Gold Medal Plates

Gold Medal Plates 2006
November 14 , 2006

Canadian heroine, Catriona Le May Doan (speed skating), Canadian Paralympian superstar Paul Rosen (ice sledge hockey) and other notable athletic champions such as Lori Fung, Charmaine Crooks, Alison Sydor, Derek Porter, and Simon Whitfield were paired with some of Vancouver's most accomplished chefs while competing for top honours at the Gold Medal Plates Gala at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, one of seven such dinners taking place across the country.

This unique event raised funds in support of Canada's high performance amateur athletes, and offered participants a one-of-a-kind taste sensation prepared by ten of the city's top chefs. The Gold Medal Plates gala was a golden opportunity for Vancouverites to meet some of Canada痴 most celebrated athletes and enjoy tasting the incredible creations of Javier Alarco & Chad Minton (Hyatt Regency), Michael Allemeier (Mission Hill Family Estate Winery), Robert Clark (C), Michel Jacob (Le Crocodile), Roger Leblanc (Le Gavroche), Atsuo Nomura (Hapa Izakaya), Lee Parsons (Wedgewood), Pino Posteraro (Cioppino's), Hidekazu Tojo (Tojo's), Shannon Wrightson (The Fairmont Waterfront).

Each of these top ten chefs were paired with some of BC's finest wines, as well as an Olympian. They created a unique dish that captured the essence and athletic prowess of the paired athlete. The pairing made for an exciting cooking competition laced with the intensity found only in a high performance athletic event! Guests met and mingled with the chefs and Olympic athletes. A team of food and wine critics added to the excitement of the competition, as they decide the top three winning creations, and who received an opportunity to compete for the national title in February, 2007.

EPCOR'S Road to Champions 2005
November 10 , 2005

*Click to see the poster

Epcor's Road to Champions created a series of gourmet dinners with Olympic athletes that was held in five Canadian cities in order to spread the 2010 Olympic fever across Canada and raise funds for the training of our elite Canadian athletes. The Vancouver event took place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel where chefs Rob Feenie, Vikram Vij and Javier Alarco created a five course gourmet meal . During each course, an Olympic athlete spoke about the road s/he walked in order to become a champion. Guests were inspired as great Canadian athletes - Silken Laumann (rowing) , Adam van Koeverden (canoeing), Kyle Shewfelt (gymnastics), Lori-Ann Muenzer (cycling) and Simon Whitfield (triathlon) talked about personal challenges they overcame in their desire to become a champion. Funds raised supported the five featured athletes and their respective National Sport Federations: Rowing Canada, Canada Canoe Association, Gymnastics Canada, Cycling Canada and Triathlon Canada.