Want to help out a wonderful charity while watching an amazing competition AND sampling delicious food and drink? Yeah, you almost certainly do. This is the culmination and final event of Eric’s 2018 reality campaign for Operation Come Home.

The Poor Chefs Competition is one of the most anticipated events of the year! Local chefs are invited to compete to win the title and have their name engraved on the Poor Chefs trophy. The competition itself requires that chefs prepare a dish with only $3.15 and 2 of 10 commonly-donated food bank items. They are asked to prepare this dish 6 times for our 6 judges. Judges are then presented the dishes which are judged according to taste, creativity and presentation. Winners from previous years are invited to defend or reclaim their title creating an additional layer of good-natured competition.

Guests are invited to purchase tickets for $25 each which include appetizers served throughout the evening by Operation Come Home’s social enterprise, FoodWorks Ottawa. A drink ticket is included and additional drink tickets are available for purchase. OH AND! When you show up to the event, we’ll ask you to fill out a raffle ticket (for free) and we will draw 6 names before the event begins. Each lucky name that is selected will get to try each one (unfortunately not all) of the chef’s entry dishes alongside the judges!

Does it get better? Why, yes. It does. This year, we have special guests, Top Shelf Distillers, who will be setting up one of their signature cocktail stations! And the list of FoodWorks appetizers for the event include:

The appetizers for the event include:

• Asiago, smoked chicken & cranberry tartlets
• Moroccan-spiced sweetcorn, silken tofu & vegetable fritters, cilantro & red onion relish
• House-made bratwurst sausage rolls with grain mustard dip
• Crositini with squash hummus and harissa sirop

This year’s returning champ is Harriet Clunie of Beechwood Gastropub.

Also competing are:

2016 champ Stephen Lasalle (Andaz Ottawa)
David Schaub (The Ketchup Project)
Kris Kshonze (Soif – Bar a Vin)
Joey Boileau (The Senate Taverns)
Jessica Willis (Big Easy’s)

This year’s judges are: Sandra Plagakis from KiSS 105.3; Councillor Catherine McKenney; Anne DesBrisay’s Capital Dining (acclaimed food critic); and Executive Director of the Ottawa Food Bank, Michael Maidment.

Your hosts this year are Eric from here at CHEZ, BaconFest star Steph the Grilling Gourmet Dry Rubs and Catering and “Special Correspondent”, award winning Food biz consultant/expert/blogger This Charming Mandi.

Homeless youth in Ottawa often do not have the skills or knowledge of a chef, so preparing a meal with such limited resources is next to impossible. Instead, they turn to fast food or not eating at all. This event highlights the food insecurity issues in Ottawa while raising funds to help support programs at OCH which teach youth how to prepare nutritional and cost-efficient meals for themselves.

You can learn more about our caterers at www.foodworksottawa.ca.