Canada’s Great Kitchen Party boosts local chefs
Get ready for a Facebook Live celebration of our culinary treasures, coast to coast
I’ve been purchasing takeout meals from some of my favourite restaurants because I love to eat chef-cooked food, but also to support our chef community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, a big group of food writers and culinary enthusiasts have put their heads together to create a virtual celebration of our chef treasures, coast to coast. It’s under the mantle of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party and is happening for the next two Wednesdays as nationwide home editions of the kitchen party kick off at 6 p.m. MT.
The platform is Facebook Live. That’s where we’ll see headliners who regularly tour nationwide with Canada’s Great Kitchen Party — a culinary contest with proceeds going to three important causes — including Jim Cuddy, Ed Robertson, Barney Bentall, Alan Doyle, Tom Cochrane, Sam Roberts, Tessa
Virtue and Curt Harnett.
I am a judge for Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, which takes place in Edmonton each October and sees about 10 local chefs compete for a chance to attend the Canadian championships.
The performance-only iteration (no chefs will be sweating it out at the Edmonton Convention Centre, at least not yet) aims to support the Canadian chef community, which is being hammered during the pandemic. The event is linked with the Canada Takeout Day campaign (#Takeoutday) and hopes to acknowledge the front line workers while entertaining fellow Canadians.
Here’s what to do if you want to be part of the event. Start by ordering takeout for the next two Wednesdays from one of your favourite local establishments, and tweeting about it, or posting on Instagram with the hashtag #Takeoutday.
I’ll be ordering from the Blue Plate Diner because it’s delicious, and in my neighbourhood. Then, invite five of your friends to take part, too. Crack open a beer, or stir up a cocktail, and get set to munch and watch at 6 p.m.
While the show is going on, guests who are watching can tie into the event from across the country through an ongoing chat room, where they can say where they are from, what chef they are supporting and even what beverage they are enjoying.