May 9, 2016 Chef Coleen Antonio — Les Marmitons Winnipeg

Chef Coleen Antonio, Recipient of the 2015 Les Marmitons Most Promising Chef Award

Biography

Coleen Antonio, 20 years old, 2nd year Culinary Arts Student – Red River College

Coop placements:

Bridges Golf Course – Starbuck, Manitoba
Azuridge Estate Hotel – Calgary, Alberta

Awards received:

2014 Norm Konowalchuck Memorial Award
2014 Paterson GlobalFoods Culinary Arts Award
2015 Institut Bocuse Scholarship
2015 Concours Cuisine du Monde Third Place
2015 Canadian Culinary Federation Award
2015 Les Marmitons Most Promising Chef Award

Why did I choose to study culinary arts?

I have always been around food my whole life, seeing my family cook when I was still a kid. I also enjoy eating, a lot of food. I love to try new things that I am unfamiliar with and have never tried before. Since junior high, I knew I wanted to study culinary arts. It will also help me reach my goal of opening my very own restaurant in the future.

Experience in France

Red River College sends two students to study at Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France. I was one of the privilege ones to represent our country and college there from May-September, 2015. It was an intense 16 week course. We had different classes every week such as Perfecting Cooking (Poultry, Fish, Meat, Vegetables) Bistronomie, A la Carte Menu, Tapas, etc. We also had wine and cheese tasting. It was an amazing experience. We had a competition at the end of the course to show the skills that we have learned during the program. Canada, represented by myself and Krunal Patel (another student that was chosen) placed 3rd place in the Concours Cuisine du Monde. It was an amazing feeling to place, because there were a lot of talented competitors. We had to prepare two dishes – an appetizer and entrée. The experience was educational and it will help me become a better Chef in the future.

The menu for this event is as follows:

Appetizer