The Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre was the recipient of funds raised during The 3rd Annual Prairie Feast, an event hosted by Saskatoon-based Chef Dale Mackay – Top Chef Canada winner season 1 and owner of Grassroots Restaurant Group (Ayden Kitchen & Bar, Sticks & Stones, Little Grouse on the Prairie and Regina’s Avenue Restaurant and Bar. Each year Chef Mackay reaches out to his friends to make the trek to Saskatoon to cook alongside him (past guests chefs include John Jackson and Connie DeSousa from CHARCUT, Justin Leboe from Model Milk, Matty Matheson from Parts & Labour, Trevor Bird from Fable and Jason Bangerter from Langdon Hall). In his absence – this year’s guest chefs were all from the latest season of Top Chef Canada – Toronto Chefs Matthew Sullivan of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Elia Herrera of Los Colibris and Calgary’s Foreign Concept‘s Chef Jinhee Lee who joined Mackay’s proteges Little Grouse executive chef Jesse Zuber and Avenue Restaurant executive chef Nathan Guggenheimer in preparing a long table dinner for 120 guests.
Themed “For the Love of Art” – music, slam poetry, painting and interpretive dance filled the ALLOY Collision Centre with an energy perfect for mixing and mingling with Saskatoon’s prominent business community.
The night ended with a takeaway gift of Toronto-based Rosen’s Cinnamon Buns – by culinary writer Amy Rosen, a sweet goodnight treat after a glorious evening.
Check out the official event photos here.
While we were in town, we also got to see three very talented young cooks compete in the Ayden Young Chef Scholarship Competition. Congrats to winner Cassy Smart who gets an all expenses paid trip to Calgary to stage at two top restaurants.