Local Chefs Mentor Youth in Vegetarian Cook-Off

This past Saturday, April 22, 2017, the TD Youth Earth Ambassadors (YEA) organized a vegetarian cook-off with four chefs from local restaurants to educate 22 youth in vegetarian cuisine and its positive impact on the environment. The vegetarian cook-off is a pilot project from the YEA to celebrate Earth Day 2017.

The youth were joined by Nicole Krevin of Kitchen Motivation , Sean Beacom from Café Koi, Sameena Dar from The Coup, and Jesse King from Burnt to Order. The youth were split into four groups and each chef mentored a group on how to cook one vegetarian dish. The recipes made were a Vegan Mac n’ Cheese and peanut butter milkshake, Beet Buckwheat Crepe, Thai Green Curry, and Punjabi style Dahl Tadka.

“Before going, I had a bit of a misconception that a lot of the dishes would be centred around salads,” Cristina Acevedo, a member of the YEA steering committee, explained. “After the cook-off, I feel much more aware of the variety of dishes that can be made in environmentally-conscious cooking.”

After the plates were completed, the group voted on the best dish of the day, which was Vegan Mac n’ Cheese. As the group ate, a panel discussion was held with the chefs to inform contestants of the impact of vegetarianism on the environment and the benefits of eating locally produced foods.

“Teaching kids and having them excited about food was great,” Chef Sean Beacom from Café Koi said. “Having them all there wanting to help the environment, open to learning new things, and tasting new foods – what better way to celebrate Earth day.”