Chefs prepare to conquer the world

This October in Erfurt, Germany, judges from around the world will see what Aboriginal cuisine looks like. Four years from now, they will taste it.

The 2012 World Culinary Olympics is the second step in a three-step, 10-year plan formulated by Chef Ben Genaille to bring Aboriginal cuisine to the fore.

The journey began in 2007 when Genaille’s five-member Aboriginal culinary team began training with the Canadian National Team.

The next year, they accompanied the national team to the World Culinary Olympics, also held in Erfurt, as support members. The national team garnered five gold medals and came in fifth in the world in that competition.
“The intention was to go there in 2008 with the national team, see the big show first hand and have more of an understanding of what it takes to perform at that level and the organization that goes along with it,” said Genaille.
Culinary team member Faith Vickers didn’t make the 2008 trip, but she joined Genaille in a scouting trip to Erfurt in May, where they checked out the location for accommodations, sites for preparation and practice, and where the competition would take place.

“It was amazing,” Vickers said, noting she had never been outside of North America before. “I was kind of overwhelmed and really, really anticipating and nervous.”

Aboriginal Culinary Team Canada—all members are from British Columbia—will join five provincial teams to represent Canada in regional competition. Regional competition is cold food, which means food displayed and not eaten.

Vickers will be preparing tapas or bite-sized hors d’oeuvres; six that can be eaten cold and six that can be eaten hot. There will be five of each.

“It’s a lot of work, a lot of little pieces, but I’ve been doing a lot of practising on it so I think I’ve got it down,” she said. She expects team members will be awake 24 to 48 hours straight leading to the day of the competition, preparing their plates. Glazing will be left for the last minute to give the food as fresh an appearance as possible.

Joining Vickers on the team are Paul Natrall, who will be preparing a platter display for eight people; Samantha Nyce, who is in charge of a five-course plated meal, which includes appetizer, soup and dessert; and Jessica Knox, who may do pastry or provide support. A pastry chef may be added to the team.

Genaille has also invited two young Aboriginal chefs from Winnipeg as support members. He expects them to be part of the team in 2016, which will compete in the national class and produce both hot and cold food. Vickers also plans on being part of that team, which will require about a dozen members.

Like every chef, Genaille is tight-lipped about his menu and ingredients.

“Judges are looking for something they haven’t seen,” he said. “(Our) coolers when we travel will be sealed and we’re not sharing that information with anybody.”

The Aboriginal culinary team will be taking the key ingredients from home, because they are “very unique to the Aboriginal world” and are not available to purchase in the local markets. Genaille teases that “we are hoping to have” oil from the Oolichans, cuckolds from Haida Gwaii, herring from the Nisga’a, as well as moose meat.

Between each Olympics, there are international events that teams can attend. While the Aboriginal culinary team did not make any international appearances between 2008 and 2012, Genaille said that that will change over the next four years.

Money and time are also issues, as all this is a volunteer venture. Genaille is organizing local fundraisers and working on getting sponsorship dollars to help cover the approximately $40,000 it will cost to make the trip to Erfurt.

While it will be a long journey for his team from the World Culinary Olympics of 2008 to what he hopes to be the pinnacle in 2016, the journey has been even longer for Genaille.

A Cree from Manitoba, Genaille grew up hunting and fishing, preparing traditional Aboriginal fare. He turned that love of food into a career and became a cook/chef 30 years ago. He has “worked in every ethnic restaurant” and cooked in kitchens in Vancouver restaurants that received rave reviews and awards. But that wasn’t enough.

After 18 years in the kitchen, he took a business management course and began teaching troubled youth at Picasso Café in Vancouver.

“Getting into teaching and working with youth at risk … is an amazing experience,” he said. “That’s a lot more rewarding for me at this point in my life.”

He took his training to the Musqueam Indian Band in Vancouver, starting a culinary program that grew in popularity. The food became a tourist attraction in a city that is open to varying ethnic fare.

Genaille then taught at Vancouver Community College and Northwest Community College (in Terrace, BC).
“It’s about evolving Aboriginal cuisine to make it mainstream. Using the techniques that we learn as cooks, to work with food and applying that to Indigenous ingredients; ingredients that have always been part of North America,” said Genaille.

Competition in the World Culinary Olympics is about more than promoting Aboriginal cuisine and getting it into the mainstream, he said.

“I tell these young competitors that they are role models in the Aboriginal world and we need to encourage other young Aboriginal kids to be interested in cooking and see where it can take you,” he said.

Vickers gladly takes on that position both at home and abroad.

“I’m beyond excited,” she said. “I’m scared but we’ve done a lot of practising and I know we’re going to do well. We’ve worked really hard and, I think, we’re not only looking to walk home with the gold but to sharing our food. I think that’s my personal main priority. Showing these people what Aboriginal people and …. their food is like.”

The team will be in Erfurt from Oct. 4 to Oct. 11. The World Culinary Olympics take place from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10. An Elder will be accompanying the group to “keep us all healthy and grounded,” said Genaille.

The last time an Aboriginal culinary team from Canada competed in the World Culinary Olympics was 1994.