UPDATES
WESTERN BRANCH UPDATES Brandon The Brandon branch is celebrating international chefs day by assisting the local food bank and Samaritan house by preparing stew for the freezer that can be handed out throughout the year, with a thanks going to Crocus Plains Secondary school and Manitoba housing for the use of the culinary space. Vancouver The first general meeting of the season was kicked off with a successful dinner meeting with over 60 people in attendance. For International chefs day the branch will be partnering with VCC, Chinese chefs association, Salvation Army, Municipality of Vancouver, B.C., the produce marketing association and Sysco, who will be serving over 1,400 meals to those in need at Carnegie Community Center/ Oppenheimer Park.
and Community Food’s Greg Trimming for the beef. Service events were coordinated with Habitat for Humanity on October 19 and served up by Saffron Professional Chef’s Dean Mitchell.
Lethbridge Lethbridge headed to a beer tasting at Coulée Brewery, have cooked spaghetti and meatballs for the poor, and on International chefs day cooked sausage and perogies at the soup kitchen, rounding out the year with a Christmas bake sale.
September Branch Meeting at Pratt’s Foodservice: The first meeting of the season on September 12 at Pratt’s Foodservice was highlighted by two Filipino chefs demonstrating their considerable skills at fruit and vegetable carving. From dazzling flowers to a carving of the president, Ricardo Bilon and Fercibal Brown are masters at their craft. These two talented chefs are on deck for the national conference May 24-28, 2017 at Calgary’s Hyatt Hotel. The lengthy meeting was highlighted by an outstanding buf fet prepared by their Winnipeg-based corporate Executive Chef, Ferdinand Catalan. Pratt’s Jason Baranyk and Bob Russell unveiled their new food m a n a g e m e n t p r o g r a m a v a i l a b l e to customers as part of their Bistro 101 Culinary Education Centre. Guests included Maxwell Lawrence accepting his Life Membership and World Skills Abu Dubai Canadian Cook competitor Victoria Hislop with coach Hayato Okamitsu.
Calgary International Chefs Day — In preparation for events to celebrate International Chefs Day October 20, the Great Events Group kitchen at Spruce Meadows simmered up over 400 litres of Tuscan Inspired Navy Bean Soup. Executive Chef Daryl Kerr and Sanjiv Rama stirred up three cauldrons for the Calgary Drop In Centre and Habitat for Humanity. We are grateful to GFS’s Jeff Lawrick for providing the groceries
October Branch Meeting at Saltlik Steakhouse: The branch meeting was hosted by Joey Group Regional Chef Kevin Wall with Saltlik Executive Chef Bahi Hammoud. Attendees were treated to a team competition among Saltlik apprentices for the best appetizer canape. Jason Pierre presented Confit Turkey Leg, Bacon Stuffing Crostini and Cranberry Pearls; Kyle Bryce Campbell created White Cheddar Gougères, Spiced Apple Sauce, Prosciutto and Fried Sage;
Edmonton Edmonton Chefs are busy as ever. Cook it Simple on Shaw TV is a series of videos that are designed to show what can be done with an Edmonton Foodbank hamper, delicious simple recipes and food tips using food often found in the hampers. For more information on all the happenings head to the website edmontonCHEFS.ca
Mandal Patil served Thais Spice Marinated Duck Two Ways, Crispy Rice Cake and Pickled Vegetables; and Jamil Ezdine prepared Duck, Potato Chip and Carrot Puree were offered before a tasty buffet. Crowd favourites were the Gougères and Duck Breast on crisp potato, with both #1 Kyle and #2 Jamal rewarded with a culinary book courtesy of the branch president and a stainless steel fry pan from BJE Hospitality Solutions. A wonderful, seasonally inspired buffet followed. Guest speakers were Tannis Baker, Director Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance. She provided an information packed summary of the history of the alliance, including projects and board members, along with an invitation for chefs to submit biographies for consideration on upcoming events. Their mission is to establish Alberta as a culinary destination. They also promote micro-breweries. Kevin Power, on behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society and the Round-up Cancer Initiative, shared his personal journey to being cancer free. He highlighted the oneof-a-kind Thrive Program for Head and Neck Cancer patient’s therapy program developed by the University of Calgary and its success in his treatment. Dr. Nicole Culos-Reed and Dr. Lauren Capozzi, Department of Kinesiology developed and have proven its effectiveness. It is part of ACE (Alberta Cancer Exercise program). The program has been expanded to include breast and prostate cancer patients and their families. The branch also approved a Bronze level sponsorship to support the 2017 National CCFCC conference being held at the Hyatt Hotel, May 24-28, 2017. www.restobiz.ca | December 2016 35