Mathieu Cloutier & Jean-Philippe Saint-Denis - Photo by Steph Schumann

In Vancouver on November the 27th and 28th Seven of Canada’s finest chefs came together for the Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championship.  Following the intense two-day competition, Montreal’s Mathieu Cloutier of Kitchen Galerie emerged as the 2010 Canadian Culinary Champion.  Toronto’s David Lee from Nota Bene took the silver medal and Michael Carmichael of Ottawa’s E18hteen took the bronze.

The competitors were the chefs who had been placed first in the  Gold Medal Plates regional events across the country throughout the fall of 2009:

Vancouver:     Rob Feenie, Cactus Club Café

Edmonton:      Nathin Bye, Lazia Restaurant

Calgary:          Jan Hrabec, Crazyweed Kitchen

Ottawa:           Matthew Carmichael, Restaurant E18hteen

Montreal:         Mathieu Cloutier & Jean-Philippe Saint-Denis, Kitchen Galerie

St. John’s:       Ivan Kyutukchiev, Bianca’s

Toronto:           David Lee, Nota Bene

The final of the Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships was a three part affair with each Chef taking part in a Mystery Wine Pairing Event,  A Black Box Ingredient Competition and The Grand Finale.

Cloutier’s Gold Medal win was made up of four dishes, one a tiny rack of confit rabbit with a quenelle of duck foie gras, and a spinach-wrapped ball of foie gras and minced rabbit. The same dish that won the Kitchen Galerie team Gold in the October 21st Quebec semi- finals.

This year’s Gold Medal Plates was expected to raise $800,000, which will go to assist Canadian Olympic athletes. The chefs’ cuisine was judged by nine restaurant critics and wine specialists from across the country.