National Junior Culinary Exchange

Tomorrow I leave for the National Junior Culinary Exchange. This is a program offered each year to several junior chefs who successfully complete and pass the application process. It is basically a week long culinary convention with plenty of field trips, outings, great meals, tours, meet and greats with famous chefs, wine tastings, stages, and much more. Here is a sneak peak for the schedule of events in the upcoming week.

• dinner at a winery
• sugar training workshop
• barrel and tank samplings
• visiting an organic farm for lambs, pigs, and chickens
• lunch and dinner at different vineyards
• plant tour
• goat tasting
• garden tour
• farm visit and milking
• exploring the waterfalls
• working with guest chefs
• meet and greet with famous chef
• visit to a farmer's market
• cool climate chardonnay tour grand dinner
• brunch at a vineyard
• and much more!!!

Heading Home

After almost three weeks of a great time travelling, meeting new people, exploring different areas, and eating some really great food; today I begin my trek home. As a little recap, here are some food shots from this past trip...just a small sample of all the food adventures I experienced!!

Exploring The City

Today I did a big walking tour of the downtown city area. I got to see lots of sights - historical structures, buildings of interest, nature sights, shops, restaurants, businesses, cultural hubs, and so much more!

Mountains still in view

Big city hotel

View out the sky train window

home cooked supper

I also cooked dinner at the house tonight which was fun to use a kitchen I wasn't familiar with and had limited equipment/pantry. I kind of made the meal up on the fly using a few key ingredients and came up with this...
Seared pork tenderloin, Creamy potato gratin, Roasted broccoli and zucchini, Crispy onions, Cilantro walnut pesto, Mushroom maple sauce.

Exploring The Mountains

Another beautiful day today was spent exploring a university campus and park, all surrounded by mountains. Even dinner in a restaurant overlooking the mountains; the only word I have to describe today is 'scenic' so here are plenty of photos!!

LAMB CHOPS - sumac / garlic cream / harissa / cucumber & tomato / pita chips

WILD SALMON - grilled on our alderwood bbq / lemon, pepper & herb risotto

More Park Explorations

Today began with a big trip to a ginormous furniture and houseware store - which was very impressive. Staged rooms, plenty of furniture to test out and a huge warehouse. The walk there was very pleasant; the walk back all uphill maybe not so much. After lunch we headed to another park that had a lot of walking trails through the forest and some beautiful lakes. Had to take advantage of the beautiful and warm sunny day and spend it outside. Must have walked close to 15km today!

My Birthday Away

Today was perhaps the most exciting day of my trip....it was my birthday!! I am super glad I was able to spend my birthday celebrating with my brother and his girlfriend and not just on the road or at a conference (though not terrible ways to spend a birthday, especially compared to previous years of working all day, it's better to be with family).

For starters, last night (after midnight, of course) we had a chocolate cake they had made for me. This morning we went to a large market that was basically meant for foodies. It had many food stalls and vendors as well as some lovely shops. Next we drove over to a large outdoor park where we rented bicycles and biked around the entire perimeter. The park went right along the seawall and the ocean and looked over to the north side of the city. Plenty of trees, flowers, birds, and nature as well.Then it was out to a fancy restaurant for dinner were I was even treated with a special birthday plate.

All in all it was an exciting and pleasant day; celebrating my birthday and exploring another new city.

Closing Ceremonies

Today was the big day of medals and awards and announcements and excitement! It started off with a VIP brunch reception and some speeches. Then onto team introductions and cheering. Presentation of medals and the moments all the competitors have been waiting for - the top three score placements in each category. Then I got to congratulate everyone and hang out for a bit before it was time to eat on a plane yet again and fly on over to my brother's place for a visit!

Competition Day Two

Today was another long day of competing. I bounced back and forth among cooking and baking both secondary and post secondary competitions. I also checked out a lot of the other sites and the try-a-trades. At the end of the day I helped with the clean up and tear down of the cooking sites. I took A LOT of photos - pretty much every food plated today!

sugar sculpture

table of pastry items

salmon main course

bread pudding dessert

ravioli appetizer

salmon entree

creme caramel dessert

fruit tarts and elcairs

slice of decorated cake