Anahi English, owner and chef at Stomping Grounds Bistro, Café and Catering, has won Chopped Canada.
English appeared on Season 3, Episode 23, called “Dill-icious,” which aired on Sept. 24.
She competed against Felicia Alberti, lead cook at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and Crystel Breary, a line cook at Earls Restaurant in Toronto, and Charlene Santry, executive chef at Mill Street Crepes Company in Almonte, Ont.
The judges were Susur Lee, Antonio Park and Roger Mooking.
Competitors had to create three courses using mystery ingredients during a fixed amount of time.
They were also allowed to use items from a pantry and a fridge.
Having only 30 minutes to create a dish was the most difficult part of the competition for English.
“[You had to] think on your feet and be quick and follow your instinct and gut because it’s very hard to start something and then change your mind,” said the owner of Stomping Grounds, in Pitt Meadows.
For appetizers, the chefs had 20 minutes to create something tasty using venison strip loin, bacon bits, sesame and garlic bean paste and dill.
English created a sesame, garlic and bean paste strip loin.
For the entrée, the remaining contestants had 30 minutes to create a dish using gem lettuce, shrimp chips, fondue cheese and caramelized onions.
English made a shrimp chip halibut with a caramelized onion sauté.
She faced off against Alberti for the top prize.
They both had 30 minutes to create a dessert using water crackers, hazelnut oil, evaporated milk and avocado.
After making it through the first two rounds, English knew her dessert had to stand out.
“I really had to do something out of my comfort zone, something I had possibly never before and take a chance because I wanted it to be something great,” said English.
She decided to make a thin Peruvian pastry her grandmother frequently made with hazelnut oil cookies and avocado ice cream.
“The thing with making ice cream in that amount of time is that if it goes wrong you can’t really fix it,” she said.
Judge Lee, responsible for three popular Toronto restaurants, enjoyed that the dessert was not overly sweet.
“Your avocado ice cream is really velvet,” Lee complimented.
The crackers with the orange-liqueur-binded with fruits, I really enjoyed that,” he added.
After Alberti was chopped, she said she lost to a good competitor.
“This is a dream come true,” said English at the end of the episode.
English has already spent part of the $10,000 prize money on a week-long family vacation and a new kitchen for the restaurant that she opened in January.
She is planning a larger family vacation for 2017.
