Winnipeg chef Kelly Cattani's time has come.
Cattani,one of just a handful of female chefs in the city,will see her public profile rise with appearances at RAW:almond, Winnipeg's pop-up restaurant on ice, and the 2014 Canadian Culinary Championships.
The 31-year-old Elements restaurant chef was one of 17 local and international chefs invited to cook at the 2014 edition of RAW:almond. She oversees the tapas bar on January 27 and is one of just two female chefs cooking at the outdoor eatery located at the confluence of the frozen Red and Assiniboine Rivers. (For more information about RAW:almond click here.) In a brief conversation with PCG, Cattani admitted her fear of the cold, saying she was completely "out of her comfort zone."
After her stint at RAW:almond, Cattani competes for the title of Canada's top chef at the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna, B.C. The February competition pits top chefs from across Canada in a two-day cooking contest.
Cattani won the title to Winnipeg's top chef during Gold Medal Plates held in late October 2013. She competed against seven other top chefs to take the local crown.
In that competition, she served elk tataki with soba noodles, dazzling judges and the 500 guests inattendance.
Cattani will serve her award-winning dish for one challenge but has no idea what she will whip together in two other food and wine challenges during the championships in February.
For those who won't be in Kelowna and don't have tickets to RAW:almond, Cattani's gold-medal plates can be tasted year round at food at Elements, The Restaurant on the University of Winnipeg. (For the scoop on Elements click here.)
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