What happens when a German Michelin star chef combines techniques and food trends from his homeland with Canadian ingredients, supported by the entire Junior Culinary Team Canada as his kitchen team?
Guests to one-of-a-kind dinner event at Niagara College are about to find out.
On March 21, the College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute (CFWI) will shine the spotlight on Bernd Siener as part of its Chef Signature Series. The Series offers guests an opportunity to savour cuisine from prominent guest chefs, while giving the College’s culinary students unparalleled industry experience on-campus.
Siener will be the first European chef to ever be featured as part of the College’s Chef Signature Series. He will be assisted by Junior Culinary Team Canada – comprised of students and recent grads from the CFWI who won the right to represent Canada and compete at the World Culinary Olympics in 2016 (ncjrculinaryteamcanada.ca/)
Chef Siener is no stranger to the CFWI or Junior Culinary Team Canada. In November 2014, the team prepared dinner at Siener’s restaurant – Marburger Esszimmer in Marburg, Germany – prior to competing in the Expogast Villeroy and Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.
The chef has been a friend to NC chef professor Olaf Mertens – who is also a coach for Junior Culinary Team Canada – for almost 30 years, since they apprenticed together in Germany at the Steigenberger Hotel Berlin and Park Restaurant. In 2009, NC culinary students had an opportunity to prepare dinner with Siener and three other master chefs from Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Toronto.
“Chef Siener has become a good friend of CFWI and its only fitting that he become the first continental European chef to be a part of our Signature Chef Series. This will once again raise the bar for our Signature Chef Series,” said CFWI dean Craig Youdale.
In addition to participating in the Chef Signature Series dinner, Siener will be a guest speaker and give demonstrations for the College’s culinary students at the CFWI during his time in Canada.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the CFWI to showcase European talent, and really gives our students a unique challenge and opportunity to learn,” said Youdale.
The Chef Signature Series dinner on March 21 will involve more than the college’s culinary students. Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management students will produce specialty beers for the event, while the CFWI’s sommelier teaching crew and a second-year Winery and Viticulture student will be responsible for the wine. The event will also feature Dillon’s Distillery, cocktails from Toronto’s Richmond Station and live music from Evermile.
The March 21 dinner will be held at the College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus cafeteria beginning at 6 p.m. This event marks the conclusion of the CFWI’s 2014-2015 Chef Signature Series, replacing the formerly scheduled New York versus Chicago event. The 2014-2015 Chef Signature Series included celebrity chef Vikram Vij (Nov. 12), A CFWI Christmas featuring the college’s chef professors (Dec. 13), Niagara region chefs (Jan. 10), and Ottawa chefs (Jan 31).
