The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Submitted by UCN It was called an iron chef competition, but that didn't stop UCN Commercial Cooking students from proving they're as good as gold. Open to Manitoba high school-age students in cooking programs, the Localvore Iron Chef Cook-Off took place in Winnipeg last Saturday. The three UCN students are enrolled at Margaret Barbour College Institute in The Pas, but take the culinary program at the university college. Under the guidance of chef and UCN instructor Rob Gemmill, the students came fourth out of 25 entrants, with only four percentage points separating them from first place. They were proud to represent the North and create a recipe showcasing quality produce from our region. "We are pleased that UCN students are participating in opportunities to demonstrate the results of the high-quality programs that support their learning," said Dr. Kathryn McNaughton, UCN Vice-President, Academic and Research. Tenderloin The students' dish is called Tri-Berry Pork. It's pork tenderloin stuffed with blueberries, baked in a saskatoon berry bannock. A creamy raspberry sauce and wild rice pilaf accompanied it. Judges gave extra points for the amount of local food items the competitors used. The UCN students put a priority on the use of local ingredients, from berries to birch syrup. "I was scared at first. But we learned more about how to work together as a team to do our best work," said Dayle Anderson, 16. Much like Iron Chef America on television, students in this competition had only 60 minutes to prepare, cook and plate their dishes for a panel of judges, which included a dietician and a chef. They had to do all of the work themselves, with their instructor offering only encouragement from the sidelines. Only one of the UCN students had experience with cooking competitions before last Saturday. "I entered baking contests at Trappers', but I've got teammates this time. If you communicate, you really can get stuff done quickly and efficiently," said Travis Antonio, 16. The team from Louis Riel Arts & Technology Centre won first place with Smoked Goldeye Cannelloni. Going in, the UCN students were clear that this experience was never about winning prizes. "I just hoped that we would do a good job of representing our community and have fun," said Joseph Brauer, 18. The Commercial Cooking program is a one-year certificate program with apprenticeship accreditation. Students work in the UCN kitchen, preparing meals for the cafeteria and special events.
