Local artist helped provincial chef win medal at international ...

Tag : arts designing

CORNER BROOK — A chef from Newfoundland and Labrador made itto the podium of the recent International Culinary Olympics, butmight not have gotten that far without help from Bay of Islandsartist Urve Manuel.

Roary McPherson, executive chef at the Fairmont Hotel in St.John’s, won a bronze medal at the culinary Olympiad, heldearlier this month in Erfurt, Germany.

Competing in the festive platter and canapés portion,McPherson’s dishes were presented on glass dishes madespecifically for the competition by Urve Manuel, who owns A Stone'sThrow Glassworks art studio in Gillams.

Given the judges never ate the food, but evaluated only thepresentation, Manuel couldn’t be happier to have the customorder be part of something so special.

“I’m really thrilled for Roary and for me,” shesaid. “He said the judges were really impressed with theplatters.”

Manuel hooked up with McPherson after the chef saw some of herglass work during a trade mission to Iceland they both participatedin last November.

They got together in January to discuss a theme for the Olympicsand decided to go with codfish-shaped platters and dory-shapedgravy boats.

Manuel made a school of six small platters and a fleet of doriesfor McPherson’s tasty sauces, but the centrepiece was a largecodfish platter measuring more than four feet in length. It wasmade in three sections, but lines strategically incorporated in thehead, body and tail of the fish made it look like one continuouspiece when fit together.

After designing and cutting the glass, the pieces required about 30to 40 hours of fusion and slumping in a hot kiln to complete.Manuel was able to do three to four of the smaller pieces at atime, but each of the three sections making up the larger plattertook individual firings of the kiln.

While there was a Team Canada at the event, McPherson was not partof the national team. He used this experience as a bit of areconnaissance mission for the next International Culinary Olympicsin 2012, when he hopes to bring together five or six local chefs toform a Team Newfoundland and Labrador.

He has already asked Manuel to produce more presentation pieces forthe next shot at culinary gold.

“We have a theme, but I can’t say what it isyet,” she said. “Roary came up with the theme and I dohave some ideas in mind. We will have to talk again about how tomake it work. There is still lots of time, so we may be able tocome up with something even better yet.”

Manuel will be making dishes for the entire team, but is not sureif the members will be preparing individual dishes in separatecategories or if they will cook collectively on one presentation.Either way, the theme will likely permeate everyone’sefforts.

The award-winning pieces may be McPherson’s possessions now,but Manuel does hope to produce a line of similar glass disheswhich will be available to the general public.

“I’m going to do the dories and will have some smallerversions of the codfish platters,” she said. “For theOlympics, they wanted white or clear glass because, if there is anycolour that distracts from the food, even if the platters arestunning and beautiful, they won’t get picked. They are veryparticular in how they judge. For the public, I will be doing somedifferent colours.”

Manuel hopes to have some of them ready for next month’s WestCoast Craft Fair in Corner Brook. Considering this year’sfair has a ‘green’ theme, Manuel hopes to use recycledglass for her works.