The Next Great Chef (merged)

[jamiemaw]

The Next Great Chef, a 10-part half hour competitive cooking series, debuts December 2nd on Global, pitting Laura Sharp of Diva at the Met against Ryan Stone of the Marriott Pinnacle.

Produced by Vancouver-based and James Beard award winner Nick Versteeg, the show will stage a province-by-province rotation of black box competitions; the ten finalists will meet in a one hour grand finale scheduled for February 25th.

The Knorr/Canadian Culinary Federation Junior Culinary Challenge has been taking place for years; this is the first time it has been broadcast. Judges include Bruno Marti of Ladner's La Belle Auberge.

[Ling]

I caught the Saskatchewan episode awhile ago. (Sorry...I forget what time/day it was on.) Has anyone else been watching this series? Thoughts? It seems to be rather "Iron Chef" like, with the two chefs--er, cooks? The young men on the particular episode I was watching had mentors with them--cooking head-to-head. They have to turn out an appetizer, main, and dessert within an alloted time limit (an hour?) and there are certain ingredients they have to use.

[Vancitygirl]

it's on Global on Fridays:

Next Episodes: Jan.6 Double Header

NEWFOUNDLAND

Bill Scott's extensive competitive experience matched against Robert Piercey's culinary prowess makes for an intense contest in the fight to become Newfoundland's Next Great Chef.

ALBERTA

Justin Labossiere brings his disciplined, classical style to the kitchen to face off with the innovative ingénue, Grace O in the battle to determine Alberta's Next Great Chef.

[tofino]

yahoo -go Justin, used to be a steward in our kitchen, then prep cook, then day line cook - great young guy - hope he does well!!!

[vinnecooks]

I caught the show on friday and from what I witnessed makes me wonder if this could really produce the next rob feenie,I don't know. I mean there's no doubt that these kids can cook but what I witnessed was alot of uneasyness on the plate it was more confusion then fusion I mean all dishes had 13 or 14 things in them with that many things on the plate it would be hard for the theme ingredent to stand out.

[Ling]

I've watched three episodes, and some of the chefs are definitely better than others. There's been mention of the series on this forum, but no thread on what's happening, so I don't know if this thread will be merged. The chefs on this show (usually young cooks in their early 20s) are given a bit of guidance on the show from their mentor. I felt really bad for the asian girl who followed her mentor's advice about leaving the tuna in the oil she used for poaching...I was pretty sure she should've taken them out when SHE felt they were done, and it turns out her tuna was over-cooked. And I don't know if it was nerves or something...but one of the young cooks didn't know which knife was the filleting knife.

Edited January 24, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Daddy-A]

There's been mention of the series on this forum, but no thread on what's happening, so I don't know if this thread will be merged.

[host]

Yep ... there were THREE threads on this show. Now they're all merged into one tidey package.

Carry on ....

A.

[/host]

[demiglace]

Does anyone know who won the Vancouver segment?

[Matt R.]

Does anyone know who won the Vancouver segment?

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For some reason I keep forgetting to tape this show. Probably because I don't use my VCR for anything but a clock anymore ... and tuning in Treehouse.

BC chefs square off Feb 3, so there has been no winner, yet.

www.thenextgreatchef.com is a great place to read Don Genova's commentary, as well as see the dishes made in 360 Quicktime movies. In reading the recaps, there seems to be an awful lot of amateur mistakes going on. I know these are young people starting out, but to get to the level of competition they are at they seem to be missing some of the basics, like not cutting yourself on national TV.

Also, why does Knorr seem to sponsor so many of these youth-oriented competitions. Do any of these budding chefs even use their products? I kinda hope not.

-- Matt.

[demiglace]

Does anyone know who won the Vancouver segment?

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For some reason I keep forgetting to tape this show. Probably because I don't use my VCR for anything but a clock anymore ... and tuning in Treehouse.

BC chefs square off Feb 3, so there has been no winner, yet.

www.thenextgreatchef.com is a great place to read Don Genova's commentary, as well as see the dishes made in 360 Quicktime movies. In reading the recaps, there seems to be an awful lot of amateur mistakes going on. I know these are young people starting out, but to get to the level of competition they are at they seem to be missing some of the basics, like not cutting yourself on national TV.

Also, why does Knorr seem to sponsor so many of these youth-oriented competitions. Do any of these budding chefs even use their products? I kinda hope not.

-- Matt.

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Thanks for the link. I chalked the bloodshed up to nerves.

[demiglace]

Congrats to the winner... Laura Sharpe of Vancouver!

[jamiemaw]

DIVA AT THE MET'S LAURA SHARPE WINS CANADA'S 'NEXT GREAT CHEF' TITLE

'VANCOUVER, BC - In a TV culinary battle to determine who Canada's next generation's top chef would be, Laura Sharpe chopped, roasted and plated the best three-course meal of her young career to win the esteemed title of The Next Great Chef. The win gained additional significance for Laura, as she became the first female chef to win the KNORR/ CCFCC Junior Culinary Challenge, the premise of the new TV culinary drama.

Competing against nine other provincial finalists from an original field of 100, Laura out-cooked her closest rivals from Alberta and Ontario and captured top honours in a competition that a year earlier she was unable to even qualify for provincially. With invaluable support from her mentor, Diva at the Met's executive chef Ray Henry, Laura perfected her dishes and won over the judges who were basing their decision on very specific criteria - preparation technique, taste and plating of the compulsory ingredients each chef was given to work with in the finals. The ingredients included flat iron steak, quail, foie gras and Dungeness crab. Laura's final menu featured Roasted Quail Breast, Foie Gras Torchon, Surf and Turf, Sous-Vide Flat Iron Steak, Crab and Fennel Ravioli, and a Lemon Study Pine Nut Tart with Lemon Sour Cream Ice Cream. The success of her dishes translated into a win that was 30 points ahead of her nearest competitor.

"I'm thrilled that I won, especially since it is my first win, in any competition, to date," states Laura Sharpe, Diva at the Met. "It's amazing to think I almost dropped out a couple of days prior to the competition because I caught a horrible cold that left me with bumps on my tongue and no ability to taste my dishes. I think I'm still waiting for this win to sink in."

As the winner, Laura receives $5,000 cash, a trip to one of the CCFCC Culinary Team Canada's competitions and five trips to various Canadian and/or US cities to observe and experience cooking in different restaurants. Her first order of business, though, is to finish her apprenticeship at the Vancouver Community College this August and then continue learning full time in Ray Henry's kitchen at Diva at the Met.'

"Laura's talents and style are a reflection of the type of chef she is and what lifts her above the others," says executive chef Ray Henry. "Her commitment and passion to her craft makes this win well deserved. Laura's win is also motivation to the entire Diva brigade and supports our efforts in developing the next generation of leading chefs."

[~cayenne~]

DIVA AT THE MET'S LAURA SHARPE WINS CANADA'S 'NEXT GREAT CHEF' TITLE

Competing against nine other provincial finalists from an original field of 100, Laura out-cooked her closest rivals from Alberta and Ontario and captured top honours in a competition that a year earlier she was unable to even qualify for

"I'm thrilled that I won, especially since it is my first win, in any competition, to date," states Laura Sharpe, Diva at the Met. "It's amazing to think I almost

"Laura's talents and style are a reflection of the type of chef she is and what lifts her above the others," says executive chef Ray Henry. "Her commitment and passion to her craft makes this win well deserved. Laura's win is also motivation to the entire Diva brigade and supports our efforts in developing the next generation of leading chefs."

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Very impressive! Certainly an awesome counteract to that recent infamous G&M review.

[Daddy-A]

Yeah, and it's a shame that Ryan Stone (the other BC chef) couldn't have been there because he was head and shoulders better than the rest too. PRIME aired all the episodes last weekend. I'm not sure what surprised me more ... how good the BC chefs were, or how amateur most of the other chefs were. I think more former than latter.

The DVD is soon to be available on the Web Site.

Congrats and good luck to Laura!

A.

[Ling]

That's awesome that our province was so well represented! Her menu looks good. I didn't catch the final episode, but how did she do sous-vide steak so quickly? Were the competitors still under the 1 hour time limit? Lemon and pine-nut tart sounds good. The French Laundry cookbook has a recipe for that too.

Laura's final menu featured Roasted Quail Breast, Foie Gras Torchon, Surf and Turf, Sous-Vide Flat Iron Steak, Crab and Fennel Ravioli, and a Lemon Study Pine Nut Tart with Lemon Sour Cream Ice Cream. The success of her dishes translated into a win that was 30 points ahead of her nearest competitor.

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[Irishgirl]

Never mind the sous vide....how about the torchon?

Good torchon takes a good couple of days to "ripen" properly!

Interesting to say the least. A friend of mine worked on the production of that show. He never would tell me who won.....

....fabulous that the competitor was from B.C., and the fact that it was a woman is icing on the cake. Good show for a male dominated profession!

[jamiemaw]

Never mind the sous vide....how about the torchon?

Good torchon takes a good couple of days to "ripen" properly!

Interesting to say the least.  A friend of mine worked on the production of that show.  He never would tell me who won.....

....fabulous that the competitor was from B.C., and the fact that it was a woman is icing on the cake.  Good show for a male dominated profession!

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Agreed: how wonderful that a young and talented female won. And further, as this was a seriously judged competition (Bruno Marti: "This is cooked to perfection.") without the pyrotechnics of some over-produced shows, I hope that it's a useful introduction for other talented people considering the profession.

[Daddy-A]

[host]

I've merged the two threads on The Next Great Chef for continuity.

[/host]

And further, as this was a seriously judged competition (Bruno Marti: "This is cooked to perfection.") without the pyrotechnics of some over-produced shows, I hope that it's a useful introduction for other talented people considering the profession.

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Chef Marti was brutal with some of the earlier competitors ... and I mean brutal in a good way, i.e. he wasn't pulling any punches.

I wish the cooking portions of the shows were longer. In a 24 minute show, only about 1/2 of it was actual cooking. The bio's on the chefs and the judges, etc, are all required, but IMO took up too much time i a show that's supposed to be about the competitors.

A.

[Ling]

I wish the cooking portions of the shows were longer.  In a 24 minute show, only about 1/2 of it was actual cooking. 

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Agreed. I would've also liked closer shots of the preparation and the cooking--of the three or four episodes I caught, we got to see very little of either.

[samasutra]

Darn it, I missed the BC episode. I had watched alot of the episodes. Happy though a BC woman won and that BC presented themselves well.

I thought the judges were a little harsh in their judging earlier on and had not agreed with some of their decisions. One of the guys that they chose as winner , I think it was Prince Edward Island but not sure, I thought should not had won. He made many mistakes and was a real dirty cook. Terrible hygiene. He had a cold and was wiping his nose on his sleeve. I am very fussy in my own kitchen and tie my hair back..heaven forbid , even a hair fall into my cooking...I am a hand washer at every juncture. So to watch this guy wiping his "snotty" nose on his sleeve and everything while he was cooking on "televsion" let alone what he might do when the camera was not on him was a real turn off. I thought the other girl did better on all counts.

I am sorry I missed the repeats. I wish the food network alot so not sure how I missed them.

S.