CBC | Toronto chef to represent Canada at the gastronomy Olympics
In the kitchen of what once was the Kraft Heinz corporate offices in North York, Toronto chef Keith Pears prepared for his moment on the culinary world's greatest stage.
A large Canadian flag was up on the wall, along with posters outlining the chef's dress code and the 10-rule code of conduct that governs participants at the Bocuse d'Or — often described as the Olympics of gastronomy. The competition prizes respect, co-operation, flexibility and integrity, as well as good food.
At one end of the room, Pears took a call with members of the Canadian team who are already on location in Lyon, France, gathering ingredients and preparing the training kitchen. A few days later, he joined the team in advance of the competition — where he's set to take the stage on Jan. 27 at 9:15 a.m. local time.
The Bocuse d'Or is the most prestigious cooking competition in the world. Chefs from 24 countries square off over the course of two days, in a five-and-a-half-hour cook-off. The winner takes home the Bocuse d'Or trophy, a golden effigy of Paul Bocuse, a renowned chef known for his innovation.
"My goal for Team Canada is to just continue to build on our momentum and really put Canada on the map for food tourism," Pears said.
"We have a lot of good products and a lot of good chefs that the world doesn't know about."
