The Okanagan Valley is a chef’s ultimate playground.
Iron Cuisine!
First, there was the Penticton Iron Man…Now there’s the Okanagan Iron Chef.
Story by Michael Botner Photo by Stephanie Gunderson
The Okanagan’s first big battle of chefs took centre stage for an evening of furious slicing and dicing at the Kelowna Community Theatre. A sort of local version of the Stanley Cup of Chefdom, four of Kelowna’s top chefs, in pairs plus assistants, faced off with tools of the trade – white uniforms and sharp-edged instruments. Held in late March before a large, boisterous crowd, Kelowna’s first Iron Chef battle was a hands-down hit and the flagship event of the first Okanagan Culinary Festival.
The competition followed quite closely the Iron Chef format on Food TV. There were two cooking stations on either side of the stage, or stadium, for the battling chefs and their two-person teams. The chefs had one hour to create a three-course meal around a secret theme ingredient, only announced just before the event, and that must be present in each dish. In fact, the chefs’ goal was to “best express the unique qualities of the theme ingredient” – in this case, two kinds of fresh scallops.
Throughout both cook-offs, Edan Fay of Mongol’s Grill did an incredible job of giving a play-by-play commentary as well as explaining unusual ingredients and cooking methods. He was assisted by one of the judges, Michael Noble, the first North American chef to compete as an “iron man of cooking” in Japan, and Martin Burden, president of the Okanagan Chef’s Association, a sponsor of the event.
The first heat pitted Travis Hackl of Okanagan’s Finest Foods and The Ridge Restaurant against Paul Cecconi, executive chef of the Harvest Dining Room. Cecconi was named winner. In the second heat, Lee Cooper, 23-year-old sous chef at Mission Hill and candidate for the 2006 Canadian Bocuse d’Or culinary competition, was pitted against Rod Butters, executive chef and co-proprietor of Fresco Restaurant. The victorious Butters’ team included his apprentice, Sean Peltier, winner of the Egon Braam Okanagan Apprentice of the Year Competition.
Butters’ menu featured a starter of blood orange-cured scallops, micro-greens and avocado spoom (a type of frothy sherbet) with 24-karat gold leaf, finished with a Limoncello ginger martini. For that little extra touch, Butters added live goldfish, not to eat, but as a show-stopping decoration in the base of the serving dish. For his second dish, he featured smoked pork belly rounds stuffed with scallop, a potato torte with truffles, and a fried quail egg. He finished with lobster and scallop corn dogs with lobster mayonnaise, grainy mustard and a plum ketchup.
“The clash of iron chefs is both fun and entertaining,” said Perry Bentley, culinary arts chairperson at Okanagan College, one of the key event sponsors. “But behind the scenes there is a serious side to all of this. The Okanagan is on the cusp of becoming a culinary hub of Canada and Iron Chef raises the profile of what we do.”
The culinary scene in the Okanagan has changed dramatically, according to Bentley. “Wine drives much of the change because it helps put us on the world stage,” he said. “But once here, people are discovering more than wine. The Okanagan offers a bounty fresh, organically grown products and ingredients, many unique and unusual, from small, exclusive, artisanal producers. Now for the first time, we are developing our own homegrown talent right here in the Valley. Promising young chefs like Sean Peltier, a graduate of the Culinary Arts Program at Okanagan College, stay here and train as apprentices and can look forward to a bright future.”
As Rod Butters put it, “the Okanagan Valley is a chef’s ultimate playground.”
Featured also at this year’s Okanagan Culinary Festival were the Provincial Cold Salon Culinary Display and a Best Wine Taster Contest that tested the judging and tasting palates of lay people.
Read more of the original stories celebrated in our 30th-anniversary issue.
Does Okanagan Living Make Us Happier
In this corner, San Luis Obispo, the happiest place in America as named by National Geographic writer Dan Buettner; and in this corner, the Okanagan, thought of as one of the happiest places in Canada by its citizens, media and country. Looks like we’ve got us another gold medal game—a happy-off!
Voluptuous Valley Villa
Romanesque lines, multiple roofs, exposed rafter tails, stucco, tile and the rich warm tones of the earth speak of an elegant Tuscan heritage in this five bedroom, five-and-a-half bath villa built by Frame Custom Homes. With over 6,000 sq. ft. of living space on three levels, Ginette Interiors had tremendous scope to develop the old world theme. Heritage elements work seamlessly beginning with hand-scraped hickory flooring and the handcrafted wrought iron railing by Westside Railing Solutions that defines the foyer staircase and floating bridge,
Call of the Drums
Piece by piece Okanagan Indian Band member William (Bill) James Robins, carefully lifts from a blue satchel and proudly displays his grass dance regalia. Headband, belt, wristbands and drop—picture a long, narrow scarf worn draped around the neck—all decorated with colourful appliqué. Furry ankle bands and a pair of worn moccasins add to the growing pile on the desk.
Date Rape Drugs
In the mid-1990s, the media began to report what appeared to be a growing trend: drug facilitated sexual assault, and in 1997 a young woman named AJ Januszczak put a human face on the story. Going public in the newspapers and on a national television talk show, she described exactly how a man drugged her while she was playing pool with her sister and her friends, then took her out to the parking lot where he and one of his friends raped her.
Save Keremeos Heritage Site
A lot of water has flowed past the old grist mill in Keremeos. So have a lot of people. Around the turn of this century the Grist Mill and Gardens saw some 17,000 visitors annually, says Walter Despot, the town’s mayor and one of the site’s champions.
Bridging the Gap
When women who have been subjected to abuse or violence are ready to move on with their lives, Vickie Roraph is there with hug coupons and the Bridges employment program. There are two signs on the door of Vickie Roraph’s office: Build Bridges, Not Walls and Attitude + Ambition = Achievement.
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