Latest news with #Sawision
Ottawa Citizen
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Ottawa Citizen
These five Ottawa-area chefs will vie for a spot at the 2026 Canadian Culinary Championship
Article content Five chefs from Ottawa and the Outaouais will cook off against each other next month, hoping to qualify for the 2026 Canadian Culinary Championship next January. Article content Three of the chefs at the Sept. 22 event are newcomers to the annual competition, which is called the Ottawa edition of Canada's Great Kitchen Party, but in past years was known as Gold Medal Plates. These chefs include Simon Beaudry, the 31-year-old chef at Les Fougères in Chelsea, Simon Laroche, chef at the pasta-focused restaurant Caméline in Gatineau's Hull sector, and Michael Hauschild, the private chef who runs the Kanata-based catering company InHaus Cooking. Article content Article content Article content Returning competitors are Chef Jason Sawision of Stofa Restaurant on Wellington Street West and Mitch Lacombe of Gitanes on Elgin Street. Sawision came in second at last year's qualifier, and Lacombe finished third. Article content Last year, chef Lizardo Becerra of Raphael Peruvian Cuisine on Elgin Street prevailed over Sawision, Lacombe and three other Ottawa chefs to win his spot at the national competition, which was held in Ottawa last winter. A B.C. chef won gold, following the grand finale event on Feb. 1 at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa. Article content Becerra, who recently opened a second, more casual restaurant called Barrio on Rideau Street, is hosting the Sept. 22 qualifying event at Raphael Peruvian Cuisine. All of the event's 80 spots have already been sold. Article content In 2024 and 2023, the qualifying event was held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, and at each, six chefs competed during an event that saw guests move from chef's station to chef's station and then eat at high tables. Article content Article content When asked about the change of format this year, Lisa Pasin, senior vice-president for Canada's Great Kitchen Party, said organizers want to stage 'something different and more intimate — and concentrate our efforts on the Canadian Culinary Championship.' Article content Over the years, Ottawa chefs have performed strongly at the Canadian Culinary Championship. Article content Chef Briana Kim, who is expected to open her new restaurant Antheia later this year, won the national event in 2023. Marc Lepine of Atelier won the 2012 and 2016 Canadian Culinary Championships. Chef Yannick La Salle, formerly of Les Fougères in Chelsea but now the chef for the Supreme Court of Canada, won the national competition in 2019. Article content
Ottawa Citizen
07-07-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa's most delicious street? Wellington West makes a strong case
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content The 2.3-kilometre stretch of Wellington Street West bounded by Island Park Drive and Somerset Square is dotted with restaurants, bakeries and food businesses. For decades, this strip has been a destination for discerning, food-loving locals, if not necessarily for tourists more enamoured with downtown Ottawa. Article content Article content Article content If you're visiting Ottawa or are a resident wanting to eat well, Wellington Street West has you covered, from classic French soufflés to Montreal-style bagels to Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. Here's a synopsis, which moves from west to east, of 20 appealing culinary options. Article content Chef-owner Jason Sawision opened his self-described 'approachable fine-dining' restaurant in 2017, and it has evolved to become a popular choice for culinary buffs interested in multi-course tasting menu-type experiences without the heftiest of price tags associated with such sophisticated meals. Here, a three-course table d'hote is $90 per person, while the five-course splurge is $110 per person. Article content Sawision's menus are always in flux, with dishes frequently being added and removed. But he has generally favoured elaborate dishes that teem with interesting flavour combinations and ingredients. Here's just one example, exemplifying Sawision's globe-trotting palate and maximalist approach: Pan-roasted ling cod with char siu glaze, crispy garlic and shallots, Parisian gnocchi, dan dan sauce, zucchini, daikon, celtuce, Brussels sprout petals, and five-spice fish jus. One constant at Stofa is the option of a signature soufflé for dessert, which can be a classic counterpoint to the innovative and even mind-boggling dishes that precede it. Article content Article content It didn't take long for Supply and Demand to become a neighbourhood favourite soon after it opened in 2013. Its immediate success even included taking fourth spot on the enRoute magazine 2013 list of best new Canadian restaurants. Chef-owner Steve Wall's impeccable small plates and house-made pasta dishes have gone on to win over diners from throughout the city to the point that items such as his tuna crudo and kale salad have become simply iconic for Ottawa's dining scene. The restaurant has landed several times on the annual Canada's 100 Best Restaurants list, most recently coming in 75th in 2024.
