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[music plays throughout]
[woman] Hello, and welcome to Peel's most revered competition
in the history of culinary combat.
Mike, in this very kitchen, the contestants will be challenged
to produce a healthy main course and two sides
that meet the nutritional requirements
of the school's food and beverage policy.
And they have to create it with locally produced food.
[Mike] It all started months ago
with the preliminary applications
that EcoSource, Peel Public Health, Compass Chartwells,
and our very own committed Peel District School Board staff
rummaged through.
There are a ton of applications from which they selected
the three finalists that we will see today.
[woman] At stake is the coveted title, and a grand prize of a thousand dollars,
and a field trip for the team's class to visit a local food attraction.
[Mike] Alright, Alex. [girl in background] Watch the squash.
[Mike] These teams are heated up and ready to boil over.
Let's see how they do.
Here are our finalists.
First up, it's the immaculate, and slightly shy,
but steadfast Fried Egg team,
which hails from John Fraser Secondary School.
[fighting sound effects] [groan]
[Alex] We asked Chef Sabeel how cooking became a part of his life.
[Sabeel] Food became a part of my life
when I was pretty small, because my parents love food
and they eat a lot and I eat a lot.
[Alex] What kind of cuisine has influenced Sabeel and his team?
[Sabeel] I'm originally from Afghanistan,
so, like, kebabs and more dry stuff.
But then, I've also- I've lived in Pakistan,
so there's a bit of that Indian, uh, cuisine as well,
like butter chicken and different curries.
[boy on right] Theme was Italian, and, um,
we wanted to make healthy and delicious food.
What can we expect from Sabeel's team today?
[Sabeel] Uh, we're making jumbo pasta shells
filled with, uh, spinach and three cheeses.
Also, we're making a bruchetta and a salad for the side dishes.
[Sabeel] I think it's gonna need, like,
ten minutes at most, 'cause we want it soft,
but not, like, flabby.
[laughs]
Uh, just getting them a little bit more tender,
so when they serve, they're, like- they're less crunchy,
and like, a bit, a bit soft.
Uh, we're gonna bake it,
and then we're gonna rub it with some garlic to get like, uh-
and then we're gonna put some vegetables on top,
so we can get a ni- uh, a nice bruschetta.
[woman] Okay, so you're up in five minutes.
[Sabeel] Uh, we are gonna have to take it to the judges
and then they're gonna mark us or score us.
[Mike] Fried Eggs boldly put a spin on old-fashioned favourites.
Gourmet Society One hails from Applewood Heights,
and have some insider connections to the food industry.
[boy on right] Food's always been a part of my life, [laughter]
because I love eating, one, my grandmother loved feeding me, two,
and my mom's currently a chef, three –
right now she works- I don't even know where she works to be honest. [laughter]
[Alex] Mike, these teams were selected from 35 applications.
Their lunch entrees must include two side dishes,
and no more than six preparation steps.
[girl] This is good.
Let's go, guys. [screams]
[girl] So, our main entree is a wrap,
and it's a roasted pumpkin, chicken, wild rice.
It sounds awful, but tastes really good.
And then we have our side dish is our spicy corn salad,
and for desert on the side, it's a banana chocolate chip cookie.
Oh, corn! Check the corn, check the corn.
[Alex] Each meal must also include the four food groups,
including one full serving of fruit or vegetable,
and must showcase food that is commonly found in Ontario
during the fall season.
These can be fresh, canned, or frozen.
[girl] Woah, this stuff's cool.
[girl on left] How much do you need? [girl offscreen] Three-quarters.
[girl] All-Bran, three quarters of a cup.
[Alex] All these have to be possible for less than seven dollars.
[boy] Um, yeah, we have salad in the fridge, uh, chillin' right now.
Uh, well, like, it's chilling, it's really chilly. [laughs]
Like, it's, yeah, whatever, it was a pun. [girl] Yeah.
[boy] Um, we have that,
we have the wrap, we're gonna cut it in half,
spicy corn salad, and then we have, um, on the side,
our banana chocolate chip cookies.
[Mike] Gourmet Society Two hails from Applewood Heights,
and picked the exact same name as their competition
in hopes that they might confuse the judges.
[Alex] Okay, so this is Gourmet Society Two, or One,
no, One- no, no, no, Two, Two?
[girl on left] He's, he's the king papa of our group.
[boy] These are my assistants. [girl on left] Okay, no.
[boy] We're gonna take this over, you know.
[Mike] So, you're the chef and these are your sous chefs?
[girl] No, no, no. [boy] For sure, for sure.
[Alex] I think Gourmet Society Two confused themselves.
[Mike offscreen] Shenelle's peeling into the lead
with that Ontario-grown butternut squash.
While Patrick goes in for the squeeze play.
[girl offscreen] So, right now, we're just letting it, um, get tender,
the squash,
and then after, we're gonna put it in there to make it like soup.
[Alex] Yeah, Gourmet Society Two
is definitely confused – they're eating their own entry.
[girl on left] Maybe you should turn it up.
[motor dies]
[Mike] Oh, no! Gourmet Society Two has had a fumble.
What a setbeck.
Let's see how she recovers.
Oh, nicely done.
Let's see the replay.
[slow motion speech]
[girl offscreen] We made, uh, honey lime glazed chicken,
stuck with local herbs.
We made butternut squash soup.
And we made faux potatoes,
which is like mashed potatoes but with cauliflower instead.
[Mike] Time's up, and that's it for the competition.
Let's see what our judges have to say about the finished meals.
First dish up is team Fried Eggs.
[judge 1] I like the cheese in the pasta.
I think it tastes really nice with the fresh herbs.
[judge 2] Overall, it's- it really has very good colour presentation,
and a little bit more bread on the pasta would really set that off as very good.
[judge 3] Uh, the only thing about the pasta
is just the, the hardness of shell is one thing for myself
that I found it a little bit, uh, too hard, so.
Uh, overall, it's, uh, pretty good.
[Alex] Next up is team Gourmet Society One.
[girl offscreen] Hi, everybody.
[judge 1] Uh, the salad is really colourful.
It's, um, it's got a really nice texture to it.
It's crunchy, the corn pops, um, the tomatoes are nice and sweet.
I feel like it's missing a little bit more zest
or, uh, a little bit of spice to, to lighten it up a little bit.
[judge 4] I thought it was really great, first off, that they tried a desert.
And it's kinda that whole look for a lunch
that I think a lot of students would look for-
is there something sweet in there?
[judge 5] The wrap is- I love that it's, it's, uh,
that, you know, you can use your fingers to eat it,
um, and it's filling.
Uh, and, it like, it was said earlier,
it's a comfort food, but it needs something.
[judge 2] Uh, certainly just the grab and go concept of the wrap
uh, is- has always been a proven success.
[judge 6] The cookies were amazing.
I can't believe they're compliant, because they taste amazing.
[Mike] And finally, we have Gourmet Society Two.
[judge 5] This is really good, like, all around.
[judge 2] I think the soup was excellent.
It's, uh, it's really nice spicing,
really nice consistency and texture, and-
[judge 6] Yeah, the cauliflower-
I couldn't even tell that it was cauliflower.
It tastes like potatoes to me, that's how good it was.
[judge 3] As reality TV goes, they, they are in it to win it.
[laughter] This is very good.
[judge 5] Gourmet Two, wow.
Uh, your- it was delicious,
uh, and the presentation was spot on amazing.
The texture was perfect, the flavour was- it was delicious.
Um, the chicken was incredible, like, nice sweetness-
[Alex] And the judges have spoken. [applause]
And it looks like Gourmet Society Two has won the competition.
There you have it Peel.
The winning meal – Ontario butternut squash soup,
and the delicious entree of local cauliflower mash,
and herbed Ontario chicken,
available at school cafeterias throughout Peel this fall.
Make it yours the next time you buy your lunch.
[music ends]