News Article

Team Canada is Cooking!


6/14/2002 3:12:06 PM


Students of the Commercial Cooking program at CNA recently attended a cooking competition in Mexico: From left, Eric King, Chef/Instructor; Chad Burden, first year student; Lana Madore, first year; Eric Hynes, team captain; Brad Carpenter, first year; and Stephenville Mayor Cecil Stein welcoming Team Canada home.

By Tanya Alexander

June 14, 2002 - Team Canada has returned to College of the North Atlantic. That’s Commercial Cooking Team Canada.

Chef Eric King, Commercial Cooking Instructor, and four of his students were participants in the Fouet D’or International Culinary Competition held at the Centro Cultural Mexiquense in Toluca, Mexico from April 19-22. They were the only Canadian team in the 12-team competition, with five countries participating – Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and Spain. The team didn’t bring home a medal, but say the experience was priceless.

Participants were team captain Eric Hynes, an apprenticeship student, and three first year students: Chad Burden, Brad Carpenter, and Lana Madore.

The nine-day trip was an educational and exciting one, but not without it’s complications, says Hynes.

“We were like fish out of water in that culture, and we were placed with host families who didn’t speak English,” he said.

“But they were very welcoming and kind, and occasionally someone who did speak our language would show up and help us out.”

Also, the altitude - some 10,000 feet above sea level - made for difficulty in breathing.

“You’d walk a flight of steps and when you got to the top, you were gasping for air,” said Hynes.

The event itself - which was the first competition for these students, was also a first for the organizers. There was a learning curve for all involved, and a few challenges for Team Canada – the only English-speaking students. All other participants were Spanish-speaking and had no problem with the written instructions, labels, and other crucial information, which were all delivered in Spanish.

One aspect in particular was a challenge – the competition took place in a large outdoor tent that contained six kitchens.

“We had cold water for doing dishes,” says Lana Madore, first year Commercial Cooking student, “so we had to decide how much of our precious time should be used for dealing with that.”

They decided to boil their washing water, which slowed them down considerably while the clock was ticking. This is all a part of the challenge, says King, and decisions have to be made in these types of competitions.

Along with jitters and the shear enormity of the event, they made some critical mistakes, but they still feel very good about their efforts.

“I’m very impressed with the job they did,” says King. “They held their own there.”

Following the day of competition, teams took part in two days of demonstrations – which were filmed live on Mexican television. Unlike the competition, which provided a menu 12 hours before the competition, these food choices were made by the teams. It was nerve-racking, says Hynes.

“It was the first time I’d ever done a demonstration, so I was a little nervous. First I thought it was just for the crowd, and then I found out it was going to be videotaped, so the stress was getting to me,” he laughs.

“I told myself, at least they can edit it… but then I found out it was on live TV!”

Despite his nerves, Hynes says it was a great experience – one he won’t soon forget.

All teams did one presentation, except for team Canada, which did two – one from the team, and the other from Chef Eric King.

King is no stranger to the competitive cooking scene, winning a silver medal at the Canadian National Culinary Competition. He is also a member of the only team from Newfoundland to ever win gold at the Atlantic Canadian Competition.

For him, the trip surpassed his expectations.

“I have been cooking and competing for 28 years and this is the first time I've been to an international competition. The service I experienced there was second to none. At the same time, I can say that the cooking was no better than what we do here.”

What was obvious to King, was the exceptional level in the other school’s culinary skills. The experience confirmed some of his convictions about the changing face of cooking – it’s moving a step higher than institutional cooking, to fine and family dining, he says. He sees ways to incorporate changes in his program to bring it on line with this trend.

“Very minor changes in our kitchen here would set us on par with the best in the world.”

King says that his students impressed the organizers and other teams at this international competition. In fact, every one of the four competing countries is interested in a student exchange.

“Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Peru, all gave me their cards,” said King.

“All we have to do is make a phone call.”

There are actually two schools from Mexico interested in this exchange, he says. The hosting school, and another in Mexico City called Ambrosia.

“The Director of Ambrosia said that we don’t need anything else, just a phone call. He said: ‘I’ll put my students on a plane, and you send yours to me.’ That’s all it would take.”

This even swap is extraordinary, as Ambrosia’s school tuition is $1,000 US a month, while the tuition here is $1,000 Canadian a semester (nearly four months), says King.

King and his students were special guests at the prestigious institution when they were given a tour of Mexico City. The President of the college and the Executive Chef invited the group to stay for a tour and lunch, where they were served a traditional four-course meal complete with white gloves and table service, says King.

“It was very professional, very high-class.”

Team Caption Eric Hynes said the shear mass of the building was impressive enough, but the attention to detail and the beauty of the school was breathtaking.

“We walked into this banquet room and it was like walking into a scene from Beauty and the Beast,” he says.

“There were chandeliers, marble, the finest China, Oriental rugs, plants and everything you could imagine! It was a palace – absolutely the same as a palace.”

The team was brought to an immaculately made up dining room, which contained 10 sample tables set with combinations of the finest of table wares. Typically, the group was told, a customer comes in to view the display tables, and picks whatever combination of setting they want for their function – China from one table, crystal from another, and so on. The school thrives on providing dining service to the public.

“On an average day, they serve 3,000. They can handle up to 9,000. And the students do most of the serving,” says King.

The group also found some surprises in their tour of the Mexico City. For one thing, they were given the star treatment, as Canadian chefs are held in high esteem in Mexico, says Madore.

“There were times we felt like superstars,” she says.

“People came up to us and asked for our autographs and wanted their pictures taken with us.”

Another unexpected sight was the presence of armed security, said Hynes.

“There were guys standing around in the grocery stores with sawed off shotguns.”

He says it was more than a little unsettling to shop in a grocery store with armed guards looking over your shoulder.

Despite potential dangers, the group arrived home safe and sound, with a collection of stories for their friends, and fresh inspiration - obvious on their faces. They also have a renewed appreciation for their own culture and the culinary field, says King.

“We saw where you can go in this business, by the calibre of some of these schools. I’ve been at this for 28 years, and I was impressed by what these students could put out. Every one in our group was told that they had jobs waiting for them, if they went back.”

In Mexico, Canadian cooks are offered $1,000 US a month, free housing and the use of a vehicle.

Chad Burden came back with not only a smile on his face, but with a new nick name: Onion.

The group joked about how he acquired the new handle. On one of their restaurant visits, they decided to order randomly from the menu that was written completely in Spanish. They had no idea what they would get.

“Everyone had gotten their food – tacos or whatever, and when they brought out my food, they gave me a small plate of onions,” said Burden.

In fact, eight small pearl onions, he says. Did he eat them?

“Oh yeah… and they were pretty good too,” he says with a smile.

Now that they are back and taking stock of the experience, King says he will recommend putting a College of the North Atlantic team into the next competition in two years’ time. He thinks the popularity of the event will quickly grow.

“Once the word gets out about the success of this first one, I expect there will be up to 15 countries taking part for the next one.”

He says the success of the trip was in large part due to the support of College of the North Atlantic, which donated $5,000 towards the team's expenses and also presented them with college jackets and backpacks. Grohmann, a Nova Scotia company famous for its high quality knives, donated a complete knife set to each competitor. Canada Pork Company donated pork product, not just for Team Canada, but for all the teams at the competition.

"We also had great support from companies such as Nestle Canada, Janes Family Foods, Atlantic Grocery Distributors, Comeau Seafoods, Druken Brokerage, the Western Newfoundland and Labrador Chefs Association, Lamb Weston, the provincial government, Serca Food Services, Clancy’s Pub, Molson Breweries, Ann Hutcheson of the Department of Fisheries, and Barry’s Fisheries.

“Also, the Communications Department at the College, and especially Stephen Lee, did so much to help us get ready for this. A big thank you to all of them.”

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For more information contact:

Stephen Lee
Communications Manager
(709) 643-7928

or

Tanya Alexander
Public Information Officer
(709) 643-7928