Chefs rank 13th with canuck specialties at cooking competition in France

 Lyon, France – Team Canada has placed 13th at the grand finale of the Bocuse d’Or competition in Lyon, France.

Waterloo, Ont.-born chef Trevor Ritchie and his team impressed the panel of Michelin-star judges with dishes that included Saskatoon berries, Canadian bison and caribou, morels and ice wines.

The team’s dishes allowed them to move up four places since the last Bocuse d’Or competition in 2017. The competition was tight, with Team Canada arriving just eight points from Hungary in 12th and 41 points from Iceland in 11th.

“It was an epic meal prep,” Ritchie said. “The competition was fierce but I’m proud of our performance as a team. It was important to perform because Canada always had a presence in Lyon since Jamie Kennedy in 1987. I’m super excited about the result and honoured to have had the chance to make our country proud!”

Featuring indigenous ingredients in the shape of a hockey puck, Team Canada’s chartreuse paid homage to our national sport and to our country’s aboriginal history.

While the team is celebrating its success, young chefs are already dreaming about 2021. Chefs Stefani Scrivens, Samuel Sirois, Tarik Belmoufid and Gene Cormier are the contenders selected by the board of directors of the Bocuse D’Or Canada to compete for the chance to represent Canada in the World Cup of Cookery talents.

The four candidates will take part in a cooking challenge this Feb. 26 at the RC Show in Toronto. The winner will fill Chef Ritchie’s shoes by leading the team for a two-year term until the Grand Finale in January 2021.