canadian celebrity chefs event

Oh my.  I feel good.

2010 was … pretty darn incredible.

First … I allowed myself to become fully (or at least) more engrossed in my baking.  Trying new recipes, challenging myself, and obviously, blogging about all my adventures.

Then … through my blogging I have made new friends.  Amazing people who all share a common interest: food.  We are all enthusiastic about creating dishes (or desserts in my case), and we all realize how much passion is required to create delicious food.

Finally, we are all equally excited by the food that is being created in and around Ottawa – chefs who are spreading their passion, opening our eyes to new flavours, to new methods of cooking: chefs who are creating something special, each and every day.  I am personally very fortunate to have been able to assist in some of these kitchens – learning new tricks, honing my skills, and loving each and every minute of it (yes, even when I spend 6 hours cleaning mushrooms … I still enjoy myself).

And so, 10 days ago I bade 2010 goodbye, and have eagerly ventured into 2011.  Which … it starting off with a bang.

Why?

Along with 6 other local bloggers, I have been paired with two chefs – one local and the other invited (an out of towner), as they prepare to participate in the Canadian Celebrity Chefs Event, hosted at the NAC on Monday, January 24th.

A-MAZ-ING.

My good friend Charlotte from the Whalesbone will be one of the local chefs.  Exciting eh?

But I wasn’t paired with Charlotte for this event.  Nope.  I was paired with Marc Lepine from Atelier Restaurant.

I am OVER THE MOON crazy excited!

I was fortunate enough to eat at Atelier last summer.  Probably the most fun dining experience of my life.  The food is intricate.  The methods Marc uses are beyond my imagination.  I ate the best onion soup of my life, along with the reddest, most tender piece of bison.  I totally savored my meal (and didn’t blog about it because my pictures did not do the food justice).  Oh yeah … and my bottle of champagne was opened with a sabre.  Yes.  That right … a sabre (thank you Stephen for such a memorable experience). 

To say  that I’m excited about meeting Marc and chatting food with him is kinda an understatement.

Marc’s been paired with Mathieu Cloutier, from Kitchen Galerie, in Montreal.  I don’t know Mathieu – but I’m looking forward to seeing what he does … and then I’m excited to taste what he and Marc prepare.

This is the kind of event that shouldn’t be missed.  Perhaps your favourite Chef will be participating? 

 “Hosting” Chefs – Ottawa

Michael Blackie, National Arts Centre
Clifford Lyness, Brookstreet
Cesare Santaguida, Vittoria Trattoria
Charlotte Langley, The Whalesbone Oyster House
Robyn Bowen, Empire Grill
Marc Lepine, Atelier Restaurant
Michael Moffatt, Beckta Dining and Wine
Norm Aitken, Juniper Dining

Invited Chefs – Canada

Anthony Walsh, Canoe, Toronto, ON
David Rocco, Dolce Vita, Toronto, ON
Paul Rogalski, ROUGE, Calgary, Alberta
Brad Long, Café Belong, Toronto, ON
Michael Howell, Tempest Restaurant, Wolfville, NS
Ray Bear, MIX, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Michael Lyon, Hotel Eldorado, Kelowna, BC
Matheiu Cloutier, Kitchen Galerie, Montreal, Quebec

I’m not the only one in town excited about this though.  The following foodies are also pumped, have been paired with their chefs, and are blogging (or going to be blogging) about the event.

 Whisk: a food blog

foodie prints

rachelle eats food

beFOODled

the Lemon kitchen

simply fresh

Further details needed?  Check out the NAC website … price is 145$ for the ENTIRE DAY.  Demos by all of these chefs.  Gotta work?  No worries, join in after 6 pm for 75$.  Either way … if you are a foodie, love to support our local talent, and want to hit up a fantastic event (plus show the rest of Canada what Ottawa is made of) – come on out.  I hope to see you there.

Can’t you just smell the goodness already?

Oh sigh.