News Article

Skills Canada winner follows tradition and finds success


5/23/2006 10:02:36 AM


Renee Thibeau has a culinary gift that has been passed down for generations.

Talk about a family recipe!

The Thibeau family of Stephenville has been cooking for generations. Andrew Thibeau began work in 1917 for the Canadian National Railroad as a private chef for the superintendent of the railroad. His reputation preceded him throughout Canada until he retired in 1952.

It is in his footsteps that his great-granddaughter Renee follows. She learned from her father, who learned from his, who passed along the culinary legacy of his father Chef Andrew Thibeau.

“Cooking has always been a part of my life,” shares Renee, a College of the North Atlantic (CNA) Cooking graduate.

“And when it came right down to it, it’s really all I want to do.”

The 22-year-old first attended university when she graduated high school, along with her friends. After three semesters, she realized she was wasting her parents’ money. She came back home to Stephenville and wondered what to do next. That’s when it dawned on her.

“It occurred to me to follow something I was already good at. The idea of carrying on tradition really appealed to me,” says Thibeau, “and there just happened to be a great Cooking program at a CNA campus in my community.”

Her parents were skeptical at first… they didn’t know if she could handle the work.

“First my parents wondered if I was up for the challenge of such a demanding program, but now my Mom especially is my biggest promoter!” she laughs. “And they really couldn’t argue with the cost!”

It appears she made the right decision. Thibeau not only has graduated from the program this past spring – completing Block Two of Cooks Training at the top of her class – but she won gold in the Culinary Arts category at the 9th Annual Provincial Skills Canada Competition in March. This qualifies her for a spot on Team Newfoundland in the 12th Canadian Skills Canada Competition in Halifax from May 23-26.

In the true style of dedication, the young woman departs the day after the competition for Alberta to begin work at the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort. All her ducks are in a row, and boy, are they cooking!

Eric King, coordinating instructor for the Cooking and Baking programs at Bay St. George campus where Thibeau studied, says the training is rigorous in culinary arts, but Thibeau hasn’t wavered in her determination and work ethic.

“I expect a lot from my students because I know how tough it is to survive in this industry,” says King, “and Renee has what it takes to do great things.”

It takes many years and a great number of long hours to become a Red Seal Journeyperson Cook, says King, and Renee is almost there.

“She has been relentless in her attempt to gain as much knowledge as possible,” reveals King.

“I am confident that this time next year Renee will be a certified Cook and I predict that in five year’s time she will be working as a Chef in some upscale establishment.”

The process is a long one, beginning with the two-year Cooking program, and apprenticeship intervals taking place after the second and last semesters. Then the graduate has to work in industry to build enough hours to write the Red Seal exam for certification as a Journeyperson’s Cook. After five years of Cook experience, the individual qualifies to write the Chef’s exam – two weeks in length, covering theory and practical exams and marked under the direction of three Chefs. The passing result? Status as a Certified Chef de Cuisine.

Thibeau’s sights are set on Europe in the long term. She studied French immersion in secondary school, so she already has an advantage over those who speak only one language. This, combined with her natural abilities, training and enthusiasm makes her a valuable asset to any establishment.

“Renee learns quickly and has an uncanny ability to put fellow students/peers at ease, which makes for a great working environment,” says King.

In fact, he has assigned roles to Thibeau that very few, if any, of his previous students have been able to manage. She has developed recipes for the Chicken Marketing Board of Newfoundland and Labrador and for the Newfoundland Aquaculture Commission, assisted in vegetable evaluation costing for the West Coast Farmers group for secondary processing, and most recently, managed the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture booth at the hugely successful West Coast 2006 Agriculture and Garden Show in early May, which saw more than 5,000 visitors. She enticed many to the booth, where she whipped up various seafood delights such as mussels, poached salmon and baby shrimp.

When Thibeau completes her contract in Banff, she plans to return to Bay St. George campus to complete another apprenticeship block with King, after which she hopes to write her Red Seal exam.

For now, she is taking one thing at a time and finds she is a little apprehensive about the upcoming competition.

“I’m extremely nervous,” says Thibeau, “because it’s a little scary to be representing the province in my category.”

“But I know what I have to do.”

Now, that sounds like a recipe for success.

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