If I won the lottery and someone asked me what I was going to do with the money, besides cycling around vineyards in Europe, my dream would be to have every chef that I think is absolutely amazing, come and cook me dinner for one evening. Imagine, each one would have to make me their absolute best, most impressive dish ever. Sensory overload? Probably. But that night is soon going to become a reality. And the Gold Medal Plates is the event that's going to make it happen. In fact, I'm so excited, I've even created a countdown clock to the event on November 16th.
I contemplated going last year. So many reasons to justify the cost – I could very easily just donate the money to charity, but this one has a perk, amazing food and wine! In the end, I didn't make it. But I'm going this year, and I couldn't be happier.
Do I think any of our chefs have what it takes to be the Gold Medal Plate winner? Absolutely. Do I have any idea who will represent Ottawa in the finals? Absolutely not. But these judges, even with so much food experience, have got their work cut out for them!
As I look back on the posts I've done on Ottawa restaurants and the talented chefs that make it all happen, my dream list is pretty much this one right here:
Ben Baird – The Urban Pear
Michael Moffatt – Beckta Dining and Wine
Charles Part – Les Fougères
Michael Potters – Harvest
Each one above with a link is one that I've blogged about. The others have been on my wish list. In honour of these magnificent chefs and this wonderful event, myself, along with a couple of other well respected food bloggers, have decided to dedicate every Friday leading up to the event as GMP day. Don and Jenn from Foodieprints and Shari from Whisk: a food blog. Together, we will do our best to bring out the best of these chosen food experts, some behind the scenes information or any other bit relating to the Gold Medal Plates as we get closer.
Now, as much as I'm focusing on the food aspect, we should look at the reason this event is really taking place – our athletes. So many of us spent the winter glued to our TVs, watching our Canadian athletes rock the podium. But these dedicated and inspiring individuals need training, support, leadership and resources to get there. And that's where the money raised at this event goes.
I honestly can't think of a better way to spend a Tuesday night in November, rubbing shoulders with some of our top athletes, dining from a plate fit for a king, sipping local wines, and drooling over the many items up for auction that I know I'll never win because I just can't afford to (yes, one does involve cycling through vineyards in Europe!).
Tickets are $300 each. I would donate that to the Own the Podium Program of the Olympic Foundation without the meal. In this case the excitement of the Quest for Canada's Best Chef is a bonus. So let the countdown begin!!
Tickets: Sue Holloway hollowayjoy@rogers.com
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4 comments:
Okay, now you are REALLY tempting me to splurge on a ticket. Great post.
Yeah, this is a great post! Hmmm, may have to start saving my pennies now!
This is a greaat post
This was aa lovely blog post
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