TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPIONS
Alberta and BC Chefs Make it
Three Consecutive Wins for Canada
at ScotHot International Culinary Competition
EDMONTON, ALBERTA. The Canadian Culinary Federation Team–Scotland 2005 won three of the four competition categories, were awarded Best Overall in the competition and came home three-time champions from the ScotHot Grand Prix held in Glasgow on April 25-28, 2005.
In early March, Chef Simon Smotkowicz, Alberta Culinary Arts Foundation Director and Culinary Team Alberta Business Manager, was approached by Canadian Culinary Federation Fédération Culinaire Canadienne (CCFCC) President Bruno Marti to field a team. Time was short and would demand a huge commitment from the chefs, and their employers. Smotkowicz started by looking close to home, where he and Culinary Team Alberta had received a lot of support over the years.
First on board: Shaw Conference Centre pastry chef Clayton Folkers as Team Manager. Culinary Team Canada alumnae Dave Ryan stepped in as Captain. And the four remaining spots were filled by Matt Batey from B.C. and three Alberta chefs—Bob Matthews, Brad Horen and James Holehouse—who had worked with Smotkowicz and Folkers at the Shaw Conference Centre in the past.
Last week, this team did Canada and the national chefs’ association proud.
The early decision to pair an experienced competition chef with a younger chef—Ryan, Matthews and Folkers working with Horen, Batey and Holehouse respectively—proved a winning strategy. "We had the right people in the right positions," says Folkers, "And we had a lot of confidence in each other and in the systems we’d developed for each area of the competition. The guys were amazing." That sentiment was echoed by others at ScotHot.
Serving as an international judge for the first time, Smotkowicz had occasion to hear judges and other teams comment on the organized, well-orchestrated and outstanding work of the Canadian team during the Hot Kitchen competition and the high caliber quality of their Cold Kitchen presentations. "Clayton was incredibly focused and attentive to every planning detail," says Smotkowicz. "That took a lot of stress off the team members and helped them relax so they could concentrate on giving their individual and team best. Their work was unbelievable."
Scotland 2005 are:
|
Team Manager Assistant Manager Captain Pastry Chef Chef Member Chef Member Chef Member Alternate Member Support Member |
Clayton Folkers Pastry Chef Shaw Conference Centre Edmonton Vinod Varshney Culinary Arts Program Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Edmonton Dave Ryan Culinary Arts Program Vancouver Community College Vancouver James Holehouse The Rimrock Resort Hotel Banff Matt Batey La Belle Auberge Vancouver Brad Horen The Westin Calgary Calgary Bob Matthews La Chaumière Restaurant Calgary Shaun Desaulniers The Fairmont Palliser Calgary Ivan Ng Crown Plaza Chateau Lacombe Edmonton |
For more information, contact:
Clayton Folkers, Team Manager: (780) 421-9797, Ext. 246
Simon Smotkowicz, Business Manager: (780) 917-7660