Kelowna

For the next five years, beginning in February of 2011, Kelowna will be home to the Canadian Culinary Championships.

The announcement was made Thursday at the Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel and Resort.

The national championship, 'Gold Medal Plates,' will bring together the winner of eight regional competitions. They will all vie for gold, silver and bronze medals during three separate events February 18 and 19.

Regional competitions will be held this fall in St. John's, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Gold Medal Plates CEO Stephan Leckie says whittling down thousands of chefs in the eight competing cities to the top 10 and then to the eight finalists which will ultimately compete in the national championships is a daunting task.

Leckie says the Gold Medal Plates was started in 2004 as a way to raise funds for Canadian Olympic athletes. Over the past six years, they have raised more than $4 million.

"It began as a program that would be run nationwide that would celebrate excellence in the culinary arts, wine arts, entertainment, art and of course sport," says Leckie.

"The focus was to generate funds for our Olympic athletes in a setting that was thrilling and showed how amazing our culinary community was across the country. When we began this program we had no idea it would take off with such momentum."

Leckie says it has taken off to such an degree that the selection of the chefs is what he calls 'true science.'

"It is not a casual thing that a chef is tapped in a given city."

The Gold Medal Plates final will consist of three different culinary challenges.

The public is invited to all three events. Tickets will go on sale in September.

Leckie says Kelowna was chosen as the home of the Canadian Culinary Championships over Whistler, Banff and Niagara-On-The-Lake.

"One thing is the airport system here which gives us the ability to fly our chefs and our judges in directly. It is a huge boost," says Leckie.

"The fact you are in such close proximity to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary were big for us. But, I would say the biggest things is the sophistication of the city itself and its citizens."

Leckie says because Okanagan residents are wine and food savvy, he believes they will support this event.

Gold medal triathlete Simon Whitfield of Victoria was also on hand for Thursday's announcement.

Whitfield says a portion of the $4.1 million has gone towards the purchase of an altitude machine for runners and an environment chamber which helped simulate the heat in Beijing prior to the 2008 Olympics.

He says the results of other initiatives supported by Gold Medal Plates were evident in Canada's success in Vancouver.

Michael Lyon, Executive Chef at the Hotel Eldorado, won two regional competitions in Calgary.

Lyon says the competition can be quite intimidating.

"Walking into it there is a fear level. You're going up against 10 of the top chefs in your city," says Lyon."

You bring the best to the table and it has to be your best because you are being judged, not just by your community but also some of the most renowned judges in Canada."

As for spectators, Lyon says watching this competition is like nothing they have seen before. He says the spectators become as much a part of the show as the chefs.