Local residents will be cheering on Vancouver chef Rob Feenie in the Gold Medal Plates competition being held in Kelowna Feb. 10 and 11, since he beat out local chefs to win the right to represent B.C. this year in the Canadian Culinary Championships.
This is the second year it’s been held in Kelowna.
The best chefs from across Canada will compete in three events, beginning with a mystery wine pairing at the Hotel Eldorado on the Friday evening, then the black box competition at Okanagan College Saturday morning, where they won’t know until the last moment what key ingredients they must use, then the final cookoff that night at the Grand.
For that championship, chefs may choose the wine they wish to match their dish with, and Feenie has chosen to pair his dish with the Okanagan Crush Pad’s Haywire Pinot Noir.
It’s a new winery in Summerland owned by Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie. “It’s very exciting for us. It’s our first opportunity to be involved in something like this,” commented Coletta.
Feenie chose their pinot gris in his bid for the B.C. championship held last fall, and she says “I couldn’t believe the amount of energy and effort he put in,” at that competition, so she’s really looking forward to cheering on ‘the home team’ at this one.
Lake Country’s Gray Monk Estate Winery has been chosen by Winnipeg chef Michael Dacquisto, while a Peller Estates wine has been selected by chef Jan Trittenback of Edmonton.
Hundreds of visitors will descend on Kelowna for the event, including foodies from across the country.
The championship is a national celebration of food, wine, entertainment and athletic achievement, with net proceeds going to the Canadian Olympic Foundation, which supports Olympic and Paralympic athletes and high performance programs such as Own the Podium.
Entertainment will be provided by Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies and Barney Bentall.
Olympic gold medallists, kayaker Adam van Koeverden and figure skater Jamie Sale, along with Kelowna’s Olympic contender, ski cross racer Kelsey Serwa, will all be in attendance as well.
There are still a few tickets available, but it’s already mostly sold out, so if you want to attend, reserve tickets now at 1-877-255-0707 or go to: www.goldmedalplates.com
jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com
