The Winnipeg branch held its annual general meeting on Wednesday June 14. The Branch  acknowledged Larry de Vries who received an award for long service from the Culinary Federation National Board for 40 consecutive years as a member.

Pratt’s Bistro 101 was the location for the March meeting of the Canadian Culinary Federation Winnipeg Branch. The meeting was hosted by Chef Scott Hyndman assisted by Tony Buchi on the hospitality station. The chefs were treated to sumptuous Prime Rib Buffet with a variety of side dish’s all exceptionally prepared by Executive Chef Ferdinand Catalan. As a grand finale Chef was able to get the students to go  “hands on” as he turned up the heat at a flambé crepe station.

The chefs had presentation’s from three of our outstanding hospitality suppliers, True Refrigeration, Cambro and Rational Canada.  The “True” representative, Brett Single shared the reasons why they are the company to consider with your food service needs. We heard about technological advances as such dual temp units and had a chance to see the many models and amazing colors of “Norquip / True” refrigeration units.

Cambro reps brought out some of the newest products from the leaders in food storage. He showed us some of the ways Cambro containers continue to be the choice of food service professionals.

Michael Keeler brought us up to date with some of the latest news from Rational, including answering questions from our group of chefs. Chef Michael let us in on the methods used on the Prime Ribs served at the dinner and we confirmed that the oven used to cook our dinner was able to keep cooking loss to 12%.  Chefs Michael and Ferdinand collaborated to give us one great slice of beef.

Many thanks to Scott, Freddie and the wonder-full folks at Pratt’s for putting together this fantastic evening of education, fine dining and networking.

The February meeting of the Culinary Federation was held at the Silver Heights Restaurant and The Heights Lounge in Saint James.

We were welcomed by our host Tony Siwicki who shared with us some of the history of this family owned establishment as well as providing us a feast of some of the great foods, including their famous ribs, that keep the people coming back for decades.

Our presenter for the evening was Morag Jackson from Unilever Foods who showed us all kinds of great ways to use Hellmann’s sauces and mayonnaise to enhance menu creativity.

We were also treated to a dessert by Sweet Street Desserts for some excellent cheesecake with various toppings.

Thanks very much to the Silver Heights Restaurant and The Heights Lounge for hosting this event. Special thanks to Binner Marketing in helping to put things together.

We were excited to join Tec – Voc High School and Chef Instructor Livia Gloux for the WINNIPEG CCF meeting with “THE HIGHSCHOOL REUNION” Featuring – “Food Services Sustainability & Chocolate Tasting”

The evenings topics included sustainable development goals, local and ethical food sources, repurposing food planning and the circular economy, the future of compostable / single serve products, and the concept of “Put waste in the right place”

Presenters: MCIC – Global Sustainability Goals, Green Action Center and Winnipeg Compost, Community Helper Unite (CHU & Food Rescue)

Student Presentation: Tec-Voc Students Speak: Culinary / Sustainability Committee

Chef and Maples Coop Students prepared a fine buffet.

The November ninth meeting of the CCF Winnipeg was Hosted by Chef Sergei Didenko at the MTS Iceplex. In addition to bringing the chefs up to date on latest goings of the branch, the Canadian Culinary Federation and in the industry we were joined by our special guest and presenter Chef Dustin from Loaf and Honey.

Dustin is producing an aged and hand-washed Monastic cheese that was passed down to him from Brother Alberic of the Abbaye des Prairies Monastery in Holland MB. He is also producing small batch fresh whipped Ricottas in a variety of flavors.

Like many chefs in the room, Chef Dustin has a strong passion for our local food producers and he fully believes that one of our biggest roles as chefs is to support and promote our farmers and small scale producers.

The chefs were giving a sampling of some the unique adaptations that Chef Dustin has implemented in his cheese making. He encourages chefs in the discovery of the introduction of new ingredients an interesting example being his addition of the post fermented berries from gin making and blending them into the traditional cheese recipe.

Chef Sergei and his team prepared a fantastic buffet consisting of many items including Smoked Brisket, Cabbage Rolls, Penne Carbonara, Stuffed Mushrooms, Canapes and Cheeses.

The evening was topped off with some awesome frozen yogurt and delicious coffee and a behind the scenes tour of the complex. The Iceplex is the home away from home of the Winnipeg Jets, currently number one in their division.

Many thanks to Chef Sergei and his team for making the evening such a great outing.