B.C. chef represents Canada in Bocuse d’Or international culinary competition

by Carolyn Ali on January 21st, 2011 at 2:54 PM

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It’s crunch time for Ryan Stone. The B.C. chef left January 19 for Lyon, France, where he’s representing Canada at the Bocuse d’Or culinary competition. The cook-off takes place on January 25 and 26, when 24 chefs deemed the best in their countries compete.

Stone is currently executive chef at the West Coast Fishing Club on Langara Island in the Haida Gwaii. He won the right to compete for Canada at a 2008 national competition of chefs in Montreal. A graduate of Vancouver Community College, he apprenticed at Burnaby’s Pear Tree restaurant under Scott Jaeger, who was Canada’s representative at the Bocuse d’Or in 2007. Jaeger is Stone’s mentor and accompanied Stone to France.

“We’re aiming for the podium,” said Tim Bedford, who is the lead support member of the Canadian team that is backing Stone. As Stone plated dishes at his final run-through at downtown campus of Vancouver Community College in early January, Bedford told the Straight about the challenges he faces.

“The hardest thing is dealing with the crowds and the stress of it,” said Bedford, who has been through previous Bocuse d’Or competitions and works with Stone at the West Coast Fishing Club. He likened the kitchen atmosphere to a sporting event or rock concert, at which thousands of spectators are yelling and screaming, and Michelin-starred chefs are watching over your shoulder.

With his assistant, Talib Hudda, Stone has five and a half hours to prepare one meat platter and one fish platter. The meat platter must incorporate lamb saddle, and the fish platter Scottish brown crab. Bedford said the latter has posed a special challenge, since it’s not available in Vancouver. Stone has been substituting Dungeness crab at practices, and actually travelled to Scotland to cook with the brown crab there, so he knew how to make recipe adjustments for the ingredient he’ll be working with in France.

Stone will cook for Canada on January 26.

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