Report On The International Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs Competition

Report On The International Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs
Competition 2014
Rupert Garcia Takes Silver Medal at 2014 International Jeunes Chefs
Rôtisseurs Competition!
Rupert Garcia, from the Calgary Golf & Country Club,
took second place out of young chefs from twenty
countries, each sponsored by a professional Chaîne
member, at the prestigious 38th Concours International des
Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs competition held in Durban, South
Africa on September 5, 2014.
For 2014, the gold medal was awarded to Germany
(Peter Lex, Sullberg Karlheinz Hauser) and the bronze
medal to Taiwan (Jhao-Rong Fu, The Landis Taipei). The
Wüsthof Award for Kitchen Excellence was presented to
Jan-Morgan Keyte, Australia.
As the silver medallist, Rupert received the GastonLandry Panuel Award, a Wüsthof 3-piece knife set, a threeday class in one of the Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona
(Tain, Paris, Tokyo, New York), and The Encyclopédie du
Chocolat by Valrhona. In addition, all competitors
received, regardless of standing: competition diploma of la
Chaîne des Rôtisseurs; a one year Rôtisseur membership in
la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs; a Bragard chef dress jacket; an
Equinox Coffret Valrhona; a Wüsthof kitchen knife and a
Chef’s Hat Inc. working jacket.
For many young chefs, this is the culmination of at least
a year of dedicated work, in addition to the preparation
required to qualify for their local, national and regional
competitions. The international competition is a
challenging one. The competitors came from 20 countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Finland,
Guadeloupe, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Norway,
Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,
Turkey, UK and USA. This year’s competition had five
female and fifteen male competitors, of which only six had
English as their home language.
(left to right) Klaus Tritschler; Silver medallist Rupert Garcia, Canada;
David Tetrault; Gilles Company, Senior Technical Director, le Cordon
Bleu.
With a 04h30 wake up call, the A group arrived at
Unilever and by 06h00 drew for kitchen positions and start
times. The black box was finally revealed when they
entered the menu writing room. This year’s black box
included the following compulsory items: one whole cape
salmon, a whole chicken, and ostrich filet as the proteins
along with butternut squash, avocado, tomato and pawpaw.
Each contestant had to use at least 50% each of the above
mentioned items and could complement them with a large
array of non-mandatory items. By 12h30, the A group had
completed the competition and Group B was just
beginning, with the competition completely over by 18h00.
Again, this year’s competition was streamed over the
internet during the afternoon session.
We are grateful to le Cordon Bleu, Paris; Wüsthof
Manufacturing, Germany; Bragard, France and
Chef’s Hat, Canada who continue to support the Jeunes
Chefs competition year after year. Also thanks to our two
new sponsors Valrhona and La Cornue. We are also
especially grateful to Michael Mellis of Unilever South
Africa for providing the kitchens for this competition.
Next year the 39th Concours International des Jeunes
Chef Rôtisseurs will be held September 11 in
Budapest, Hungary.
As she did last year, Lois Gilbert, Bailli Honoraire,
Bailliage of Moscow, Canadian expatriate and member of
the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs committee, provided a report
on the young chefs’ experiences during their stay in South
Africa:
“It takes an incredible team to put on two major
competitions in two years but the South African National
Bailliage with the assistance of the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN)
Regional Bailliage created an event that this year’s
competing young chefs will never forget. A heartfelt thank
you to Bailli Délégué Francois Ferreira and his team
including Philip Mostert, Argentier, and Chef Sean
Webber. Along with our sponsors, an outstanding program
for the competitors was provided.
The two days prior to the competition was a short course
in everything South African. Competitors were taken out to
a small game reserve where they were lucky enough to see
some of Africa’s majestic animals. They also had the
opportunity to visit and experience a Zulu cultural centre.
South Africa has a rich history with Indian cuisine. The
chefs were treated to a tour, cooking lesson and tasting at
the Durban Spice Emporium where they learned about the
unlimited combinations of spices that make up the local
flavours.
The kitchen and tasting judges provided excellent and
fair scoring. Competitions like this rely on the expertise
and dedication of both the kitchen judges and the tasting
judges, all of whom are professional chefs. Thank you to
those judges that attended from all corners of the world.”
Rupert at the dinner at Elangani Hotel.
Takashi and Sanae Murakami at Elangani dinner.
Takashi Murakami giving interview with Chef Sean Webber for video of
competition.
The Black Box contents.
The judges and dignitaries.
(left to right) Klaus Tritschler, Bailli Délégué of Germany; David Tetrault,
Bailli Délégué of Canada, President of the competition; and Marie Jones,
International Vice-President.
Rupert’s Menu
38th Concours International des Jeunes
Chefs Rôtisseurs
Appetizer
Poached Cape Salmon Served Chilled
Petit Salad of Paw Paw, Mussels and Onions, Tomato Ice,
Mussel Dressing and Crisp Salmon Skin
Opening induction ceremony.
Main Course
Oven Roasted Ostrich Filet
Pulled Chicken Rosti Potato,Butternut Squash Purée,
Roasted Chicken Bone Reduction,
Baby Corn and Zucchini
Dessert
Avocado Cremeux
White and Dark Valrhona Chocolate Entremet,
Avocado Mousse, Blueberry Salsa and Caramel Sauce
Front row: Bronze medallist Jhao-Rong Fu, Taiwan; gold medallist Peter
Lex, Germany; silver medallist Rupert Garcia, Canada. Back row: Klaus
Tritschler; David Tetrault; Lois Gilbert, committee member, Bailli
Honoraire du Moscou.
Appetizer
Main Course
Dessert
A Note from Rupert Garcia, Rôtisseur
A graduate of Bishop
McNally High School and
the SAIT Polytechnic
Professional Cooking
Program in 2012, Rupert
Garcia currently serves as
chef de partie at the
Calgary Golf & Country
Club in Calgary, working
under the guidance of Executive Chef Vincent Parkinson.
Rupert previously held the positions of chef entrementier and
chef garde manger at the golf club. During his time at SAIT
and over the last few years, Rupert was fortunate to
experience a variety of stages including the Chaîne des
Rôtisseurs dinner at SAIT (2011); the SAIT Harvest Dinner
(2012); the CCFCC Honour Society Dinner (2012) at the
Atlantica Hotel in Halifax, working under the guidance of
Executive Chef Luis Clavel; and the CCFCC Gala Dinner,
World Trade Convention Center, Halifax (2012).
Rupert is no stranger to competition, and success, in his
young career, fueled by his stated “strong drive and innate
passion for the Culinary Arts.” Rupert’s list of
accomplishments from 2012 – 2013 includes Canadian
Culinary Federation (CCF) junior chef competition,
provincial winner (2012); CCF junior chef competition,
national 1st runner up (2012); and becoming a CCF junior
chef member. As Rupert put it himself:
“To the Members of the National Council and the
Provincial and local Baillages, their organizers and
representatives:
I would like thank everyone for the once-in-a-lifetime
experience I was granted by the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. It
was one I won't be able to forget. It is a blessing to be able to
represent Canada. All the support across the country behind
me helped me get through all the rough trials, through good
and constructive criticism. Here is a recap of the “journey”.
After a 36 hour flight, arriving at the airport was the best
feeling I'd had in days. Local Chaîne members were waiting
to greet all the competitors as we passed through the gates.
South African hospitality was shown and I felt comfortable
right away. The first 2 days in Durban were all about getting
to know each other. Over that time, I met and got to know
competitors from other countries. We were also introduced
to the culture in Durban, going around on safari tours (game
farms), visiting the Zulu village, taking a trip to the Spice
Emporium to learn a little more about East Indian spices.
These first few days before the competition allowed all the
competitors to “lighten up” and become familiar with
everyone individually, while getting to know everyone’s
personalities. All through our time in South Africa, we
“feasted” on the tastes of Durban - at the Ocean Breeze
Restaurant, Oyster Box Hotel, Cargo Hold Restaurant and
the gala dinner.
This competition overall was tough. I felt everyone’s
energy the day before the competition. They were all focused
and ready to go. My decisions on the menu were based on
the training, trials and practices I've gone through the past
year. I basically had a template in mind on what I was doing
for the 3 courses; it was a matter of filling in the blanks and
making it make sense. Of course, there were nerves during
the competition. If you would've asked me how I'd done right
after the competition, I couldn't have told you I've done well,
I did my best within the restricted time and thought, based on
discussions with on a few other competitors, that my efforts
and choices would turn out OK.”
I remember one incident at the competition that gave me
some much needed confidence. One of the food runners
delivering our dishes to the judges came up to me and asked
me if I was competitor“B3”. I told him that I was and he said
"OMG! That avocado cremeux is the best thing I've ever
eaten, that changed my life". At that moment, I felt good. No
matter what the final overall result, I knew at least one
person enjoyed my dish, even if it was the left overs.
What I learned from this trip was that no matter what the
circumstances are, we all share the same background, which
is food. I've made new friends from around the world, new
connections and hopefully will be able to see them again.”