Regular readers will remember that I previewed the Gold Medal Plates (GMP) in these pages a little over a month ago. I mention it again because it was Vancouvers turn to host the regional cooking competition on Thursday night, our city being the last stop of the GMPs coast-to-coast journey. And boy, is my belly still full.
The GMP had already pitted dozens of chefs against one another in St. Johns, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, and Calgary. As you might recall, the winning toques from each city will meet in Kelowna this February for three days of fierce competition known as the Canadian Culinary Championships (CCC).
The Vancouver chefs vying for gold, silver, and bronze medals this year were Angus An of Kitsilanos Maenam, David Gunawan of West Hastings Wildebeest, Taryn Wa of celebrated caterers Savoury Chef, host chef Joe Campo of the Westin Bayshore, Quang Dang of South Granvilles legendary West, and Lee Humphries of iconic C on the False Creek seawall. The out-of-town competitors were Mark Filatow of Kelownas Waterfront Wine Bar, Darin Paterson of cult-followed Bogners in Penticton, Jeff Van Geest of Olivers cliff-hanging Miradoro, and Nicholas Nutting of the stunning Pointe restaurant at Tofinos Wickaninnish Inn.
Needless to say, it was an awesome, hard-to-judge spread of talent. National culinary advisor James Chatto is the head of a judging order that includes local food titans John Bishop, Lesley Stowe, Barbara-Jo McIntosh, and last years gold medal winner, chef Rob Feenie. Wine maestro Sid Cross and I are the Senior Judges (we also represent BC on the national panel that adjudicates the CCC).
Our group was sequestered at a roped-off, well-lit table set away from a madding crowd of several hundred enthusiastic foodies gathered at the Westin Bayshore hotel. During the course of the night, dishes were delivered to us every 15 minutes by a chain of runners led by the presenting chef, who explained his/her dish as we looked at it, smelled it, prodded it, and set upon it critically. We judged on presentation, taste, texture, wow factor, originality, and wine pairing, and we are never especially generous.
I wont relate every dish that was plated, so here are some highlights from my own tasting notesthat go to show the slivers of difference between victory and defeat. To wit, Joe Campos albacore tuna and wine pairing was overwhelmed by a thin slice of pineapple that was still a centimetre too thick; Nicholas Nuttings potato crusted oyster was double seasoned, meaning the natural saltiness of the oyster was amplified unnecessarily by redundant seasoning of the potato; the Pinot Noir paired with Darin Patersons otherwise excellent lamb neck ravioli was too weak; and so on. And those were the kind notes.
I only had two WTF? dishes. Sometimes there are more. The first was for David Gunawans prosciutto-thin slice of hay-cured elk striploin stuck fast to the rim of a small bowl of weak juniper tea. None of the judges knew what to make of it, let alone how to eat it, and the Syrah it was paired with overwhelmed like a brick dropped hard upon a bonbon. The second was Lee Humphries inexplicable addition of green chickpeas to his otherwise flawless pork dish with Northern Divine caviar and a shot of hot apricot consomme. If he had left those out, he would have been jockeying for a podium finish.
Angus Ans outstanding bronze medal-winning dish saw a micro filet of sous vide Spring salmon squatting in a hot/sour tamarind and coconut broth. It could have snuck into the silver slot (or even vied for gold) if it werent for the weakness of its wine pairing. Try as it might, the 2011 Cedar Creek Riesling wasnt up to a job that may have been better suited to a more luscious Viognier. Out of a possible 100 points, An took a commendable 85.3.
The silver medal went to Quang Dang, who went sumptuously autumnal by seamlessly linking Yarrow Meadows duck (a squat cylinder of confit leg meat), chestnuts and apricot preserves to Foxtrot Vineyards earthy and excellent (if very hard to find) 2009 Pinot Noir. It was a sublimely structured dish, with no ingredient out of tune. He scored a well-deserved 85.4.
The winner of the gold medal was a shock to many, if only because he wasnt a Vancouverite. Mark Filatow of Kelowna presented us with lamb in three tasty guises: delicately Moroccan-spiced belly (revelatory), Merguez sausage (wine-braised shoulder and neck), and simple, un-sauced loin, all in a line split by a potato doughnut and an heirloom carrot. The wine pairing the 2010 Syrah from the Similkameen Valleys Orofino was bang on target, no small wonder when you remember that Filatow is also a trained sommelier. His winning score was 87.2.
With his ticket to the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna this February thus punched, Filatow now has to contend with being the hometown favourite, the local boy done good. The competition he will face will be fierce (as it is every year), but the pressure will be unrelenting. Any of the other BC chefs had they won would have been guaranteed an easier time of it.
To find out which Canadian chefs he will be facing and how you can get tickets to the Championships three cooking competitions (wine pairing, black box, gala), head over to GoldMedalPlates.com. I hope to see as many WE Vancouver readers in attendance as there were last year, which is to say plenty.
