If politics divides people, a good table always gathers them. Twenty chefs of twenty world leaders – including the chefs of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German chancellor Angela Merkel and the Queen of England; all the G20 countries to be exact; are in Ontario this week to sample the best food and drink our province has to offer.
The group are members of Le Club des Chefs des Chefs, considered by some to be the most exclusive culinary organization in the world. At a time when fusion food seems to be taking over, the Chefs des Chefs are safeguarding authentic cuisine.
According to their website, “The chef of a head of state has a duty to promote the ingredients, culinary traditions and art of entertaining that are typical of his or her country, and so is the best ambassador of its gastronomy.” The group meets each year in a different country in what’s known as the ?G20 of Gastronomy,? to experience local culinary traditions and to share their passion.
As part of their tour of Ontario, Les Chefs Des Chefs are visiting Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa and Niagara–including stops at Elements on The Falls by Niagara Parks. We caught up with them on their whirlwind tour at Peller Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
If representing the cuisines and ingredients of a region is the groups mandate, it’s no wonder the group visited Peller Estates for one of their signature barbeques.
Chef Jason Parsons sources over 90% of the food and drink for his restaurant from Canadian produces, and a whopping 67% from Ontario –a number we stand confidently behind because of their Feast OnA� Certification. He works closely with Epp Family Farms, who grow specialty products for him exclusively. Things like hard to find varieties of heritage beans and squash, or tender greens. Every plate they put together is meant to be an expression of Canadian terroir, imbued with both local ingredients and traditions.
For Les Chefs Des Chefs, the team at Pellers Estates invited Chef Frank Dodd from their sister winery, Trius, to help present a feast of Canadian cuisine from coast to coast, paired with their award-winning VQA wine.
There were classics like chilled foie gras with ice wine jelly, poutine, and Lake Huron Perch wrapped in smokey bacon; alongside re-imagined dishes like King Cole Duck confit with four pea salad (a favorite of ours!), and grilled Nippissing quails.
For dessert, chefs were invited to toast their icewine marshmallows over roaring fires and indulge in Trius Icewine snow cones.
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All in all, it was the perfect day — and the perfect feast to celebrate the prestigious occasion. It’ a privilege and an honour to host this talented group of culinary professionals in Ontario. You may not know their names but you definitely know the people they cook for!