News Article

Roger Andrews took home a bronze medal from the Culinary Olympics in Germany in October to join the ranks of those deemed the best in the world.
 
Roger, a chef instructor at the Prince Philip Drive campus of College of the North Atlantic (CNA), completed his second stint on the Olympic team as a member of the support crew. His involvement has spanned eight years.
 
“Last time I was in charge of helping with equipment and sourcing equipment. This time I was more hands-on; glazing the products before they went on the table, doing things for the table, helping with food preparation, etc.”
 
Hey says judging was stricter this year compared to the 2008 Olympic competition.
 
“Last time there were more gold medals passed out but this time they were more stringent on what they deemed gold worthy,” he continues. “It seemed to be very good from a country standpoint. Canada was only one of four countries who got gold in hot competition, and only one country, Sweden, got gold in the cold competition – they ended up being the overall winners.”
 
Team Canada placed fourth.
 
“Our goal was to end up in the top three and we just missed it by .18 marks. It’s a pretty good showing to be fourth in the world.”
 
Roger put in an individual entry on the last day of competition and walked away with the bronze medal for his work.
 
“I was pretty happy with what I put down on the table,” he says. “Everyone goes for gold but I guess the big thing was being happy with what you put down on that day. Then it’s up to the judges to determine what they think is medal worthy – it’s very subjective to what a certain individual thinks is good or not good.”
 
Roger is the second Newfoundlander to receive a medal in the individual competition from the Culinary Olympics. It makes the commitment worthwhile as being involved in the Olympics has been a eight year process which involves travelling across the country for practice every six to eight weeks leading up to the Olympic competitions.
 
“I like competing. I guess from a team standpoint I like the camaraderie with other chefs and learning different things which I then take back to my students and show them. Obviously what’s going on in Vancouver, Edmonton and Victoria is very different than what’s going on here in Newfoundland in the food scene. I also like the travel since you get to see different parts of world and the different food cultures.”
 
To be on the Olympic team you must be a member of the Canadian Culinary Federation and Roger believes he came to the attention of the committee from the different conventions and competitions her participated in as a coach.
 
“They pick people they want on the team who are showing the best promise. I think the coaches noticed that I coached a lot of teams here and in the Atlantics and once you show you’re interested in being involved, they look for those people to help the Olympic team.”
                                                                                                                                     
Roger’s culinary training took him first to Cabot College, now known as CNA in 1994 for a diploma in Food administration. He went on to Holland College in Prince Edward Island where he graduated with honours with a diploma in Culinary Arts.
 
He is no stranger to competition and participated in his first culinary competition while still at Holland College in 1998. He took the provincial Apprentice of the Year title and went to nationals where he placed second.
 
“I’m competitive by nature and was part of different sports teams growing up so this is just a different way to compete,” he says. “It seems I always end up second place nationally. I’m always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I still strive to get that national championship but we’ll see.”
 
Roger returned to his roots in 2006 but this time as an instructor in the Culinary Arts program at CNA.
 
“Teaching was a role I always strived to fill. It is a more normal lifestyle than the restaurant lifestyle. I enjoy dealing with students and coaching teams. I really like doing it. The ability to pass on things I learned was one of main reasons I became a teacher.”
 
One of Roger’s goals is to become a World Association Chef Society recognized judge.
 
“In order to do that you need to receive a gold medal on an individual category. There are only two certified judges in Atlantic Canada and it would be a different standpoint for competition because you would be judging the food people prepare instead of competing.”
 
But he hasn’t ruled out another stint at the Olympics.
 
“My plans are possibly to go back in four years to the Olympics and do another entry and hopefully I will gain a little momentum and get on top of the heap to see if I can score a gold medal along the way.”
 
If he does go back to the Olympics, he knows he can count on the continued support of CNA.
 
“I’d like to thank the people at CNA who enabled me to do this kind of competition. The entire college has been behind me from the beginning and various groups have stepped up and helped out where needed. It was a big undertaking but every year Canada seems to do well and the entire country gets behind you.”
 
Team Canada, which consisted of 13 people, spent a total of 17 days in Germany for the Olympic competition.
 
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Media Contact:
 
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Assistant
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca