College of the North Atlantic

A meal fit for a king!

Eat the Hill 2016 organizers feeds the masses at annual culinary event

1/26/2016 3:34:02 PM

Katie Hayes, instructor of CNA’s Baker program at Bonavista campus and owner of the Bonavista Social Club, served a moose burger with root vegetable chips and partridgeberry ketchup.

Clarenville, NL – Over 300 people were served dishes from a first-rate menu by some of the province’s top chefs last weekend. For two days, these amazing plates were paired with Clarenville's best winter activities at White Hills Resort for the fourth annual Eat the Hill 2016.

The event, which incorporates winter activities, entertainment and food, is organized by Chris Sheppard and Roger Dewling, Culinary Arts instructors at Bonavista campus of College of the North Atlantic (CNA).

Nine of CNA’s Culinary Arts students and four graduates also got in on the action throughout the weekend, from cleaning and serving to assisting the chefs. Sheppard says there are plenty of logistical issues that come into play for Eat the Hill and the students do their utmost to contribute to the event.

“The part they are playing is important to the bigger picture because without everybody you can’t do the event, so no matter how small you think your part is, it is as important as everyone else’s. Because of that, it was a successful event. There is a lot of logistics and a lot of organizing pre-event in the planning and it takes a lot of people to pull it off – a lot of volunteers, a lot of chefs, and a lot of students,” Sheppard said, adding the experience they gain from the event is immeasurable.

“The students get to see things that they are not going to get to see until they get out in the industry. Even when they get out in the industry and start working they might be at a restaurant and only see one chef work at a time. They come to this event and they will see seven to 12 chefs. They get to see all different styles, different chefs, and they get to be involved and learn. You just can’t put a price on the kind of learning of what they’ll see from these different events.”

Sheppard and Dewling decided to change up the style of the culinary delights for the Friday night event. Instead of offering a number of dessert choices as they had in previous years, the festival served up a Gastro Pub and Beer Tasting. The menu featured an open faced Reuben Sandwich with pickled cabbage and fried potato/parsnip latke from Johnathan Richler of the Jewish Deli; "The Big Hussey" a Crispy Bacon-Wrapped, stuffed Pork Trotter Sammie from Shaun Hussey of Chinched Bistro; a braised beef with tomato/basil poutine with 5 Brothers Cheese curds from Adam Blanchard of 5 Brothers Cheese Company; a moose burger with root vegetable chips and partridgeberry ketchup from Katie Hayes, instructor of CNA’s Baker program at Bonavista campus and owner of the Bonavista Social Club; and a warm sticky toffee pudding prepared by Coffee Matters.

“We had 120 people Friday night and it was really a great event,” Sheppard said. “People got to taste different foods, a completely different style of cooking than the second night, with some of the same chefs, and the students got to experience a completely different format of cooking.”

Duane Chatman of Lethbridge, who graduated from the Cook program last year and was immediately hired at the Social Club in Bonavista, returned to volunteer for the 2016 event.

“This year was different from previous years, we had an opportunity to see more food production and there were more chefs this year as well,” Chatman said. “It is great learning experience because it’s not too often you get to see the top chefs in Newfoundland all in the same place. I also think it’s a great event for the area and it’s nice to have events like this happen outside of St. John’s.”

If you peek behind the scenes into the kitchen at Eat the Hill 2016 you would witness what can only be described as controlled chaos. At least that’s how it was described by student Kaitlyn Oldford, who graduated from the Cook program two years ago and is currently enrolled in the Baker program at Bonavista campus.

“A plate has 10 components, when it’s time to plate all the chefs gather around, all put their head down and they work together to bang out these plates. You’re just watching and that’s what it is all about. They all come together like a big family and it’s just controlled chaos. It was really smooth service and everything just flowed along. The plates flew out and when you came back in the next dish was ready, so it was very good,” she said.

“I think as a student coming in with all of these chefs and all these restaurants you get to learn a lot from them. When you have these big events and you have all of these chefs under one roof it really gives you a good opportunity to meet people and get your foot in the door for future jobs.”

The food on Saturday night was delectable and diverse as the chefs offered a unique take on each of their superbly prepared dishes – utilizing ingredients ranging from turnip to beaver.

Debbie Halleran of Clarenville has attended the event for three of the four years it has taken place. She says Eat the Hill is great for the community, especially since 65 per cent of participants come from outside of Clarenville.

“Not only are people coming to Eat the Hill, but they are using the hill itself, staying at hotels and shopping here – I think it’s wonderful and we should be proud of our community,” Halleran said.

Roger Dewling - CNA Bonavista
Smoked maple bacon-toffee pound cake with QV honey brown ice cream, bacon dirt and haskap

“I think the college should also be very proud of themselves for their expertise because Chris and Roger are fantastic chefs themselves and they take the time to organize this. I mean it’s a really big promotion for the college itself and every year I’ve been here, Roger has produced such marvelous dishes. This year his dessert was fabulous. One year it was pulled moose. He’s a very creative chef, as is Chris.”

“It’s a wonderful way to present Newfoundland food in a very different format,” added Janet Forbes of Clarenville, who has also attended Eat the Hill three times. “The chefs show how good they are at what they doing and it’s great. It’s a wonderful event. Every year there have been different chefs and different food all the time. You never know what you’re going to get and it’s wonderful.”

Each year the event seems to grow, Sheppard says the 2016 event drew in the biggest crowds yet.

“I’m very happy with how the event went. I do a lot of different events and festivals but I think the food for Eat the Hill 2016 was the best of any I have ever done. The quality and the menus the chefs came up with were the premium. It just was mind blowing really,” Sheppard said.

“We had just over 300 people and we are maxed out here now. It’s the biggest one we’ve done. Part of the event is the facility and we don’t want to move it. It will create a sense of urgency for next year for those who don’t want to miss out because we sold out fast this year. And next year will sell out even faster.”

For more information about Eat the Hill, visit www.eatthehill.com.