April 6, 2004 - 5:00pm
For three months preceding the BC Jr. Chefs Association Annual Hot Competition held in BC Place, Vancouver, recently, two Malaspina University-College culinary arts students were busy streamlining their entries for the competition.
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Students Sarah Bingham and Chris Dueck spent weeks practicing with salmon only to be told in the final week before the competition that the fish they were to prepare had been changed to turbot. This added to the stress of an already stressful time as they headed into the first competition of their careers.
Bingham and Dueck were competing with students from several culinary schools located in the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. During the cook-off there is a panel of judges who mark them on how organized they are during preparation, technical difficulty, cleanliness, timing, presentation, temperature and ultimately, the flavour of the dish.
The students were given only 30 minutes to produce two plates of turbot as hot entries made more stressful as it was performed in front of an audience of 300 people.
The judging was tough this year with only one gold medal being awarded. Dueck was awarded a silver medal for his poached turbot over saffron rice and tamarind glazed eggplant with sugar-pea coconut milk froth. Bingham took home a bronze medal with her star anise and citrus scented steamed turbot over coconut cous cous with sautéed okra and shiitake mushrooms.
Chef Craig Rogers, the instructor and coach for the Malaspina students said, “Competition at this level is tough but it teaches our students the organizational skills needed to work in the best kitchens. We’re really proud of how well Chris and Sarah did in their first competition.”
Tags: In the Community
