Chef Bobby Milheron wins Vancouver spot to compete at 2023 Canadian Culinary Championship
The culinary lead of Homer St. Cafe & Bar, Tableau Bar Bistro, and Maxine's Cafe & Bar wins gold at the Great Kitchen Party’s regional event
Bobby Milheron (centre) with Thachaya “Mike” Tuangkitkun (left) and Vish Mayekar. Photo by Anjali Spooner
BOBBY MILHERON, EXECUTIVE chef of Wentworth Hospitality Group, who oversees Homer St. Cafe & Bar, Tableau Bar Bistro, and Maxine's Cafe & Bar, won gold medal at the Vancouver regional qualifier of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party on November 24.
The title will see the culinary artist travel to Ottaway in February 2023 for the Canadian Culinary Championship. There, Milheron will compete against representatives from eight other Canadian cities.
Vancouver was the final stop of nine competing cities on the Great Kitchen Party national tour. Also participating in the Vancouver heat were Sandy Chen of Archer; Bacaro’s Scot Korzack; Vish Mayekar of Caffè La Tana and Pepino’s Spaghetti House; and Maenam Restaurant’s Thachaya “Mike” Tuangkitkun.
A graduate of the Charlottetown-based Culinary Institute of Canada, Milheron worked at Vancouver restaurant-scene institutions such as Diva at the Met, West Restaurant, and Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar prior to joining Wentworth Hospitality.
A panel of seven judges, including 2020 Canadian Culinary Championship Gold Medallist Roger Ma of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar as well as James Chatto and Joie Alvaro Kent, awarded Milheron gold for his lightly smoked Canadian geoduck and B.C. spot prawn terrine with pickled bull kelp, sunchoke, and shellfish jus. He paired the dish with Mission Hill Reserve Rosé 2021. Milheron also took home the People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by all guests in attendance at the event held at the Westin Bayshore.
Tuangkitkun earned silver with his Southern Thai-style turmeric curry with a mosaic of B.C. sockeye salmon, mussel, side-striped prawn, fresh young coconut, and squid-ink cracker with house-made “tom yum” seasoning, paired with Tantalus Old Vines Riesling 2020. Mayekar won bronze with their lamb agnolotti and seared scallop in South Indian curry sauce with curry-leaf foam and lime crumb accompanied by Artakama Roussanne/ Viognier 2021.
The Vancouver event raised funds for Spirit North, a national organization that empowers Indigenous youth through sport and play; MusiCounts, which provides musical instruments to schools across Canada; and Fresh Roots, a local organization that cultivates meaningful connections between students and the food they grow. Canada’s Great Kitchen Party has raised more than $17 million to date for groups and initiatives that provide Canadian youth with equal opportunities in food, sport, and music sectors.
For more information, visit greatkitchenparty.com.
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