News
JUNIOR CULINARY TEAM CANADA WINS GOLD AND SILVER!!!
COMMUNITY CATERING TEAM CANADA WINS GOLD!!!
(Vancouver, BC) December 21, 2022
Canadian Culinary Centre is proud to announce the Community Catering Team Canada and Junior Culinary Team Canada results from this year’s ExpoGast 2022 Culinary World Cup, held from November 26th to 30th, 2022 in Luxembourg.
Community Catering Team Canada wins SECOND PLACE IN THE WORLD – with gold medal in their category and Junior Culinary Team Canada wins a gold medal and silver medal. Managed by Chef JC Felicella, both teams competed against top chefs in the world, bringing home two gold medals and one silver medal at ExpoGast that is an international gastronomy and culinary refinement event held every four years. It is an intense 5-day competition showcasing the world’s most promising chefs.
Community Catering Team Canada, who placed 2nd place in the world, consists of Captain, Chef Tina Tang (Kelowna), Chef Warren Chow (Vancouver), Chef Heejo Jung (Vancouver) and Chef Leah Patitucci (Vancouver).
Junior Culinary Team Canada is made up of young chefs from across Canada. Team Captains Claire Roque (Vancouver) and Daniel Calabrese (Toronto), along with chefs Chloe Sy (Kelowna), Ottis Crabbe (Victoria/Ucluelet) and Joey Mai (Winnipeg) competed in two categories: Edible Buffet, which won them a gold medal, and Restaurant of Nations, where they won a silver medal.
“These past two years have been a constant push to make sure both teams were ready for this once in a lifetime challenge and experience. I am extremely proud of what both teams accomplished in Luxembourg. Unfortunately, there is no time to rest. We are moving forward with training for the World Olympics already, that is only 14 months away.” - Chef JC Felicella, Team Manager and Culinary Director – Global Gourmet Foods.
Each team member sacrificed hours of personal time and worked very hard on their craft to grow tremendously throughout the years leading to ExpoGast, and will continue this commitment working toward the World Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart Germany, February 2024.
Behind the team lies many other volunteers, including managers, coaches, support members as well as alternates. Training these young minds is our main goal, allowing us to advance Canadian cuisine to higher levels every year and generation. Chef Felicella leads his teams with a strong foundation of knowledge, creativity and intuitive wisdom based on 35+ years of experience in the culinary arts.
Old Spaghetti Factory Fundraiser
Old Spaghetti Factory and Junior Culinary Team Canada Collaborate on Dish to Support Fundraising for World Culinary Competition
Vancouver, BC – November 4, 2021 -- Old Spaghetti Factory has a new menu item that supports Junior Culinary Team Canada compete on the world culinary stage. Starting November 6, 2021, Old Spaghetti Factory launches a dish specifically designed for them by Junior Culinary Team Canada.
The Junior Culinary Team Canada, Penne with Italian Sausage Ragu and Whipped Ricotta dish will be featured at all Old Spaghetti Factory (OSF) locations across Canada for the Fall/Winter Menu. Every time the custom pasta dish is ordered, OSF will donate $1 to support Junior Culinary Team Canada in their quest for gold in Luxembourg in 2022, and ultimately at the 2024 World Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany.
Junior Culinary Team Canada is comprised of six members and three support members who are from across Canada along with coaches. This team wants to match the two gold medals won at the Olympics in 2020 and continue the great tradition of being one of the top five overall countries in the culinary world.
Funds raised will support the team as they practice and train together for the next twelve months along with going towards their expenses for travel and competing in the competition in Luxembourg. The team of young chefs have been practicing remotely during the pandemic and now have officially started practicing together and hosting fundraising events.
The practicing, training and fundraising is to prepare for the competition in Luxembourg that is a 2-day event where the team is tasked to cook a three-course meal from scratch for 80 guests one day, and an edible buffet for twelve guests the second day. Meals must include terrines, canapes, salads and desserts.
Junior Culinary Team Canada has a long history of being a training ground for young talented Canadian chefs. Many of Canada's top chefs have taken advantage of the once in a lifetime experience to learn new skills, make priceless connections and put Canada on the top tier of the World Culinary scene by joining Junior Culinary Team Canada.
Historically, cooks who become members of Junior Culinary Team Canada often continue to compete on the world stage as members of Culinary Team Canada, as well as, representing Canada as Competitors at the coveted Bocuse D'or Competitions proving the opportunity to be a part of the Junior team is invaluable.
With support from Old Spaghetti Factory, Junior Culinary Team Canada will be able to concentrate on training and honing skills to further Canada’s Culinary standings on a world stage, as well as advancing the food scene for years to come.
Welcome!
Junior Culinary Team Canada has a long history of being a training ground for many talented chefs. Many of Canada’s top chefs have taken advantage of this once in a lifetime experience to learn new skills, make priceless connections, and put Canada on the top tier of the World Culinary scene.
If you look into their histories, you will see many of them were able to continue to compete on the world stage as members of Culinary Team Canada as well as representing Canada as competitors at the coveted Bocuse D’Or competitions.
This young team has already begun training in preparation for the 2022 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. Following the World Cup, they will continue to hone their skills and compete at the 2024 World Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany. The team manager and driving force behind this team is none other than Chef JC Felicella. Chef JF brings 30+ years of competition experience and management history to the team. He has gathered some of the finest coaches Canada has to offer, such as Chef Bruno Marti, Chef Scott Jaeger, Chef Suzanna Yeung and Chef Cameron Huley just to name a few.
Leading the team is Captain Leah Patitucci. Leah is a returning member from the 2020 Culinary Youth Team Canada and has also competed in numerous other competitions including 2019 World Skills in Kazan, Russia. Team member, Gus Koeingsfest is also no stranger to competitions. He had the opportunity to go to the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany as a support member to Culinary Team Canada and competed in the Chaine de Rotisseurs Jeunes Chefs competition, winning the regional and national competitions. The team also has the very talented Daniel Calabrese, Simon Dufresne, Ottis Crabbe and Joey Mai. They are very talented young chefs looking forward to getting some International Culinary Competition experience and giving all their talent to the team and their country. Last but not least, we have Clarissa Roque. She will be taking on the daunting task of pastry chef. Luckily, she started competing at the age of 15 at the Skills Canada Competitions. In 2019, she qualified to become a part of World Skills Team Canada to compete in Patisserie and Confectionery in Kazan, Russia, where she won a Medallion of Excellence.
These young chefs are eager to learn from their coaches and each other to represent Canada for the next three years. You will see these young chefs complete dozens of practices, fundraisers, and special events. It takes a lot of personal sacrifice, hard work and talent to compete at this level and these young chefs are ready for the challenge!
