Bobby Milheron is Crowned Vancouver Champion of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party Regional Qualifier

Homer St. Cafe & Bar, Tableau Bar Bistro, and Maxine's Cafe & Bar’s Bobby Milheron will proudly represent Vancouver at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa in February 2023

/EIN News/ -- VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bobby Milheron stood on the top step of the podium last night, emerging victorious among the city’s brightest culinary stars. Canada’s Great Kitchen Party is proud to announce the gold medallist of the Vancouver regional culinary competition held yesterday at the Westin Bayshore.

Vancouver was the final stop of nine competing cities on the Kitchen Party (KP) tour across the country, spotlighting talented chefs from St. John’s, Newfoundland to the west coast of British Columbia. Each region’s gold medal-winning chef earns the privilege of competing for national honours at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa on February 3-4, 2023.

2022 Canada’s Great Kitchen Party Vancouver Chef Competitors:
Sandy Chen	Archer
Scott Korzack	Bacaro
Vish Mayekar	Caffè La Tana, Pepino’s
Bobby Milheron	Homer St. Cafe & Bar, Tableau Bar Bistro, Maxine's Cafe & Bar
Thachaya “Mike” Tuangkitkun	Maenam Restaurant

Deliberating over the five chefs’ dishes was a panel of seven esteemed judges, led by national Kitchen Party Head Judge James Chatto, Vancouver Kitchen Party Senior Judge Joie Alvaro Kent, and 2019 KP Vancouver Gold Medallist and 2020 Canadian Culinary Championship Gold Medallist Roger Ma. After each competing chef presented their dish and accompanying wine pairing to the panel for tasting, the judges enthusiastically chose Bobby Milheron from Homer St. Cafe & Bar, Tableau Bar Bistro, and Maxine's Cafe & Bar as the gold medalist for his lightly smoked Canadian Geoduck, B.C. spot prawn terrine, pickled bull kelp, sunchoke, shellfish jus—truly a chef d’oeuvre. His dish was sharply paired with Mission Hill Reserve Rosé 2021, Okanagan Valley, B.C.

“Chef Bobby Milheron has a big task ahead of him to keep the crown in Vancouver, following Roger Ma's stunning victory at the last Canadian Culinary Championships in 2020,” explains Chatto. “After last night’s gold-medal-winning performance, I’m confident he is up for it.”

Finishing in second spot was Thachaya “Mike” Tuangkitkun from Maenam who prepared Southern Thai-style Turmeric Curry with a mosaic of B.C. sockeye salmon, mussel, side-striped prawn, fresh young coconut, and squid-ink cracker with housemade “Tom Yum” seasoning paired with Tantalus Old Vines Riesling 2020, Okanagan Valley, B.C. Vish Mayekar from Caffè La Tana and Pepino’s Spaghetti House, placed third with their Lamb Agnolotti and Seared Scallop in South Indian Curry Sauce, with curry-leaf foam and lime crumb accompanied by Artakama Roussanne/Viognier 2021, Oliver, B.C.

Chef Bobby Milheron was privileged to receive the double honour of taking home the People’s Choice Award—voted on by all guests in attendance.

Chef Milheron will now go on to represent Vancouver at the 2023 Canadian Culinary Championship being held in Ottawa on February 3-4, where he will compete against representatives from seven other Canadian cities. “I am honoured to represent Vancouver in the Canadian Culinary Championship,” he said. ”I would like to thank my wonderful suppliers and dedicated teammates. This was a team effort, and I couldn’t have done it without all of you.”

“After a two-year pandemic hiatus, it’s been so exciting for us to host Canada’s Great Kitchen Party in person once again. Being able to gather in celebration of our city’s exceptional culinary talent is incredibly thrilling,” said Alvaro Kent. “The calibre and creativity of the dishes presented by each of our competing chefs have been absolutely stellar. We Vancouverites are remarkably honoured to enjoy such a broad cultural spectrum of culinary excellence. Our entire city is rallying behind Chef Bobby Milheron as he prepares to represent Vancouver at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa.”

In addition to last night’s culinary competition, funds were raised for two national beneficiaries and one local charity: Spirit North, empowering indigenous youth through sport and play; MusiCounts. providing musical instruments to schools; and Fresh Roots, cultivating meaningful connections between students and the food they grow.

Stephen Leckie, CEO of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, was thrilled to be at the event and said, “What a truly great evening and a continuation of Vancouver’s reputation as a serious culinary community. We are proud that Canada’s Great Kitchen Party has raised over 17 million dollars as we continue to provide Canadian youth with equal opportunities in the food space, in sport, and in music.”

All eight gold-medallist chefs from across the country will gather at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa on February 3-4, 2023. Over the course of two days, they’ll flex their culinary muscles on the national stage to bring home the coveted title of Canadian Culinary Champion.

ABOUT CANADA’S GREAT KITCHEN PARTY
Canada’s Great Kitchen Party is a social enterprise dedicated to "Building a Better Canada" by elevating and celebrating Canadian excellence through food, sport, and music.  Staged in nine cities across the country, each event is a regional culinary competition which qualifies the winning chefs to move on to compete at the Canadian Culinary Championship on February 3 and 4, 2023 in Ottawa. Chefs, athletes, musicians, and business leaders all come together for a spectacular experience and to provide young Canadians with the opportunity to be extraordinary through sport, music and food. We proudly contribute to the following beneficiaries: Spirit North, MusiCounts and a local food charity. As the most extensive exposition of Canadian wines, over 200 wineries and local breweries and spirit companies are profiled at our events. For more information, visit greatkitchenparty.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/67a19937-fee0-4aae-9074-cd96a17c0ae6

For more information on Vancouver’s qualifier or for interview requests, please contact:  
                    
                    Karen Blair
                    COO and Media Director
                    Canada’s Great Kitchen Party – National
                    647-267-6530
                    kblair@greatkitchenparty.com
                    
                    Katharine Manson
                    Media Contact
                    Canada’s Great Kitchen Party – Vancouver
                    604 318 9690
                    katharine@kmcomms.com