Students cook up medals at Skills Canada competition

Vancouver Island University apprenticeship student Kristina Dyrblom, 26, overcame her nerves and won a gold medal in baking during the post-secondary Skills Canada competition held in Abbottsford last week. It was her first competition.

Originally from Prince George, Dyrblom graduated from VIU’s 10-month Professional Baking program in 2008, then completed second year of her apprenticeship program at Vancouver Community College. She returned to VIU to finish the apprenticeship and currently works as a pastry cook at Mon Petit Choux, a bakery café on Commercial Street in downtown Nanaimo where she’s rapidly building hours toward her Red Seal certification.

At the Skills Canada competition, Dyrblom created a chocolate showpiece in the shape of a swan, and 15 moulded chocolates, a lemon raspberry tart, a caramel orange cream puff, and a plated dessert.

“I was a little nervous but tried to remain calm,” she said. “I wrote out a schedule of what I had to accomplish in the four-hour time period, and stuck to it. I was really shocked and excited to win gold.”

To prepare for the competition, Dyrblom practised a minimum of eight hours a week for two months at Mon Petit Choux and in the VIU Food lab under the watchful eye of VIU Chef Ken Harper.

“My bosses Linda Allen and Geatan Brousseau at Mon Petit Choux allowed me go into the bakery late at night to practise and use their equipment before the bakers arrived at 4 am,” said Dyrblom. “I enjoy working with experienced and knowledgeable people like Linda, Geatan, and Chef Harper at VIU and Sarah Wallbank, former pastry chef at Mon Petit Choux, and Martin Barnett of VIU’s Professional Baking program. They are excellent mentors and I want to learn as much as I can from them.”

Dyrblom is now practising for the national Skills Canada competition May 19 - 23 in Waterloo, Ontario. 

“Some of the benefits for our students participating in competitions are that they really have the opportunity to work under pressure, practice organizational skills, develop critical thinking habits in order to solve problems, and experience the great sense of satisfaction of accomplishing and completing a plan in a very stressful situation,” said Chef Harper.

Dyrblom plans to complete VIU’s Culinary Arts apprenticeship program next year. “Gaining a double red seal – one in Baking and one in Culinary Arts - will open up a lot more opportunities for me, and fulfill a longtime goal that I have set for myself,” she said. “It will be a great achievement and something to be very proud of.”

Meanwhile, VIU student Taylor Edison also earned accolades at the provincial Skills Canada competition. Edison, who is just completing first year of VIU’s Culinary Arts Certificate program, won a bronze medal.

Originally from the Cowichan Valley, Edison completed level one of the ACE-IT program at Frances Kelsey Secondary during Grade 11. The program allowed him to acquire both university credits and high school credits at the same time.

At the Skills Canada competition, Edison had three-and-a-half-hours to create a series of mouth-watering dishes: an eggplant lentil risotto with roasted red pepper coulis and shaved asparagus; apple and squash napoleon and jullian fennel salad with warm ginger vinagrette.

“Being part of the Skills Canada competition was an awesome experience,” he said. “My VIU instructors Chef Joerg Gabler and Chef Gordon Cowen helped me so much, but I realize I still have tons to learn. The chef instructors at VIU are totally dedicated to helping students. I would recommend the program to anyone.”

Edison recently landed a job as a second cook at the Rimrock Hotel and Resort in Banff for a year. He plans to eventually return to VIU to complete the Culinary program, then move to Europe to work at a highend resort or hotel.

“I feel passionate about food and cooking for people,” he said. “There’s nothing that I’d rather do than cook. It makes me tick.”