Vancouver Community College; George Brown College, Toronto; Humber College, Toronto; Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton; Algonquin College, Ottawa; and the Culinary Institute of Canada, Charlottetown, P.E.I..

Judges were chosen from across Canada - Shawn Whalen - Executive Chef, The Marriott Hotel, Bloor Street, Toronto; Michael Noble, Executive Chef, "Catch", Calgary; Clayton Folkers, Chef Patisserie, Edmonton Trade and Convention Centre; Michael Smith, Host - Chef at Large, Food Network Canada; Ralph Bettany, National Culinary Manager, Unilever Bestfoods Foodservice Canada and David Wong, Knorr CFCC 2002 Apprentice of the Year, The Fairmont Airport Hotel, Vancouver.

Culinary Colleges from across the country were invited to send a three-person team consisting of two junior competitors and one coach. Each team created a four-course menu consisting of a hot or cold appetizer, a soup, a main course and a dessert from a surprise list of ingredients.

The award was presented to the winning team by Bruno Marti and Glen Cowan, Brand Manager, Unilever Bestfoods, the major sponsor of the National Youth Team. The winners received a plaque and a cheque towards their expenses for $10,000 from the CFCC.

Michael Smith in his remarks to the Teams prior to the presentation of the award reminded all the competitors - "Always remember that it is very powerful to know what you are capable of doing."

The winning team members from the Culinary Institute of Canada are Team Coach/Instructor Chef Hans Anderegg, Rebecca Hutchings and Kreg Graham, both Pastry Arts students and graduates of the Culinary Arts program.

Other sponsors of the competition were the Canadian Restaurant & Foodservice Association, Garland Canada, Olymel, Ocean Jewel Seafoods, Royal Doulton, KitchenAid and Topper Linen Canada.