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Students work magic at the Nations Cup

To those of us not blessed with culinary talents, chefs can seem almost like magicians. They chop and stir and slice and saute; basic ingredients and throw them into pots and pans to create dishes so gastronomically amazing that the whole is much, much greater than the sum of the parts; dishes that transform our sense of well-being so much that we suspect something magical must have occurred. But of course, chefs aren’t magicians...or are they?

Two graduates of Holland College’s Culinary Institute of Canada seemed to have traded in their rolling pins for magic wands in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently, when they pulled a rabbit out of a black box - and turned it into precious metal in The Nations Cup culinary competition.

Alex Haun and Mandy Wingert brought home four gold medals, a silver medal, a bronze medal and two Best in Show awards from the international culinary competition.

Hosted by Grand Rapids Community College, The Nations Cup is an invitational event for young chefs. Two-person teams from Barbados, Scotland, United States, Mexico, and Chile, the winners of the last competition in 2005, competed against each other for three full days, preparing appetizers, salads, poultry, fish, shellfish, meat and game. The biannual event culminates in a lavish five-course banquet for 100 people, with each team contributing a course.

Under the expert guidance of Chef Instructor Hans Anderegg, young chefs Mandy Wingert, 22, and Alex Haun, 21, practised for six weeks in preparation for the competition. Getting ready for such a competition involves perfecting recipes, planning for the unexpected, and learning to accomplish very precise tasks in high pressure situations.

Although Chef Hans travelled with the two competitors to The Nations Cup, once the competition began, he was not permitted to offer any advice or suggestions to them.

Each day of competition featured a black box ingredient-a mystery item that the competitors had to incorporate into the dish they were preparing. Depending on the ingredient, a black box item can make or break a dish. Chef Hans recalled the team’s reaction when they discovered that their dish had to feature rabbit.

“They were surprised. Usually we expect beef or chicken, rabbit isn’t something you anticipate; but at that point, as coach I wasn’t allowed to help them.”

Mandy and Alex quickly recovered, and created a dish so remarkable that it earned the honour of Best in Show.

Competition Chairman and Grand Rapids Community College Chef/Professor Angus Campbell said the Culinary Institute of Canada team represented the institute, and Canada, well.
 
“I can not even begin to describe my continuing admiration and awe at the preparation and quality of work shown by the team. No student team in my eyes are better prepared, coached or professionally turned out than the one from the Culinary Institute of Canada. Hans is not only a first class person and dear friend but a superb leader and culinary coach. Mandy and Alex were just great students; they were courteous, mannerly, well prepared for battle and extremely helpful to other teams and coaches even during the heat of competition. The judges loved their food and we all were very impressed with all the innovative ideas they conjured up in such a short time.

“We nurture an atmosphere of education and excellence and I believe the Culinary Institute of Canada team was exemplary of what learning and great camaraderie are about. I can tell you, now that the dust has settled, that the team was clipping at the heels of the eventual winners, and they were not off by much.”

Both Mandy and Alex are members of the 2008 Culinary Youth Team Canada. The team is preparing now for upcoming competitions culminating in the Culinary Olympics held in Erfurt, Germany in October.

For more information about this release, please contact:
Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer
Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Monday, November 19, 2007