Canada's Top Chefs Sharpen Knives for Gold Medal Plates
Across the country, in the span of a month this autumn, dozens of Canada’s top chefs will do battle in seven cities – all for the benefit of Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Welcome to the seventh instalment of the popular Gold Medal Plates, which benefits the Canadian Olympic Foundation.
Gold Medal Plates (GMP) celebrates Canadian excellence in cuisine, wine, entertainment and athletic achievement. Since 2003, the fundraising program has paired Canada’s best food and wines with Canadian high performance athletes. For the latter, it has raised $2.8 million since its inception.
In each GMP event, dishes are judged by a panel of food critics – and consumed by guests in attendance. Premier chefs in each city team with Olympians and Paralympians to compete for the gold, silver and bronze medals. The winners then meet for a final nationwide competition, the Canadian Culinary Championships, in November. (Last season, Melissa Craig of Whistler’s Bearfoot Bistro won gold, Anthony Walsh of Toronto’s Canoe won silver and Roland Ménard of Montreal’s Manior Hovey took bronze.)
This year’s GMP program features well-known CTV hosts, musical guests such as Jim Cuddy and Steven Page, and a wide range of athletes. That includes 2010 hopefuls Jennifer Heil, Charles Hamelin, Alexa Loo, Aleisha Cline, Olivier Jean, Tania Vicent, Valerie Maltais, Chandra Crawford, Heather Moyse and Denny Morrison. It also includes Canada’s Chef de Mission, Nathalie Lambert and Assistant Chef Steve Podborski. And it includes a flurry of other Olympic medallists such as Kyle Shewfelt, Beckie Scott, Carol Huynh, Marnie McBean, Adam van Koeverden, Karen Cockburn, Curt Harnett, Emilie Heymans, Greg Joy and Catriona Le May Doan.
Event Dates:
• Edmonton: Oct. 21 – Shaw Conference Centre
• Vancouver: Oct. 23 – The Westin Bayshore
• Ottawa: Oct. 28 – Hilton Lac-Leamy
• Montréal: Oct. 28 – Palais des congrés de Montréal
• Calgary: Oct. 29 – Roundup Centre
• St. John’s: Nov. 12 – St. John’s Convention Centre
• Toronto: Nov. 19 – Toronto Metro Convention Centre
The Canadian Culinary Championships will be held Nov. 27-28 in Vancouver.
For tickets to any event, visit .
