Vancouver chef takes the top prize in Canada with B.C. seafood dish
The Canadian Culinary Championships came to end on Saturday evening and the winner was Alex Chen from the Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in Vancouver, who produced a flawless dish of wild BC shellfish chowder served in a caviar tin, with a side of kelp brioche that resembles a chunk of sea sponge.
This luxurious dish paired perfectly with Sea Star 2016 Ortega wine from Ponder Island.
Kelowna’s Tantalus Winery went home with the award of overall best wine — their 2015 Riesling was the pairing for Mike Robins’ seared scallop served in a potato and zucchini miso with a hint of dijon.
The previous night, the mystery box challenge at the Delta Grand Hotel had the competing chefs whipping up some inventive recipes.
Chef Lorenzo Loseto from Toronto’s George restaurant hit the nail on the head with with a simple yet elegant dressed quinoa and crab meat cold dish. Chen created a stunning plate using tuna, prawn, radish and apples. A favourite of mine was the pork belly from Chef Nick Jewczyk as well as Chef Eric Gonzales, who used Arctic char as the protein base that melted in the mouth.
The winning dish was Mike Robins’ stunning dish of smoked halibut, lobster and shrimp bisque with pickled jicama fresh herb oil and caviar.
The mystery wine was Fort Berens’ pinot gris from Lillooet, a $16.99 bottle created with a blend of Lillooet and Similkameen grapes,