This was the winning dish at Ottawa’s top culinary competition
Award-winning chef Briana Kim will represent Ottawa at Canada’s top culinary competition after winning the gold medal at the regional event.
Kim is the executive chef of Alice Restaurant in Little Italy, which has a focus on fermentation and plant-based cooking. She took the gold medal at Monday's Great Kitchen Party Ottawa, qualifying her for next year's national competition.
Kim’s winning dish: onion tuile, smoked potatoes, rhubarb jerky, maitake, pickled onion, dill sour cream, facto green tomato and koji broth.
Éric Chagnon-Zimmerly of North & Navy finished in second and Justin Champagne of Perch finished third. Dominique Dufour of Gray Jay and Wapokunie Riel-Lachapelle of Nikosi Bistro in Wakefield, Que. also competed.
Seven judges deliberated over the dishes, which the chefs presented with accompanying beverages. Kim’s dish was paired with a Pearl Morissette Irreverence 2019 from Niagara Peninsula, Ont.
“Overall, there were five exciting and thoughtful dishes that made us all concentrate and think about them and yet they were all so delicious,” James Chatto, the national head judge, said in a news release. “The Chefs were all very courageous; they went out on a limb. …But in the end Briana’s dish shone brighter than anyone else and it was a unanimous decision.”
Kim attended the University of Ottawa before starting Café My House, a plant-based restaurant in Hintonburg. She closed it and opened Alice in 2019.
Kim will go on to represent Ottawa-Gatineau at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa on Feb. 3 and 4, where she will compete against chefs from eight other Canadian cities.
“It feels great,” she said. “We were really excited to present our dish tonight. We were hoping that the guests would appreciate it as much as the judges, and we couldn’t be more happy.”
Winning chef Briana Kim with Éric Chagnon-Zimmerly (left, silver) and Justin Champagne (bronze).
The competition was previously known as Gold Medal Plates. Kim also won Ottawa’s competition in 2017 and represented the city at the Canadian championships the following year.
Ottawa’s regional event was held Monday at Le Cordon Bleu in Sandy Hill. This was the first in-person event since 2019; there were none in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic.
The evening also raised money for two national charities—Spirit North and MusiCounts—as well as the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.
Mexico's president accuses press and volunteer searchers for missing people of 'necrophilia'
The administration of Mexico's president has accused the press and volunteer searchers who look for the bodies of missing people of 'necrophilia,' comments that drew criticism this week.