Photo: Contributed

Canada's top chefs return to Kelowna Feb. 1-2 to battle for the title of best in the nation at the Canadian Culinary Championships.

The competition includes a Mystery Wine Pairing Competition, Black Box Competition, and Grand Finale at the Delta Grand Hotel. Tickets are available at http://www.greatkitchenparty.com/.

Leading up the event, Castanet is featuring profiles of the 11 competing chefs.

Montreal – Jason Morris, Pastel

Jason began his career at Montreal's legendary Milos as a Poissonnier.

He then left for Europe (France, Norvege, Denmark) and the U.S. to hone his craft, learning techniques and finding inspiration from some of the best chefs in the world.

In 2011, he returned to Montreal and opened the Ritz-Carlton with Daniel Boulud, who taught him how to inspire young chefs in the restaurant.

Even today, he owes Boulud the mental stamina that we recognize him for. He later met Kabir, who shares his vision of the restaurant industry, which led to the opening of the Fantome in June 2015 and then with the opening of Pastel in 2018.

Jason owes his life to cooking, "as it is the only thing he does well," he says – along with finding solutions to unforeseen problems related to restaurant operations.