A team of four students from Gordon Bell High School<\/strong> in Winnipeg has won an international culinary competition in Paris, capping a remarkable run that included a second consecutive national title earlier this month.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Students Avery Van Solkema<\/strong>, Cailyn Olshevski<\/strong>, Yevhen Zinchenko<\/strong> and Matea Thiessen-Unger<\/strong>, 16, represented Canada on the world stage \u2014 and came home with top honours.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “It was kind of unreal,” said Thiessen-Unger.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The four students got their start through Kitchen Brigades<\/strong>, an after-school culinary education program run by La Tabl\u00e9e des Chefs<\/strong> for students aged 12 to 17.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The program consists of 25 cooking workshops designed to build practical skills and food literacy. “The goal is to teach kids how to cook responsibly,” said Van Solkema.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n After completing the workshops, top students are assembled into a team and begin training together before entering the competition stream.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Gordon Bell team secured their spot at the international competition earlier this month at the Institut de tourisme et d’h\u00f4tellerie du Qu\u00e9bec<\/strong> culinary school in Montreal. They were the only Manitoba team in the finals, and took first place for the second year in a row against four other finalist teams.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In Paris, the pressure was immediate. Competing teams were presented with a set of mystery ingredients<\/strong> and given just five minutes to plan before a one-hour cooking window began.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The rules required each team to incorporate one Canadian ingredient and one French ingredient. The Gordon Bell students prepared maple pan-seared vegetables<\/strong> and a pesto sauce made with olives and parmesan<\/strong>, with each team member taking responsibility for a specific part of the process.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “[The judging process] is intense. Really intense,” said Zinchenko.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Judges evaluated the dishes on taste and presentation, but also assessed teamwork, organization and cleanliness. After tasting the meals privately, they deliberated for approximately 30 minutes before announcing their decision.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n For some team members, the experience has opened doors to a potential culinary career. “Culinary is definitely an option for me,” said Van Solkema.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Thiessen-Unger said she does not plan to pursue cooking professionally, but values what the program gave her. “Kitchen Brigades has taught me things, like, the knowledge of what goes into a dish, and appreciating making food,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Zinchenko is already thinking about the program’s future. “Next year, we hope there are other kids who are as passionate about cooking as us, doing better than us,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gordon Bell team beats international competition after back-to-back Canadian titles A team of four students from Gordon Bell High School in Winnipeg has won an international culinary competition in Paris, capping a remarkable run that included a second consecutive national title earlier this month. Students Avery Van Solkema, Cailyn Olshevski, Yevhen Zinchenko and Matea Thiessen-Unger, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom After-School Program to World Stage<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Back-to-Back National Titles<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Mystery Ingredients, Five Minutes to Plan<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
What Comes Next<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n