Canada’s leading hospitality icon, Nick Di Donato, CEO of the Liberty Entertainment Group, is pleased to announce the winners of the first-ever Canadian national Young Chef Young Waiter contest (YCYW). Online contest entries ran from August through September and a judging panel of renowned hospitality personalities shortlisted six finalists for both categories, who participated in the grand finale of culinary and service challenges at Toronto’s Michelin award-winning restaurant, Don Alfonso 1890 Toronto. Today’s winners move to the international stage, to compete in the World YCYW Finals on November 15 – 17th, in Monaco.
The winners are:
Young Chef Young Waiter Canada Waiter Finalists:
1. Paul Mckeand Langdon Hall Country House and Spa, Cambridge
2. Dunja Zdralic Langdon Hall Country House and Spa, Cambridge
3. Katherine Veilleux Her Father’s Craft Ciderhouse and Kitchen, Toronto
Young Chef Young Waiter Canada Chef Finalists:
1. Haofeng (Tyler) Lin Hilton Toronto
2. Karly Ready Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa, Cambridge
3. Brendan Tran Richmond Station (FT) Wynona (PT), Toronto
The Esteemed Judges
Made up of top figures from Canada’s hospitality sector and industry professionals with world-class skills, the expert judges included Richard Andino, corporate chef, Liberty Group, Daniele Corona, Michelin star awarded executive chef, Don Alfonso, Toronto, Nick Di Donato, president and CEO, Liberty Group, Rosanna Caira, editor and publisher of Kostuch Media’s Foodservice and Hospitality and Hotelier magazines, Nadia Di Donato, vice president and creative director, Liberty Group, Scott Beard, Chairman, DiRoNa, Michael Lombardi, Ontario Regional Director, Les Clefs d’Or Canada, Jason Bangerter, executive chef, Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa, Shinan Govani, author, Maria Sosnovtseva, Ontario Regional Secretary, Les Clefs d’Or Canada, and more. All are well known advocates for new talent as well as staunch supporters of food culture and will help competitors advance their careers and achieve their goals. Sponsors of the event included ChefWorks®, Canada Produce, Profile Wine Group and Halpern Wine Enterprises.
“We are thrilled to be title partner to host the inaugural Canadian contest, and are very proud of the contestants, and the grand winners,” said Nick Di Donato, president and CEO, Liberty Group. “Following a gruelling challenge of service and a tightly marked competition thanks to our esteemed judges, we can truly say the winners represent the best of Canada’s hospitality industry, and we are proud for them to now take the world stage.”
20th October 2022
