2025 Taste Canada Cooks the Books
presented by Canadian Beef
Global Canadian Beef Duo with Carrot Essence and Aromatic Rice
Recipe by: Student Chefs Alphonse Rey Dedel and Wesley Garcia
Team: Vancouver Community College | Vancouver, British Columbia
This dish celebrates Canada’s diversity through a refined pairing of braised beef cheeks and tenderloin, accented with truffle-infused Brie, bone marrow custard, and aromatic basmati rice. Each element highlights Canadian ingredients through global techniques, unified in flavour and precision.
Global Canadian Beef Duo with Carrot Essence and Aromatic Rice
Ingredients
Beef Cheeks
- 2 whole PEI Certified Beef Cheeks silver skin removed
- 800 g (3 1/2 cups) warm mushroom-infused beef prosciutto stock
- 1 shallot halved
- 2 cloves garlic halved
- 6 sprigs thyme
Beef Tenderloin
- 1 PEI Certified Beef Tenderloin silver skin removed
- 10 g (2 tsp) salt
- 2 g (1/2 tsp) black pepper
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 25 g (2 tbsp) Lactalis Unsalted Butter
- 50 g (3 tbsp) vegetable oil
Potato & Bone Marrow Custard
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
- 500 g (2 cups) water
- 10 g (2 tsp) salt
- 5 g (1 tsp) thyme sprigs
- 20 g (1 tbsp) shallot oil
Bone Marrow Custard
- 80 g (1/3 cup) bone marrow
- 25 g (2 tbsp) shallots, minced
- 1 clove garlic
- 5 g (1 tsp) salt
- 50 g (3 tbsp) Madeira wine
- 50 g (3 tbsp) smoked water
- 100 g (1/2 cup) Lactalis Milk
- 50 g (1/4 cup) Lactalis Cream
- 0.68 g gellan gum low acyl
- 0.34 g gellan gum high acyl
Carrot Component (Gel, Base & Truffle Brie)
For the Carrot Gel:
- 500 g (2 cups) carrot juice
- 2.5 g (1/2 tsp) salt
- 1.38 g gellan gum low acyl
- 0.68 g gellan gum high acyl
For the Carrot Base:
- 1 carrot
- 25 g (2 tbsp) honey
- 500 g (2 cups) water
For the Truffle Brie:
- 81 g (1/3 cup) Lactalis Brie cheese (rind removed)
- 30 g (2 tbsp) Methocel gel (hydrated)
- 1 g truffle paste
- 20 g (4 tsp) water
Leeks
- 3 leeks white and light green parts only
- 50 g (3 tbsp) shallot oil
- 2 strips lemon peel no pith
- 3 g (1/2 tsp) kosher salt
Aromatic Basmati Rice
- 200 g (1 cup) Dainty® Basmati Rice
- 60 g (1/4 cup) shallots fine brunoise
- 8 g (2 tsp) ginger sliced
- 4 g (1 tsp) five-spice mix
- 30 g (2 tbsp) Lactalis Unsalted Butter
- 300 mL (1 1/4 cups) water
- 3 g (1/2 tsp) salt
- 50 g (1/4 cup) scallions sliced
Beef Sauce and Gastrique
Part A – Gastrique:
- 250 g (1 cup) balsamic vinegar
- 250 g (1 cup) port wine
- 250 g (1 cup) Marsala wine
- 50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
Instructions
Beef Cheeks:
- Portion cheeks into 45 g pieces. Place cheeks, shallot, garlic, thyme, and stock in a pressure cooker. Cook at 200°C for 12 minutes, then lower to 160°C for 28 minutes. Remove cheeks and glaze with reduced stock.
Beef Tenderloin:
- Slice tenderloin lengthwise and season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, tie with butcher’s twine, and cook sous-vide at 65°C for 35 minutes. Remove wrap, pat dry, and sear in a hot cast-iron pan with oil, thyme, garlic, and butter. Rest on a rack and slice into 140 g (5 oz) portions for service.
Potato & Bone Marrow Custard:
- Combine water, salt, thyme, and shallot oil; bring to 95°C. Slice potatoes into 1-inch rounds, punch out portions, and poach for 6 minutes. In another pan, cook bone marrow with shallots, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf until soft. Add wine, smoked water, and salt; reduce by half. Heat milk and cream to 90°C, whisk in gellan gums, remove herbs, blend with marrow base, and puree. Pipe into potato centers, cover, and hold warm.
Carrot Component:
- Heat carrot juice to 90°C; whisk in gellan gums and salt. Pour into molds and chill on an ice bath for 10 minutes. Remove centers with a melon baller. Bring water and honey to a boil; slice carrots into 1 mm rounds, blanch, and shock in ice water. Blend Brie, truffle paste, Methocel, and water until smooth. Pipe into carrot domes, cap with carrot rounds, and unmold for service.
Leeks:
- Toss with shallot oil, lemon peel, and salt. Roast at 425°F (220°C) for 35 minutes. Remove outer layers, portion into sticks, and brush with roasted leek oil.
Aromatic Rice:
- Sweat shallots and ginger in butter. Add rice, water, five-spice, and salt; cover and bake at 420°F (215°C) for 30 minutes. Fluff rice, fold in scallions, and hold warm.
Beef Sauce & Gastrique:
- Reduce Part A by 60%; reserve one-third for finishing and two-thirds for glazing. Reduce veal stock to a glaze consistency; whisk in one-third gastrique to finish.
Plating:
- Warm leek, carrot dome, and bone marrow custard in a steamer at 70°C for 5–10 minutes before plating. Brush beef cheeks with gastrique and finish with chives and salt. Garnish each carrot dome, leek, and custard with shallot oil, Maldon salt, and a nasturtium leaf. Arrange beef cheeks, tenderloin, carrot dome, leek, and bone marrow custard on the plate. Serve rice on the side with sauce.
The 2025 student chefs selected a unique cut of beef for their recipe by exploring a new web-based education tool, the Canadian Beef Information Gateway. The Gateway has information on over 70 cuts of beef with cut descriptions, complete nutrition info per cut, how-to-cook recommendations, over 300+ recipe videos and more.
Taste Canada Cooks the Books presented by Canada Beef is a cooking competition that invites Canadian culinary students from across the nation to compete for the title of Canada’s Best New Student Chefs. The theme for this year's competition was “Global Flavours Grow in Canada”, which challenged the students to explore the rich tapestry of global cuisines and cultural influences that have shaped their culinary journeys. Drawing from one or more cultural cuisines or heritage(s) that has inspired their culinary journey, students were challenged to develop a unique recipe using a variety of Canadian ingredients, branded partner products, and a unique cut of Canadian AAA beef.
Using the Canadian Beef Information Gateway, a web-based platform, students were able to explore all that Canadian Beef has to offer.
This year's kitchen battle took place in the beautiful professional kitchen at Cirillo's Academy in Toronto. The student chefs prepared their dishes, start to finish, live in front of the crowd while being scored by two Culinary Federation international gold medal-winning chefs. Then, competitors presented their dishes to the judges' panel for tasting. The winners were announced during the 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!
Photo Credits: Cathy Connally, Charley Best and Stephen Chu
Special Thanks to the 2025 Taste Canada Cooks the Books Sponsors:
Presented by Canadian Beef
