World Culinary Grand Prix
Just two marks separated the top three teams in the 2001 World Culinary Grand Prix (sponsored by Caterplan) staged over four days from 12-15 March at this year's Scothot exhibition. But it was Team Canada that pipped Team Scotland and Team USA to first place.
The grand prix, one of six accredited events staged over a two-year period by the World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS), was the most prestigious team event held in Scothot's Salon Culinaire (also known as the Scottish Culinary Championships). It comprised two events: a cold buffet challenge, and a test of hot kitchen skills in a restaurant environment.
"The quality of expertise was excellent in all sections of the grand prix," commented Tony Jackson, president of the Federation of Chefs Scotland and Scothot's salon director. Jackson judged the cold buffet displays, which were split into three divisions, centred on canapés, dishes prepared hot but served cold, and desserts. "There was some really innovative food from the top four placed teams in the cold buffet. The food was nutritionally well balanced and well presented," he said (see results, left).
Despite being hit by the last-minute withdrawal of teams representing Ireland and the Czech Republic due to national travelling restrictions and concerns about produce availability as a result of the foot-and-mouth crisis, 10 teams took part in the event. These included the Combined Services Culinary Arts Team (who represented England) and the Welsh Culinary Team, both of whom were ineligible for consideration as overall title winners because they are not recognised WACS national teams. However, in addition to the Canadian, Scottish and US teams, there were national sides from Switzerland, Iceland, Malta, Portugal and Russia competing in the event.
For all the teams, the test in the hot kitchen was to put out 100 covers of a plated three-course meal for £25 under restaurant conditions in the aptly named Restaurant of Nations area of the exhibition. Three teams per day competed in the feverish atmosphere of glass-sided kitchens, and it was in this section of the competition that the Canadian team really impressed the judges, scoring a total of 286.22 points out of a possible 300.
The six-strong Canadian team comprised manager Simon Smotkowicz, captain Glen O'Flaherty and chefs James Holehouse, Dave Ryan, John Carlo Felicella and Shawn Whalen. Their winning menu (see panel above) showcased many ingredients associated with their homeland, in particular seafood from Canada's Pacific coast.
Team Scotland, led by the 2000 Garde d'Or Chef of the Year, Bruce Sangster (Caterer, 24 February 2000, page 42), was delighted with its second placing in the overall competition. "The experience was outstanding. I've been involved with the Scottish team for 11 years now and we've been steadily gaining strength, but to finish second overall was phenomenal. In my opinion, the Scottish Culinary Team is the most successful international team to come out of Scotland. Forget football or athletics, we've got the medals to prove it!"
As a result of the withdrawal of the Czech Republic culinary team three days before the event, the competition's sponsor, Caterplan, agreed to put together a team of its own chefs to work in the Restaurant of Nations on the day the central European side was scheduled to compete. The team was not eligible to take part in the competition, but did put out a three-course menu for 100 covers on the final day of the show.
The menu included Scottish gravadlax dressed with fine leaves and a creamy herb dressing as a starter, and a dessert of Glayva crème brûlée served with poached pear in a chocolate sauce.
Calum Ross, business group director of Caterplan, commented: "It's sad that an event designed to bring together culinary experts from around the world to share ideas and developments was affected in this way. Of course, our thoughts are with the farmers who are suffering at the heart of this crisis, but it is clear that foot-and-mouth is going to have a very real impact in some unexpected ways."
