The 2017 Great Amazing Duck Race

It was a Great, Amazing Duck Race

(Stouffville, ON, Saturday, April 1, 2017) After a grueling day-long “Farm-to-Fork” competition hosted King Cole Ducks Ltd., Fanshawe Colllege (London) took top honours in the cooking competition, followed closely by The Canadian Food & Wine Institute (Niagara) while Fleming College (Peterborough) earned 3rd prize.

Fanshawe’s first win in this five-year-old competition, created by students Tina Marar and Alex Martin, was entitled: Duck Two Ways—glazed cherry duck breast & almond crusted lollipop. Second place from perennial winner CFWI of Niagara was a unique recipe: Golden Honey Glazed Duck Bar with vegetable dumplings, citrus gastrique, black current rear compote with a flying Duck Tuile, created by Ryan Kim and Leanne Breukelman. Finishing in the awards for the first time was Fleming College with a creation by Kylie Piney and Braden Lawther: Three Way Duck with cherry gastrique, rosti potato, butternut squash puree and market vegetables.

Points were awarded for the farm portion of the day based on duck egg collecting, butchery skills and general knowledge of King Cole Ducks. For the cooking portion of the competition, held at George Brown labs, students were judged on creativity, practicality, kitchen skills, food appearance and flavour by a judging panel that included Chef Duff Lampard, Executive Chef, Metro Toronto Convention Centre; Robert Mills, Executive Chef, The Fairmont Royal York Hotel; Jess Mutch, Executive Chef, Chantecler and Lucy Waverman, Editor, LCBO Food & Drink Magazine. Prizes were $500 for first, $250 for second and $100 for third place.

“We are so proud to have staged this 5th Great Amazing Duck Race, an event that has become a must-compete culinary competition for the 10 participating Ontario colleges,” according to Patti Thompson, 3rd generation duck farmer and VP of Sales & Marketing at King Cole. “The amount of effort and passion they invest in this annual event continues to raise the level of the bar each year; it is so inspiring! As Canada’s leading duck producer; 100% Canadian owned and operated by our family since 1951; it is so important to us that the students truly appreciate and understand the concept that ‘Good Farmers make Good Food’. And if we can play a role in creating Canada’s next great chefs, everyone wins,” Thompson added.

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