It takes a special event to get 24 of the hottest up and coming Vancouver chefs under the same kitchen roof.
On September 23, 2008, The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Vancouver managed just that, as it gathered contestants from the cream of Vancouver restaurants to take part in its biggest ever Annual Black Box Competition. Their challenge: to create two mouth watering courses in under two and a half hours, using the mystery ingredients from the Black Box.
Above: Dennis Green judges competitors' performance as they prepare their dishes.
Black Box competitions are considered the most challenging of culinary contests, as the competitors know nothing of what awaits them before the moment the box is opened. The contestants sharpened their knives and their wits, ready to impress the industry expert judges. This year’s team of connoisseurs consisted of: David Wong, Instructor, The International Culinary School; Dino Renaerts, Executive Chef, Diva at The Met; John Carlo Felicella, Team Manager, Canadian Culinary Federation; Chef John Cloutier (CCC), Corporate Chef, Garland Canada; Jason McRobbie, Freelance Writer; Sean Riley, Corporate Chef, Glowbal Restaurant; and Margaret Chisholm, Executive Chef, Culinary Capers International.
Above (L to R): Margaret Chisholm, Dino Renaerts, Jason McRobbie, David Wong and John Carlo Felicella sample and critique the finished dishes.
The moment of truth arrived and the Black Box contents were revealed as a whole red snapper and a whole pheasant. As the contest got underway, competitors fired up their stoves and raced against time to draw up recipe plans. The kitchens heated up with anxious chefs, and watchful judges, whilst family, friends and industry colleagues kept a watchful eye via the live screens in the buzzing reception area.
To finish in first place, contestants needed to impress with their conduct in the kitchen as well as with the taste and presentation of the dishes. Black Box judge David Wong, soon to be representing Canada in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or competition in France said, “It’s a great challenge for them; the fact that we have both tasting judges and judges watching the kitchen means that the unexpected can always happen, which is what makes this competition so exciting.”
After two intense heats, the overall winner was announced as Anna Yeh, of The Fairmont Vancouver Airport, who received her trophy and prize from Paul Vernall, Academic Director for Culinary, and Instructor, Chef David Wong, of The Art Institute of Vancouver.
Second place was awarded to Coleman Harrington of the Bluewater Café (below, left), one of ten International Culinary School alumni in this year’s competition, with third place going to Thomas Cruise of The Fairmont Vancouver Airport (below, right).
Anna said that the biggest concern on opening the box was how to transform two fairly common ingredients into two really special dishes, but she certainly rose to the challenge. Anna’s winning creations were an appetiser of seared snapper with butternut squash ravioli, leek puree, sherry gastrique and a sweet butter sauce, and an entrée of sous vide pheasant breast and comfit leg of pheasant, served with potato stuffed with mushroom duxecelle, zucchini pave, tomato relish and a pheasant broth.
Above: Anna Yeh and her winning dishes
Anna, who took third place in the Black Box competition last year, has ambitions to travel and hopefully be a chef with her own restaurant in the future, but acknowledges that Vancouver is “the best place to learn– there are so many different cultures, fusions and traditions; everything you need is here.”
As the awards ceremony and reception wrapped up, there was already excited talk of the next competition, as the level of talent increases every year. Dino Renaerts, competition judge and Executive Chef at Diva at The Met, acknowledged how high the standard was this year, saying, “The top dishes were extremely hard to call. The Black Box competition shows what great shape our culinary talent is in.”
