by Malcolm Jolley
On February 2nd North Americans from Pennsylvania to the Bruce Peninsula and beyond learned they could looked forward to six more weeks of winter. Chef Chris MacDonald also remarked, tongue-in-cheek, that evening that his brothers (and sisters) in toques could look forward to 10 more days of Winterlicious. Something had to be done to break up the monotony, so McDonald and Cava co-owner and Chef Doug Penfold came up with ‘Ground Hog Day’. They would supply paella and wine (generously supplied by Henry of Pelham), if six young chefs brought their best cold pork dish in competition. Thus Cava’s 1st Annual Ground Hog Invitational Challenge was born. Artist Robert Sprachman was commissioned to create a trophy: a plaque, adonred with the feet of used Ibireca hams, on which the name of each years winner will be engraved.
Answering the call to glory were six young chefs from Toronto and one from Niagara-on-the-Lake: Fabio Bondi from Local Kitchen, Ted Corrado from C5, Ryan Crawford from NOTL’s Stone Road Grille, Mark Cutrara from Cowbell Restaurant, Michael Steh and Matthew Swift from Reds and Grant Van Gameren from The Black Hoof. All of them renown for their charcuterie and general prowess with salty pig parts.
Your humble correspondent was invited to be part of a four person judging panel that would taste the six pork dished blind. My fellow members of the porcine judiciary were Michael Schmidt, whose campaign for raw milk had just been vindicated by the courts and who farmed pigs himself, Sasha Chapman, the famous food writer and Daniel Speck who all were happy to see, having brought the refreshments from Henry of Pelham, which he runs with his two brothers, Paul and Matthew. The rest of the diners, who packed the house on a cold Tuesday night, were also given judging sheets to elect a “People’s Choice” winner.
In the end Steh and Swift captured the judge’s award, though the people elected Van Gameren. All agreed each dish was delicious in any event, and photos and descriptions of each follow…
Malcolm Jolley is the Editor of Good Food Revolution.
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