Chefs from across North America competed for a $10,000 cash prize at the third annual International PEI Shellfish Chef Challenge Saturday, September 17, 2005 at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The event was held in conjunction with the PEI International Shellfish Festival.
As a result of the popularity and success this event has generated over the last two years, organizers have agreed to make the Chef Challenge an annual event. Local, regional, national and International chefs are invited to compete and produce the best dishes using Prince Edward Island seafood.
The 2005 winners are:
1. First Place Gold Winner - Chef Justin Labossiere, Elbow River Casino, Calgary, AB;
2. Second Place Silver Winner - Chef Neil Porter, Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Whistler, BC;
3. Third Place Bronze Winner - Chef Daniel Olson, Four Seasons, Washington, DC.
Seventeen chefs from across North America took part in the competition, including chefs from Washington, New Orleans and Los Angeles. The competition followed a black box format where competitors received a sampling of PEI shellfish to use as the core ingredient in the preparation of one appetizer, one main course and a dessert. Competitors had just four hours to prepare the three courses for judging.
This year’s judges included:
• Robert Sulatycky - Executive Chef, Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA;
• Robert Danhi - Executive Chef, Two Chefs on a Roll, Carson, CA;
• Gordon Bailey - Executive Chef/Owner, Dayboat, Oyster Bed, PE;
• Julia Rutland - Food Editor, Costal Living Magazine, Birmingham, AL;
• Paula Dean - New Product Development Manager, Sobey’s Head Office, Toronto, ON;
• Mikael Schaltz - Director of Meat and Seafood, Sobey’s Head Office, Toronto, ON;
• Pamela Good - Chef, The Culinary Institute of Canada, Charlottetown, PE;
• Andrew Morrison, Chef, The Culinary Institute of Canada, Charlottetown, PE.
“PEI is the perfect location to hold this competition as we are home to the world’s finest shellfish,” said Minister of Development and Technology Mike Currie on behalf of PEI Business Development Inc., one of the competition’s main sponsors. “This event attracts some of the most prestigious chefs from around the world and allows them to become more familiar with PEI seafood products. Today, the shellfish industry contributes close to $70 million to the Island’s economy and provides employment for more than 2,500 Islanders.”
Other sponsors of the 2005 Chef Challenge include: The Culinary Institute of Canada, PEI Seafood Processors Association, Prince Edward Aqua Farms, and Ocean Choice International Inc.- 30 -
BACKGROUNDER
THE CHEFS ENTERED IN THE 2005 CHEF CHALLENGE INCLUDE:
1. Neil Porter - Fairmont Chateau Whistler - Whistler, BC;
2. Michael Pagnacco - Fairmont Chateau Whistler - Whistler, BC;
3. Geoff Hopgood - Fairmont Waterfront - Vancouver, BC;
4. Justin Labossiere - Elbow River Casino - Calgary, AB;
5. Victor DeGuzman - Fairmont Algonquin - St. Andrews, NB;
6. Pierre LaPage - L’Heritage Restaurant - Yellowknife, NT;
7. Heather Rhymes - Vineland Estates - Niagara, ON;
8. Jan Willem Stulp - Vineland Estates - Niagara, ON;
9. Roger Andrews - Cambridge Estates - St. John’s, NF;
10. Christopher Mills - Joey’s Restaurants - Burnaby, BC;
11. Tobias MacDonald - La Belle Auberge Restaurant - Ladner, BC;
12. Andrew Nicholson - The Loyalist Country Inn - Summerside, PE;
13. Eric Rochfort - Casino Nova Scotia - Halifax, Nova Scotia;
14. Daniel Olson - The Four Seasons Hotel - Washington, DC;
15. Alon Shaya - The Besh Steakhouse at Harrah’s - New Orleans, LA;
16. Douglas Dodd - Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air - Los Angeles, CA;
17. Scott Swamba - Ciao Amici’s Ristorante - Detroit, MI.