2024 Cooks the Books
2024 Taste Canada Cooks the Books
Presented by Canada Beef
Cooks the Books is a cooking competition that invites Canadian culinary students from across the nation to compete for the title of Taste Canada’s Best New Student Chefs!
The 2024 Cooks the Books student cooking competition will take place on Sunday, October 20th, 2024 at Cirillo’s Academy in Toronto.
The theme for this year’s competition is “Global Flavours Grow in Canada”, which challenges the students to explore the rich tapestry of global cuisines and cultural influences that have shaped their culinary journeys. The challenge is to create a distinctive recipe that marries these international inspirations with the best of Canadian ingredients, branded partner products and a unique cut of Canada Beef.
The student chefs will prepare their dishes, start-to-finish, live in front of the crowd and two industry kitchen judges, and then present their final plates to the judges panel. The winners will be announced on Monday, October 21st, 2024, during the 2024 Taste Canada Awards Soirée, with the Gold Winning team taking home a $3,000 bursary, some amazing kitchen swag, and the title of Taste Canada’s Best New Student Chefs!
Meet the Host & Judges
Stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of the 2024 Taste Canada Cooks the Books Tasting Judges!
Explore. Inspire. Cook.
Each team has been challenged to develop a unique recipe with this year’s theme of “Global Flavours Grow in Canada” to explore the rich tapestry of global cuisines and cultural influences that have shaped their culinary journeys.
All recipes will include a cut of AAA Canadian Beef as centre-of-plate and an assortment of Lactalis dairy products. Recipes will call for at least 60% of ingredients that are grown, produced and/or raised in Canada. The students are invited to use the What’s in Season section of the Canadian Food Focus website as their helpful resource.
They will also incorporate a handful of California Prunes and California Walnuts and a variety of Club House herbs and spices.
The student chefs will prepare their dishes, start-to-finish, live in front of the crowd while being scored by two Culinary Federation gold medal-winning chefs. Then, competitors will present their dishes to the judges’ panel for tasting.
The winners will be announced on Monday, October 21st, 2024, during the 2024 Taste Canada Awards Soirée, with the Gold-Winning Team taking home a $3,000 bursary as well as some amazing kitchen swag thanks to our generous partners.
What’s at Stake
Not only are students battling it out for the title of Taste Canada’s Best New Student Chef but they’re also competing for the amazing prizes that have been generously donated by our sponsors and industry partners.
All students will receive a Canada Beef Wood Carving Board, gift card to The Keg, a Chef Works embroidered apron and a one-year membership to Culinary Federation Canada. Plus, kitchen swag from Canadian Food Focus, Club House for Chefs, Indigo and F.Dick Knives.
The two winning teams will also receive a chef curated prize pack from CookUp, including an F.Dick Red Spirit 7” Santoku Knife and Cut Book, Profboard Pro-Series 270 Cutting Boards, AMT Frying Pan and a $150 Chef Works Gift Certificate.
The Gold and Silver winning teams will also take home beautiful kitchen appliances provided by Breville Canada.
The Gold Winners will also receive the Taste Canada Trophy to display at their college for the next year AND a $3,000 Educational Bursary!
Good luck to the all the student chefs competing in this year’s Taste Canada Cooks the Books Student Cooking Competition presented by Canada Beef!
Educational Resource Hub
The Taste Canada Cooks the Books Educational Resource Hub for Canadian Culinary Students and Food Professionals is loaded with valuable information. Learn about food trends, agricultural practices, food writing, nutrition and more from Taste Canada’s partners and notable industry experts.
Thank You to Our Partners
