Saskatoon chef places second in national competition

After hours of practice — which included preparing a dish more than 40 times down to the last detail — a Saskatoon chef has placed second in the 2023 Canadian Culinary Federation’s Young Chef Culinary Challenge.

Makenna Rai jetted off to Niagara Falls after securing her spot in the national competition earlier this year.

Rai said she competed against six other young chefs from across the country, with many more coming out to watch.

“Every chef from all over Canada was just watching us as we were doing the competition,” she said.

Saskatoon chef, Makenna Rai, prepares for the 2023 Canadian Culinary Federation’s Young Chef Culinary Challenge after winning the Saskatchewan Young Chef Culinary Challenge. (Mia Holowaychuk)

Rai prepared two dishes for the judges. One was a pan-seared duck with lemon purée, beets, asparagus, potatoes, blackcurrant and wild blueberry reduction and a demi glace – a dish Rai was no stranger to making.

In fact, Rai said the dish she presented was her best version yet. She said she wasn’t nervous because of how prepared she was, having put in more than 50 hours practising during the last two months.

“I was very confident in how I was prepping everything,” she said.

She said that she didn’t think she would secure a spot on the podium because of the tough competition, and said she was shocked when she heard her name called.

According to Rai, she was graded on every last detail of her dish, from taste to sanitation to presentation.

Leading up to the competition, Rai said she was mentored by Stoked Kitchen and Bar’s executive chef Anthony McCarthy. She also works and practised her dishes at Stoked.

McCarthy was at the competition and watched her collect silver.

“He looked at me like a proud dad,” Rai said. “He was so proud of everything that I’ve accomplished and how much I put into this.”

After she graduates from culinary studies at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, the chef said she will enter more competitions and achieve her Red Seal. She also said she hopes to one day take her skills to France.