George Brown Chef School grad wins Ontario culinary challenge
Heads to Vancouver to compete for title of The Next Great Chef
By Carolyn Wong

Vicky Cheng (foreground) prepares lunch in the Chef School kitchen as Chef Charlton Alvarez stands by for guidance. The competitor/coach duo will be travelling to Vancouver as Cheng competes in the provincial finals of the Knorr CCFCC Junior Culinary Challenge.

Vicky Cheng, a recent graduate of George Brown's Culinary Management program, could be Canada's Next Great Chef.

Cheng, 20, will be competing in the provincial finals of the Knorr CCFCC Junior Culinary Challenge in Vancouver on May 24, 2005.

The competition is the culinary industry's answer to Canadian Idol. It is being organized by the Canadian Culinary Federation (CCF) and will be turned into an eleven-part television series.

Ten winners from the provincial finals will advance to the national level where one will be chosen as The Next Great Chef.

George Brown Chef School instructor Charlton Alvarez volunteered to coach and mentor Cheng and George Orfanogiannis, another GBC student who entered the competition. In preparation for the intensity of this culinary challenge, they practiced twice a week for seven weeks.

"It's very satisfying work considering the level of the competition," Alvarez says. "To have two of our students qualify for the competition and have one of them win the provincial challenge is great."

The competition is no cakewalk - has been grueling from the beginning. Those wishing to enter the competition had to first qualify by creating a menu using a list of ingredients provided by the CCF and a detailed plan to prepare the meal.

From those submissions, 100 competitors were chosen to prepare their meals before a panel of CCF judges in their respective provinces. Two winners from each province, including Cheng, are heading to the provincial finals in Vancouver.

Cheng says the complexity and sophistication of his menu helped him stand out from the rest of his competitors at the Ontario challenge and finishing just in time secured him a place at the provincial finals. But unlike the first round, the competitors will not know what ingredients they will be working with until they get there.

"I'm a little more nervous about it because I won't be able to write out an action plan," Cheng explains.

But Chef Alvarez says he is confident that Cheng will excel.

"Vicky is very good. He shows the makings of a good chef and at age 20, he is way past other chefs," says Alvarez, who will be going to Vancouver with Cheng to provide mentorship and moral support. "It's very rewarding to see your students perform like this."

The Chef School encourages students and teachers to get involved in competitions and extra-curricular activities within the industry because it makes for a richer, more meaningful learning experience for both the students and faculty, Alvarez says.

You can catch the excitement when The Next Great Chef airs next fall on Global. Next Entertainment Inc. has been following the action since the provincial qualifying rounds began in February and will culminate at the national finals on June 10, 2005 in Edmonton.

For more information about the Knorr CCFCC Junior Culinary Challenge, please go to www.knorr.ca and www.ccfcc.ca.

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Revised: May 18, 2005