For the "A Feu Vif" version of this newsletter, please click HERE.
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Welcome to the April issue of the “Hot Off the Grill” Culinary Federation Newsletter!
As we begin the second quarter of 2021, we are thrilled to announce that we have officially welcomed 82 new Culinary Federation Members so far this year! You will notice we have started welcoming our new members in monthly batches in our newsletters. If you happen to see new members that are from your branch, we encourage you to reach out and connect. Never has a small gesture been more appreciated, since we are unable to gather in person. To our new members, we are thrilled to have you join the CF family.
A portion of these new memberships have been new Foodies. This is a relatively new level of membership and we encourage you to invite the Foodie in your life to join the Culinary Federation Revolution! We would love to have more food bloggers, influencers, enthusiasts, and home cooks join our ranks.
This past month we had the opportunity to get to know Junior Culinary Team Canada, with their takeover of our Instagram and Facebook stories. You can still check out their takeover here. We are also showcasing team members in our Meet the Chef section below.
This month on the social media takeover calendar is Culinary Team BC - we can't wait to see what they're up to!
Please be sure to take note of the AGM notice and CF Virtual Awards Ceremony save the dates below. As you may know, the role of National Treasurer will be up for election this coming May. If you are interested in running, please contact Lisa Evangelos at [email protected] to put your name forward.
As always, thank you for your continued support and membership, if there is anything you want to discuss regarding the Culinary Federation and your membership experience, please contact me at [email protected]
Thank you,
Ryan Marquis
CF National President
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Come join the Culinary Federation Revolution:
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Please join us in welcoming these new and returning members to the Culinary Federation: |
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CF VICTORIA
Adam Schwann
Paige Taylor
CF VANCOUVER
Shawn Lang
Aryaman Sharma
Christine Cho
CF EDMONTON
Andrew Kalist
Kaitlyn Brooke
Samantha Carr
Xingming Yang
Miranda McElwain
Dylan Scofield
Andrey Shakhov
CF LETHBRIDGE
Rangitane Urarii
Shaelynn Bordyschuk
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CF WINDSOR
Areej Dahnous
Augustina Kadiri-omogbai
Tamara Restituto
CF TORONTO
Alex Lombardi-Hartig
Michelle Wu
Charminda Gamage
Oliver Li
CF OTTAWA
Nick Simon
Itohan Ukinebo
Normand Beaudoin Jr.
Abeir Hussein
Omar Kwitonda
Elsie Evyagotailak
Valerie Berthiaume
Itohan Abbe
Katrina Shah
Joy Odumamwen
Esther Katufu
Mercy Adjel
Paul Seeley
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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 JC 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!
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Chef JC Felicella, Team Manager
John Carlo is currently the manager for both Culinary Team British Columbia and Junior Culinary Team Canada. JC leads his teams with a strong foundation of knowledge, creativity and intuitive wisdom based on 35+ years of experience in the culinary arts field. JC has a breadth of knowledge developed through working in hotels, post-secondary education, private clubs, and owning his own restaurant. Through these experiences, JC has been recognized as a leader in his field through a multitude of awards such as: BC Chef of the Year (2001 & 2017); Western Canada Chef of the Year (2003 & 2017); and Canadian Chef of the Year (2010 & 2017). JC is currently working in food manufacturing as the Culinary Director for Global Gourmet Foods, where they develop food for both national and international markets. JC also volunteers his time as the chair for the BC Culinary Arts Foundation where they work with all Chef’s associations across the province. He has served as a board member for the Canadian Culinary Federation (2000-Present). Throughout his career he has always been passionate about participating in and managing culinary arts competitions. He has been competing internationally since 1988, in this time he has attended the Culinary Olympics every four years and has been honoured with 32 gold and 12 silver medals. JC has also had the opportunity to manage, coach and judge multiple Bocuse d’Or competitions in Lyon, France.
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Leah Patitucci, Team Captain
Coming from Vancouver, BC Leah began cooking professionally at 15 as an apprentice at Hawksworth Restaurant. Since then Leah has worked at other well recognized establishments such at Temper Pastry and The Pear Tree Restaurant. Most recently Leah has moved to Kelowna, BC to work at Mission Hill Family Estates. Leah received her Red Seal Certification as well as Pastry Arts training from Vancouver Community College. Leah is a returning member from the 2020 Culinary Youth Team Canada and has also competed in numerous other competitions including 2019 WorldSkills in Kazan, Russia. Leah is thankful for all of the opportunities she has received over her career and looks forward to bringing this team to success!
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Gus Koenigsfest
Growing up, Gus always loved cooking. He decided to begin to hone his craft by attending the ACE-IT culinary program in his last year of high school. Through this, he had the opportunity to go to the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany as a support member of Culinary Team Canada. On his return he began work apprenticing under his Chef and mentor Scott Jaeger of the Pear Tree Restaurant, and with his guidance competed in the Chaine de Rotisseurs Jeunes Chefs competition, winning the regional and national competitions. Currently, Gus is continuing to develop his skills as he prepares for future competitions and opportunities.
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Daniel Calabrese
Daniel was born and raised in Brampton Ontario and grew up surrounded by Italian cuisine. He is well versed in numerous classic Italian traditions including tomato sauce and sausages, wine production and bread baking, not to mention making pasta from scratch.
After graduation from Humber College in 2018, Daniel quickly rose through the ranks to Sous Chef at Aria where he honed his skills in fine dining French cuisine. In late 2020 Daniel decided to explore a different culinary environment and joined the team at Amica Senior Lifestyles at the Peel Village location in Brampton. It is here that Daniel is currently focusing on continuing to develop his culinary skills and talent under Chef Ryan Collie and former culinary team Canada member and Sous Chef Ian Fletcher. Daniel is excited to advance his knowledge and become a well-rounded and well-versed Chef. Text Link
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Simon Dufresne
Born and raised in the Okanagan Valley, Simon had a passion for cooking early in life. He graduated high school early and decided to pursue his passion for culinary arts by attending Okanagan College. With the mentorship and guidance of his Culinary Instructors and local Chefs, Simon has taken part in competitions such as Skills Canada (regionals and provincials) where he secured a bronze medal during the Provincial Competition. The Okanagan Chefs Association Road to Riccione. winning first place where he went on to host a Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner with his chef instructor and another student at the 5 star Hotel Belvedere in Riccione Italy. Most recently Simon was a contender for the 2020 CF Young Chef’s Competition. Simon also worked closely with Chef Jesse Friesen representing team Winnipeg, during The Great Kitchen Party in 2018. Simon is currently a Red Seal Apprentice and challenges himself as he continuously reaches for excellence.
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Ottis Crabbe
Born In Tofino, Ottis and his family soon moved to Ucluelet where his parents opened Abbondanza in 2013. After the first night of opening, he decided to become a chef. After graduating high school in 2019, Ottis attended Vancouver Island University and took the one-year culinary program graduating with honours and two culinary awards in 2020. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ottis worked at Lake House at Shawnigan as a commis and is now attending Vancouver Island University’s culinary management diploma program, set to graduate in 2021.
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Joey Mai
Born and raised in Vietnam, where the definition of great food is highly related to the freshness of ingredients, Joey's childhood was filled with joyful memories of going to early-morning markets to help her dad prepare family meals. She eventually realized that cooking was not only a hobby. Joey decided to leave Vietnam after high school and attended the Culinary Arts program at Red River College. She graduated and started her career as a Line Cook at Prairie 360 Restaurant, where she developed her skills and strengthened her work ethic. After a year, she became the Junior Sous Chef. Due to Covid-19, Prairie 360 has now closed. Fortunately, Joey was able to join the Winnipeg Squash Racquet Club kitchen team and currently works under the instruction of Chef Cameron Huley, former member of Culinary Team Canada.
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Clarissa Roque
Born and raised in Vancouver, Clarissa was first interested in pastry nearly as soon as she could walk. She began competing at the age of 15 in the Skills Canada competitions, taking her across the country. She went on to compete at the National Competitions in both Saskatoon, in 2015, and Edmonton, in 2018. In 2019, she qualified to become a part of World Skills Team Canada to compete in Pâtisserie and Confectionery in Kazan, Russia where she won a Medallion of Excellence.
She completed the ACE-IT Program for Baking and Pastry as well as her Red Seal apprenticeship at Vancouver Community College. Finding her niche in chocolate work, Clarissa currently works as the chocolatier at Chez Christophe in Burnaby, BC.
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Click HERE for a look at the latest CF National Calendar.
Please make sure to be logging in to list your branch events. If you are having
any issues using Calendar Wiz, be sure to be in touch with Lisa Evangelos, National Administrator – [email protected]
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