Calgary chefs ready for Chopped challenge
Four local chefs are set to pit their skills against competitors from across the country in a series of black-box challenges as the Canadian version of a popular culinary competition show premieres tonight.
Chopped Canada will feature the same format and fast-paced cooking as its U.S. counterpart, but will have a unique Canadian flavour.
Besides highlighting chefs from coast to coast — including three from Calgary and one from Claresholm — and Canadian celebrity chefs as judges, some of the mystery ingredients competitors have to incorporate into their dishes will be decidedly Canadian, from maple syrup to lentils.
Over the course of three rounds, four chefs whip up appe- tizers, main dishes and desserts using an eclectic and varied collection of four ingredients kept secret until they are told to open their baskets. At the end of the timed round, the competitors face the judges who “chop” the chef with the worst dish. The last one standing wins $10,000.
“I’ve never felt 20 minutes go by so fast in my life. It was an exhilarating experience,” says Steve Glavicich, owner and chef of Calgary’s Braizen food truck.
“It’s just like it is on TV. There are no behind-the-scenes tricks. You open your basket and you have four ingredients and there’s no stopping, no retakes.”
To prepare for the competition, Glavicich’s brother-in-law would text the chef four random ingredients — Arctic char, gummy bears, fish sauce and cheese, as an example — which Glavicich would puzzle over. Luckily, nothing on the show stumped the chef, who trained at SAIT and worked at local restaurants before opening Braizen.
In all, 56 chefs from across the country compete on the show, including Paul McGreevy, the corporate chef for Craft Beer Market, Charcut’s Mike Batke and Kieth Carlson, the chef and owner of Roy’s Place in Claresholm.
The U.S. version of the show has been airing since 2009 and has featured special versions, including an all-star series and one featuring previous Chopped winners.
Where the U.S. competitors have seen judges such as Bobby Flay and Alex Guarnaschelli, Canadian chefs had their dishes critiqued by celebrity chefs Susur Lee, Chuck Hughes, Lynn Crawford and Michael Smith, among others.
Reality TV star — and perhaps more famously known as Tori Spelling’s husband — Dean McDermott serves as host.
“It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. I’m a foodie, I’m a chef. I won the lottery with this gig,” he says.
McDermott, who has a cookbook out in June that focuses on cooking for the entire family, said being on the show with Lee, Crawford and the other judges was like having a chance to work with his heroes.
“Listening to Susur Lee talk about food is just amazing. I could sit and listen to him all day,” he says.
Watching the chefs tackle those baskets of mystery ingredients was also a unique experience.
“It’s very intense,” McDermott says. “Chefs are flying around the kitchen. They’re under great, great pressure, seeing the ingredients for the first time, in a kitchen they’re not familiar with.”
McGreevy uses the word “intense” to describe the experience too.
“It’s a lot harder than it seems. A lot harder,” he says.
The chef, who helped open Craft Beer Market and now also oversees the menus for the Edmonton and Vancouver locations, says curiosity led him to apply for the show, noting it was easy to “compete” while watching the show from the couch.
Both he and Glavicich will be tuning in to see their performances from a different perspective.
“I’m very curious to see how it ends up,” Glavicich said.
The series premieres Thursday on Food Network Canada at 10 p.m. ET.
Watch for Batke on episode 3, Glavicich on episode 4, McGreevy in the 9th episode and Carlson in the 12th.