For the second time in three years, some of Canada's best chefs will make a pit stop in Prince George to test their teamwork and give the city a chance at top-notch cuisine.
Culinary Team Canada will host a Going for Gold Dinner Soiree at the College of New Caledonia on Oct. 5 as it prepares for the 2016 Culinary Olympics in Germany.
"The calibre of cooks and chefs are off the planet," said CNC Chef Ron Christian, who had a hand in bringing the team north.
"Now the last time they were here, the wow factor was incredible," said Christian of the 2013 visit. "The flavours, the presentation, the overall experience, you have to go to a big city for this."
The event is for foodies, who appreciate the time and care that fine dining requires, said Christian, who spoke with plain excitement and compared the event to an opera.
"It's a real experience. You'll see the presentation and the plating," he said.
"It looks too good to eat. That's how good it is. The flavours are just wow."
Ticket sales are already doing well, he said, adding he expects them to sell out despite the $185 price tag.
"The tickets aren't cheap," he said, "but you won't experience this anywhere unless you go to the big cities."
It will take days to prepare for the Monday evening event, and CNC culinary students will have a hand in that.
"For the students that are here, and are able to work with them side-by-side, you can't put a price on this valuable experience," said Christian, adding students were "tickled pink" when they heard the news.
"They realized what kind of an opportunity they're going to have," he said.
When the chefs arrive on the Thursday, they'll be working straight through to Monday.
The evening itself will be a challenge for the six chefs who have to prepare 110 plates of a dish they plan on presenting during the finals.
"Each plate has to look as exact as possible," said Christian, adding they will have to make it within a designated time limit.
"So it's quite a challenge."
Christian said he coaxed his friend and team manager JC Felicella to come to the city again, though the tour rarely strays from the bigger cities.
"It just means the world to me," said Christian, who moved from Vancouver to teach at CNC 13 years ago.
For his part Felicella said the group is happy to come back.
"The support CNC and the community gives us is amazing," said Felicella in last week's release. It's an honor to be cooking for an appreciated group."
Their return was a surprise, said CNC's president.
"We thought that their previous visit would be their only one," said Henry Reiser in a statement.
"Needless to say we are extremely excited to host them again."
Tickets can be purchased by calling 250-561-5859 or emailing [email protected].
