8 P.E.I. chefs heading to Culinary Olympics in Germany
On P.E.I., eight students from the Culinary Institute of Canada at Holland College are preparing to go for the gold at the Culinary Olympics in Germany next week.
The International Exhibition of Culinary Art 2012 is a world-class event held every four years.
More than 1000 cooks and confectioners from 33 countries competed for medals and the Olympic championship title in 2004. One hundred and fifteen national and regional teams participated along with 300 individual exhibitors.
Attendees to this year's event will get to see spectacular displays, and watch live cooking competitions and plate presentations held in glass kitchens.
There is also an opportunity for the attendees to purchase tickets to taste some of the world-class cuisine coming out of the competition kitchens.
Kelly Sheridan, a culinary student competing for Holland College, said she's feeling both nervous and excited.
"I think it hasn't really hit yet, until — it'll probably hit on the plane and then we'll all realize what we're doing," she said.
The students will face tough competition from chefs from all over the world.
They'll land in Germany on Tuesday, and spend six days in the kitchen, preparing their dishes.
Hans Anderegg, the team's coach, said there's a lot of pressure to put out high-quality dishes.
"Everything has to be perfect," said Anderegg. "One has to be the same as the next one."
The chefs-in-training spent the entire summer getting ready.
"Every weekday from seven in the morning, until two o'clock in the afternoon for five months, so if we don't have it by now," said Sheridan. "But we're all feeling very confident in our plates."
All that work won't even be tasted. The food will be glazed and displayed cold, to be judged only on appearance.
"If you look at something and say, 'Wow, that looks good. I want to eat that,'" said Anderegg. "That's what our goal is, so the judges look at, 'Does it fit together? does it make sense?'"
The team leaves Tuesday. They're aiming to return with gold Oct. 12.
