SAIT Student Competition for Chaine Christmas Dinner
November 7, 2008
Juergen Bahr, Vice-Chargé de Presse
The competition to choose the dishes to be served at the Chaine Christmas Dinner was held in the SAIT Highwood dining room. As the judges convened, we could see the competitors hard at work in the kitchen through the very large window that connects the dining room to the kitchen.
A change in rules this year allowed much more scope for creativity in each course. Prior to this year, each student was required to create a complete menu for the evening. Individual courses were then selected from the various menus. This year, it was decided to limit the number of courses that a student could enter to a maximum of two – indeed, they could enter only one if they desired. This will certainly be a benefit for our members who attend the Christmas event.
It allowed the creative energy of each competitor to be maximized and channeled into the dish that they wished to create. In this way, the courses provided were spectacular! Indeed, many of our member establishments may be vying to employ the competitors.
We started out with three appetizers. They were quite varied – not only in appearance but in their ingredients. Each was visually gorgeous, and their taste was – excellent!
Next was the fish course – a departure from the traditional soup course. The three competitors provided visually appealing treats. Each was cooked to perfection and provided an interesting set of flavours.
The main course provided the greatest challenge both for the competitors and the judges. Three very different entries were presented. From artistic, to seasonal, to nouvelle, each entry was visually stunning and delicious. The discussion among the judges (after making their individual scores) was quite lively.
Finally the desserts – WOW! Here creativity was truly unleashed. We were forced to make an extremely difficult choice between four entries – each totally different from the other.
We leave you, the reader, to choose your favourite from these pictures and then to see what the final decision was from the judges – good luck!
I leave you with a few pictures of the eight competitors, the four kitchen supervisors, and the five judges.
