World Culinary Olympics
While we’re all tuning in to watch our Canadian athletes shine at the Beijing Olympics, competitors in the culinary industry are looking forward to their own Olympic debut in 2024, at the World Culinary Olympics in Germany, as well as the Expo Gastronomique in Luxembourg this November.
The Culinary Olympics are held every four years and feature opening ceremonies and an Olympic flame. The massive competition has upheld its Olympic name by representing passion, hard work and team spirit for over 100 years. Canada has represented well for over 50 years alongside 55+ other countries, with more than 2,000 chefs and pastry chefs competing in the prestigious five-day event. There are multiple categories, including include those for national teams, junior national teams, regional teams, community catering teams, military teams, individual competitors, cities and corporate teams.
Photos from IKA Culinary Olympics 2020
Community Catering Team Canada (Team B.C.) will be competing in the Catering Category. They will be looking to gain as many points as possible by preparing and presenting a luncheon meal including a salad, soup, three separate main courses and a dessert.
Four Red Seal Chefs make up Team B.C., including Captain Aaron Hoffman, members Heejo Jung, Chris Braun and Tina Tang, and their support member Warren Chow. Although Tang currently calls Kelowna home, her roots are on Vancouver Island. She is familiar with what it takes to be a culinary competitor, having gained experience and success in numerous other local, provincial and national competitions. She has also held titles as the World Chefs Young Chefs Ambassador for Canada and CCFCC Western Chef of the Year.
Each team is given points that will determine their medal finish. For instance, 90-99 points is a gold medal, 80-89 points silver, and so on. Team B.C. will be judged on presentation and innovation (30 points), composition (30 points), professional preparation, skill and technique (30 points) and serving arrangements and presentation (10 points). More than one team can win a gold medal in this system, but the team who is awarded the overall highest score in all categories will be named the champion.
Junior Culinary Team Canada will also be making an impression on the world stage, bringing together young pre-Red Seal chefs from across the country who have exhibited exceptional culinary skills: Captain Claire Roque, members Joey Mai, Daniel Calabrese, Ottis Crabbe, Simon Dufresne and Bernadette Ballman, as well as their support members Leah Patituci, Zoe Cheung and Chloe Sy. Team member Crabbe, who grew up in Ucluelet, discovered his passion for cooking soon after his parents opened their restaurant, Abbondanza, in 2013. Since graduating high school, he has pursued a culinary education at Vancouver Island University and is now training hard in anticipation of the upcoming Olympics. 
Between now and the 2024 competition, Junior Team members meet to cook and train as well as hold fundraisers to help get them to Germany. During their two-day Olympic event, the Junior Team will be cooking a three-course meal for 80 guests and creating a buffet for twelve guests. The meals must include terrines, canapes, salads and desserts. Their experience at the Culinary Olympics will be life-changing for these young chefs as they make connections and learn new skills that will advance their careers and culinary abilities.
While the chefs of both these teams will represent Canada in this competition, it takes a village to get them there, with multiple team managers and coaches behind the scenes helping to perfect their cooking skills and ensure a collaborative spirit. It is a big commitment not just for the participating chefs, but for their families and mentors. If you’d like to contribute to sending our talented teams to the World Culinary Olympics, contribute to their fundraisers—and make sure to cheer loudly when they take the stage!
