Simon Martin is preparing to serve up his expertise on the global stage at an international cooking competition this fall.
A fundraiser dinner on February 27 will support Simon Martin’s journey with Team Canada to an international cooking stage.
Simon Martin is preparing to serve up his expertise on the global stage at an international cooking competition this fall.
Martin, a Culinary Arts student, will compete with Team Canada in the 2026 RAK Porcelain Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg, one of the biggest and most important cooking competitions in the world, this November. The event takes place every four years and features more than 200 teams.
For Martin, who comes from a family of chefs, the opportunity is both exciting and humbling.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “Last year, when people asked what my culinary dream was, I said to be a member of Team Canada. I would never have thought that six months later I would be practicing with the team and going to Luxembourg.”
Martin first connected with Team Canada last April, volunteering with them during two fundraisers on Vancouver Island. He asked the team manager if he could stay involved with the team and has since supported fundraiser dinners by assisting with prep, stewarding timed practices and running dining room action stations. His role with the team has grown steadily, giving him hands-on experience in high-level competition training.
“Training with Team Canada team is very different than school,” he said. “I have a much stricter schedule and a timeline that we have to follow. Every detail matters. We repeat the same menu at each practice to improve things like the speed of plating, precision of cooking and consistency of each component. In school, there is room for learning and experimenting, but competition training is mostly focused on execution and working under pressure.”
Martin credits VIU’s Culinary Arts program with helping him develop the foundation needed to compete at an international level.
“Knowing the fundamentals and principles of cooking allows me to adopt and adapt them for the tasks and dishes I need to make,” he said. “Each chef instructor at VIU has a different culinary background, such as international cuisines, banquet-style cooking, pastry and fine dining, so their feedback is crucial to producing impressive and innovative food.”
Martin is also training for the Western Culinary Conference in March and the Skills BC competition in April. He practices after class Monday to Thursday and all day on Fridays, honing skills on different components and plates.
Balancing school, work and training is one of his biggest challenges.
“Luckily, I currently work for my parents’ small dessert food truck,” he said. “They support me in my culinary endeavours so I can move my schedule around with very short notice.”
Community members will have a chance to support Martin and Team Canada at a fundraiser dinner hosted at VIU on Friday, February 27. Guests can expect a fine dining experience created by chefs from across the country.
“Each team member works at a very prestigious restaurant in Canada, so there is a strong level of experience, creativity and professionalism behind this menu,” said Martin, who hopes to follow in their footsteps when he graduates. “It’s an opportunity to support the team, experience the Olympic tasting menu and see the skill and hard work that goes into fine dining.”
To learn more about the event and buy tickets, visit the Olympic tasting experience event page.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Eric Zimmer, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University
P: 250.618.7296 | E: Eric.Zimmer@viu.ca |W: news.viu.ca
The VIU community acknowledges and thanks the Snuneymuxw, Quw’utsun, Tla’amin, Snaw-naw-as and Qualicum First Nation on whose traditional lands we teach, learn, research, live and share knowledge
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