By Nouran Abdellatif
October 21, 2016

Chartier staff are headed to the prestigious Gold Medal Plates competition Oct. 21. The competition is the second largest fundraiser for Olympic athletes and takes place in almost every major city across Canada. The first place winner from each city will compete in February at nationals in Kelowna.

Head chef Steve Brochu, sous chef Calvin Teufeld, baker Jesse Woodland are manning the kitchen to create their deconstructed tortiere along with bar manager Josh Walsh and owner Darren Cheverie who are working the bar to create the accompanying drink 'Caribeau' while owner Sylvia Cheverie is going to be the hostess.

The team went with traditional French Canadian cuisine when it came to selecting their dish, of which they will have to serve 750. Traditionally a tortiere is made with pork, a wild meat and a bird baked into a pie. Rather than make individual pies, they are serving a broken down version that still packs a ton of flavour with rabbit, pork and braised duck, topped with a layer of pie dough, mashed potatoes and other vegetables.

"It tastes like home, it tastes like Christmas," said Brochu. "Win or lose it's an excellent representation of our restaurant."

Going with their traditional theme and keeping in tune with Chartier's style of cuisine, they're forgoing a wine pairing and going with a cocktail based on an old fashioned recipe of the Caribou. Hunters of old would mix brandy and caribou blood, explained Darren.

The drink has made a comeback at Quebec food festivals where brandy or rye is mixed in with a mulled wine. "We're using all Alberta products, including Saskatoon berries and Alberta premium rye," he said. The team are excited they are competing at this high calibre competition, which is by invite only, and the opportunity to showcase a part of French Canadian culture. "It's a great experience for our team," said Sylvia. "It's a great change to highlight French Canadian culture and a part of the city that's been underrepresented in Edmonton's food scene."

The other chefs competing are Shane Chdartrand from Sage, Geoffrey Caswell-Murphy of Share at The Westin Edmonton, Bryan Cruz from The Marc Restaurant Prairie Noodle Shop's Eric Hanson, Tony Krause of Privada Wine+Tapas, Lindsay Porter from Have Mercy, Doreen Prei from Get Cooking, Workshop Eatery's Paul Shufelt and Emmanuel Theriault from Packrat Louie.

This interview was conducted ahead of the Gold Medal Plates. Check next week's edition for a post competition story and photos from the event.