FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON June 23, 2009 – Queen’s Landing, a four diamond award recipient for the past 19 years, has developed a recent taste for gold. One of the Niagara-on-the-Lake hotel’s apprentice chefs, Trevor Ritchie, has won his second gold medal in less than two months. Ritchie’s keen culinary skill was awarded first place in The National Junior Culinary Competition held in Kelowna, BC on June 1st.
Ritchie had entered the National Competition as Ontario’s top junior chef after his first place win in the Ontario Junior Culinary Challenge held in Toronto in late April. This double win now entitles Ritchie to compete in the Hans Bueschkens Junior Culinary Challenge at the WACS (World Association of Chefs Societies) Congress to be held in Santiago, Chile in January 2010.
Trevor’s award-winning three-course menu featured an appetizer of Duo of Black Cod and Queen Scallop, Carrot Gelée and Sous-Vide Fennel, Scallop and Asparagus Shooter; a main course of AAA Beef Flat Iron Coucotte with Foie Gras, Fondant Potato and Soubise with Pinot Noir Jus; and ended with a dessert of Belgium Chocolate Pavé, Cherry Cheese Sphere, Caramel Sauce, Raspberry Gelée/Foam and a White Chocolate Shell filled with Strawberry Sorbet.
To be eligible to participate in the National competition, entrants must first have won at the provincial level. They must be a Canadian resident less than 25 years of age by the date of the WACS Congress and not yet attained Trade Qualification one year prior to the National competition, nor received the National “Red Seal” Qualification. Competition guidelines dictate a three-course meal be created for eight persons, reflecting a nutritionally and gastronomically
balanced meal. Entrants were judged on the combination and repetition of ingredients throughout the three courses, taking into account colour, contrast, texture and shapes.
Candidates had five hours to prepare the 3 courses, plate the selections and serve them to the panel of judges. One assistant per candidate was permitted to help gather equipment and ingredients, but was prohibited from the actual cooking. Trevor chose Queen’s Landing Chef
James Olberg to assist. A strict dress code ensured that names of competitors and their place of employment remained undisclosed to judges and other contestants.
Judson Simpson, Parliament Hill’s executive chef and President of the Canadian Culinary Federation, was one of the tasting judges in the recent National competition. Having personally experienced Trevor’s menu amongst eight other finalists’ menus, Simpson made note of Trevor’s outstanding presentation as he announced him as first place winner. “The food was exactly like the photographs he provided. It was detail all the way through, from start to finish… I was astonished he could get it done in the time frame allotted.”
Trevor joined the Queen’s Landing culinary team in August 2007 under the wing of renowned Chef James Olberg, a seasoned culinary competitor in his own right. A Waterloo, Ontario native and George Brown College graduate who started exercising his passion for cooking at age 15, Trevor has been competing, and winning for several years. As early as 2004, Trevor won silver in the Skills Canada, Culinary Arts competition, followed by gold in George Brown College’s Chefs in the City competition in 2007, and has successfully assisted at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or Canadian Selections in 2006 and 2008.
VINTAGE HOTELS
Vintage Hotels is a collection of CAA/AAA four-diamond hotels. Prince of Wales, Queen’s Landing and Pillar and Post in Niagara-on-the-Lake offer 374 guestrooms, 35,000 square feet of meeting space, three four-diamond restaurants, and two spas. 100 Fountain Spa and Secret Garden Spa are consistently ranked top spas by Spas of America, while offering a wide selection of services to soothe body and soul. The newest addition to the Vintage collection is an oasis of tranquility in Toronto’s backyard. The Millcroft Inn & Spa, located in the rolling hills of Caledon-Alton, offers 52 guestrooms, 4,700 sq. ft. of meeting space, a four-diamond restaurant, and the renowned Millcroft Spa, Centre for Well-Being, home to Ontario’s first and only medically developed and supervised Naturopathic Detox getaway – recently voted Canada’s best by Travel to Wellness Canada.
Offering classic style with modern sensibility, the hotel properties share a stellar reputation for delivering exceptional experiences in a unique destination. The elegant and refined Prince of Wales and the classic yet charming Pillar and Post were tops in Ontario on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2006, with Prince of Wales repeating in the No. 2 spot in 2007 and proudly earning a coveted spot on Travel + Leisure Magazine’s 2008 List of Top 100 Hotels in North America. The Georgian splendour of Queen’s Landing sets the stage for everything from high- level corporate gatherings to romantic getaways. The Millcroft Inn & Spa was selected as Fodor’s Choice in 2008 and placed 2nd in Ontario’s Finest Inns & Spas 2008 WOW awards as Top Spa, Destination & Dinner Experience. Vintage Hotels is a proud partner of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada. For more information: www.vintage-hotels.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Dianne Turner, Marketing and PR Specialist
Vintage Hotels
905-468-1362 ext. 8464
d.turner@vintage-hotels.com
April Brunet, Director of Marketing
Vintage Hotels
905-468-1362 ext. 8349
a.brunet@vintage-hotels.com
