And he’s off! (If the snow gods are kind.)
Yannick LaSalle (he’s the beaming guy in the middle, sandwiched between 2018 silver medal chef Daniela Manrique of The Soca Kitchen, and bronze-winner chef Jason Sawision of Stofa) is headed tomorrow to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna BC.
LaSalle is head chef of the marvelous Restaurant Les Fougeres in Chelsea, Quebec. Two years ago, at Gold Medal Plates 2017, he won a silver medal — impressive, but not enough to put him on a Kelowna-bound plane. A year later, in October 2018, a thoughtful, perfectly balanced plate of Moulard duck and red currants (plus many other beautiful bits and bobs) secured him the gold.
So now, as winner of the regional qualifier, he has a spot at the national cook-off. There, he’ll meet ten other chefs from coast to coast. This dish will most likely re-appear on the final night of the three-day competition. Before I have the pleasure of re-chewing it, LaSalle will have jumped through other hoops, including a mystery wine matching competition and the dreaded Black Box. Stay tuned!
So folks, here’s his competition:
from Victoria, Takashi Ito – Aura Waterfront Restaurant and Patio
from Calgary, Dave Bohati – Murrietas
from Edmonton, Davina Moraiko – RGE RD
from Saskatchewan, Christopher Hill – Taste Restaurant Group
from Winnipeg, Jesse S. Friesen – The Merchant Kitchen
from Toronto, Elia Herrera – Colibri
from Montreal, Jason Morris – Pastel
from Charlottetown, Irwin MacKinnon – Papa Joe’s
from Halifax, Thomas Carey – Fresh Twenty One
from St John’s, Katie Hayes – Bonavista Social Club