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.

Calgary – Dave Bohati, Murrieta’s

A long and creative career for Dave Bohati began with washing dishes and eventually cooking at a fresh seafood restaurant in Victoria in 1998. After working his way around a couple of the high-volume restaurants of Vancouver Island for 10 years, he made the move to Vancouver to see some professional kitchens.

It was at Elixer in the Opus Hotel that transformed the way he looked at food and cooking altogether. In 2010, he arrived in Calgary to cook at a juggernaut fine dining restaurant called Rush.

It was after three years at Rush, Dave had the opportunity to open the restaurant Market on the hip and trendy strip in Calgary, in 2013. 

Dave was recently named an ambassador for Canada Beef and has traveled to countries such as Colombia and Mexico several times to showcase his take on food at exclusive events. 

He battled his way around the Culinary Championships of Canada by winning the Calgary regional in 2014. Although he didn’t end up on the podium for the finals in Kelowna, Dave came away with another great experience. Fast forward to the most recent Gold Medal Plates 2017 where Bohati managed to grab the bronze with a classic, but modern take on a terrine. 

After a brief summer stint in Montreal at Park, he moved back to Calgary for a little down time. Dave was recently Head Chef at the historic fine dining restaurant Teatro, where he and his brigade restored the classy fine dining restaurant back to the helm as one Calgary’s top destinations for dining.