Vancouver Chefs Competing for a Shot at National Championship

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Things are heating up in six highly celebrated Vancouver kitchens, as some of the city’s most dynamic culinary talents prepare to compete at Canada’s Great Kitchen Party Vancouver. A noteworthy slate of competing chefs will face off at the regional qualifier on Thursday, November 24, 2022 for a shot at representing Vancouver at the 2023 Canadian Culinary Championship. Stakes are high for the skilled contenders as the world’s culinary spotlight is shining brightly on our city after the recent inaugural Michelin Guide Vancouver announcement. Their goal: to keep the National Championship title in Vancouver as the reigning incumbent is illustrious local chef, Roger Ma of Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar, hot on the heels of acclaimed chef Alex Chen’s national title two years prior.

Vancouver’s Great Kitchen Party winner will be the last of nine victorious Canadian regional competitors to be revealed. Each local chef will present their dish to a panel of distinguished judges: James Chatto (Canada’s Great Kitchen Party National Culinary Advisor and Head Judge); Joie Alvaro Kent (Canada’s Great Kitchen Party Vancouver Senior Judge); Roger Ma; Andrea Carlson; Hamid Salimian; Douglas Chang; and Sid Cross. The winning chef will move on to compete against the top culinarians from eight other cities across the country at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa, February 3-4, 2022.

“The diverse representation among this year’s impressive slate of chef competitors reflects our city’s deep appreciation of independently-owned restaurants,” explains Joie Alvaro Kent, Vancouver cookbook author, food writer, and culinary judge. “I am eager to see what these culinary stars bring to the table on November 24, and which one rises to the top.”

“As a past participant in the great kitchen party, I’m looking forward to seeing the unique culinary progression of the chefs this fall,” says Andrea Carlson, chef and owner of Burdock & Co. Restaurant, Bar Gobo, Harvest Community Foods.

This hotly contested culinary competition goes down in front of a public audience at the Westin Bayshore as the centrepiece for one of the city’s largest annual fundraising dinner parties. Tickets for the Great Kitchen Party Vancouver are available for purchase online at greatkitchenparty.com/ca/cities/vancouver, and include live performances by Neil Osborne of 54-40, blues singer Kandle Osborne, and Canadian Hall of Fame band, Chilliwack with frontman Bill Henderson, plus the opportunity to bid on once-in-a-lifetime experiential trips and other incredible items in the live and silent auctions.

Funds raised at Canada’s Great Kitchen Party Vancouver 2022 benefit three charities that celebrate and elevate Canadian culture through youth-focussed grassroots initiatives. MusiCounts is a national charity which ensures that music education is inclusive, sustainable and accessible for youth across Canada; Spirit North uses land and water-based activities to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous youth, empowering them to be unstoppable in sport, school and life; and Fresh Roots is a Vancouver-based charity that works to transform urban spaces to create thriving neighbourhood gathering places for learning, sharing, and connecting through food.

ABOUT CANADA’S GREAT KITCHEN PARTY
Canada’s Great Kitchen Party is a social enterprise dedicated to “Building a Better Canada”
through the elevation and celebration of Canadian excellence in the culinary arts, sport and music. Staged in nine cities across the country, each event is a regional culinary competition which qualifies the winning chefs to move on to compete at the Canadian Culinary Championship on February 3 and 4 in Ottawa. Chefs, athletes, musicians and business leaders all come together for a spectacular experience and to provide young Canadians the opportunity to be extraordinary through sport, music and food. We proudly contribute to the following beneficiaries: Spirit North, MusiCounts and Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society. As the largest exposition of Canadian wines, over 200 wineries and local breweries and spirit companies are profiled at our events. For more information, visit greatkitchenparty.com, and @greatkitchenparty on Instagram.

Media photos can be found at:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1i7Gp9DBfMaulMwLDiroO-h8D-MTeNe4f?usp=sharing

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/559d77e6-acc0-401c-87df-173902d26a1f