By Jamie Drummond
Chef Rodney Bowers, Chef Daniel Mezzolo, and Chef Donna Dooher make the final call in one of the qualifying rounds.
Since November of 2011 Toronto’s Nella Cucina‘s stunning Cooking Studio has hosted a series of 12 qualifying rounds for the Discovered Culinary Competition, a new challenge to find the best up and coming Chef in Ontario.
The winning Chef will not only have bragging rights for winning the challenge but will also win an expenses-paid trip to Spain.
Over the weeks many a Chef has come and gone, being put through their paces by a ever-changing panel of celebrity judges.
Competitors are faced with the prospect of creating an appetizer, and entrée, and a dessert with three boxes of mystery ingredients, and all within an allotted time period.
As the countdown slowly clicks towards zero the temperatures and tensions in the kitchen slowly begin to rise as these Chefs use all of their acquired skills to prove to the ruthless (joke!) judges that they are the very best in their field.
12 Chefs have made it through to the semi-finals that will take place this Sunday and Monday at the 2012 CRFA show, with the cream of the crop moving through to the grand final on Tuesday the 6th of March. Come down and cheer on your favourite Chefs. Get your tickets for the CRFA show here.
The schedule of competition:
Sunday, March 4 – semi-finals heat 1
Judges – Emanuela Constantini, Gabriele Paganelli, Olaf Mertons
Competitors – Aaron Carley, William Serre, John Koplimae, fan favourite #1
Sunday, March 4 – semi-finals heat 2
Judges – Emanuela Constantini, Gabriele Paganelli, Olaf Mertons
George Tyminski, Mitchell Lamb, Michael Bashford, fan favourite #2
Monday, March 5 – semi-finals heat 3 –
Judges – Giacomo Pasquini, Mark Wilson, John Placko
William Tolentino, Trish Gill, Dan Craig, Feb 27 winner
Monday, March 5 – semi-finals heat 4
Judges – Giacomo Pasquini, Mark Wilson, Steve Gonzalez
Glenn Sheridan, Alejandro Winzer, Bruno Elsier, Jeff Kang
Tuesday, March 6 – finals
Judges – Donna Dooher, Jamie Drummond, Eric LeVine, John Placko
Competitors to be announced
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… and he was honoured to be included as a judge in this great new competition.
