News Releases
by Wendy McLellan, The Province
Published: Thursday, June
12, 2008
Bruno Marti is trying to
stay out of the way in the kitchen. After more than four
decades as a chef and countless awards for his cuisine, the
energetic owner of La Belle Auberge still loves to cook and
serve his customers, but he's also helping his young chefs
learn to excel at their trade.
"The first thing I did
in my career was try to be the best cook I could be. The
second thing I've done in my life is train a lot of cooks,"
Marti said. "I focus on teaching them how to cook
beautifully."
Since buying a bankrupt
restaurant in a Ladner heritage house in 1980 and turning it
into a renowned destination for fine dining, Marti estimates
he has trained more than four dozen apprentices in the trade.
Photograph by : Wayne Leidenfrost, The
Province
Bruno Marti
(right), owner of La Belle Auberge, inspects a dish at the
Ladner restaurant as his chef, Tobias Macdonald, looks on.
At the moment, two of his
five cooks are apprentices. His chef, Tobias Macdonald, was
Marti's apprentice 10 years ago, and some of the Lower
Mainland's top restaurants have chefs who learned their trade
in his kitchen.
"They learn how to
cook here," Marti said. "This is like a school, rather
than a business. They have time to make food perfect -- there
are no lineups, you're not pumping the food out."
As well as mentoring
apprentices at his restaurant, Marti has devoted years to
teaching young cooks how to win at culinary competitions. He
founded the B.C. culinary team to take cooks around the world
to compete, and his team won the world championship at the
1984 Culinary Olympics. He is also founder of the Culinary
Arts Foundation.
It's a pretty impressive
list of achievements for someone who chose cooking because he
didn't have the grades to pursue a university education.
When he was in high
school in Switzerland, students had to choose a trade if they
didn't have the marks to train for a profession. He didn't
know much about cooking, but he remembers hearing a woman
bragging about her son who was a cook.
"My mother was a
seamstress and never had time to cook, and I had done a little
bit in the kitchen and didn't dislike it," he said.
"I didn't choose
cooking because of food -- I saw adventure, an opportunity to
be something without having academic excellence. As a cook,
you are respected and I knew I could learn and be as good as
anyone else."
After finishing his
apprenticeship in Switzerland, Marti went to work in a Swiss
restaurant in Puerto Rico, then moved to Montreal to work in
the kitchen of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. It was when he got
involved in competitions that he realized being a chef was
about more than cooking -- it was about food, and he wanted to
be the best.
Marti began to develop
his reputation as a meticulous chef and was offered a job
creating meals for airlines. The job brought him and his
family to Vancouver, where he honed his competition skills.
He was an airline chef
when he was team captain for western Canada's regional team at
the 1976 Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt and has since traveled
around the world with culinary teams. Macdonald, his onetime
apprentice, is captain of Canada's national culinary team.
"It's a great life,"
Marti said. "Everything I ever wanted came true. It tells
me you can be whatever you want to be. But whatever you do, do
it to be the best."
Bruno Marti, owner of La
Belle Auberge restaurant in Ladner, is a long time member of
the Vancouver Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.
June 1, 2008
World renowned chef,
Bruno Marti, is to be awarded the
Order of British Columbia, BC’s
highest honour, Lieutenant Governor Steven Point, announced Wednesday.
He is one of 15 British
Columbians who will be recognized for their extraordinary contributions to
the province.
The owner of the Ladner
fine dining establishment La Belle Auberge is known for his commitment to
inspiring young culinary talent in Canada. Bruno currently coaches the
CCFCC National Culinary Team that will compete at the World culinary
Olympics in Erfurt, Germany in October.
The investiture
ceremony will be held at
Government House, Victoria on June 26.
November 2007
Top Chefs to battle for the GOLD in the Lower
Mainland:
Gold Medal Plates
January 25,
2007
Congratulations to one of our members
and on the executive board of the Vancouver Chaine des Rôtisseurs Bailliage,
Chef Scott Jaeger
of the Pear Tree Restaurant who represented Canada at the Bocuse d'Or
competition in Lyon, France, January 23 and 24, 2007,
placed 7th
out of 24 countries. France won gold,
Denmark the silver and Switzerland the bronze. The U.S. placed 14th.Click
here to see the story as told by our Bailli Dr. Jane Ruddick
November 6, 2006
TOBIAS GRIGNON WINS NATIONAL JEUNES COMMIS
RÔTISSEURS COMPETITION.
At the 2006 National
Jeunes Commis Rôtisseurs Competition held in Toronto last weekend, Vancouver
competitor Tobias Grignon was awarded first place out of 7
competitors.
The competition, open to
young cooks under the age of 27, was hosted by La Chaine des Rôtisseurs, and
was held at Humber College, Toronto. Competitors from across the country,
chosen through selection competitions held in their respective bailliages,
were given four hours in which to compose a menu and prepare a three-course
meal for four persons using ingredients presented in a black box. Compulsory
ingredients at this competition were whole trout, duck and fois gras. A
panel of judges awarded marks for taste, presentation, originality and
kitchen technique.
Tobias received the
distinction of representing Vancouver at this competition by winning first
place at the local and selection competition held in Vancouver in June. He
will now represent Canada at the International Competition to be held in
Frankfurt next September. He currently works at the Wedgewood Hotel
and has been practicing for this competition under the auspices of Chef
Bruno Marti and Chef Tobias MacDonald of La Belle Auberge, Ladner.
November 24, 2005
CCFCC
Culinary Team Canada best in the World in Hot Competition at the
Culinary World Masters Competition,
Switzerland.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND:
The CCFCC Culinary Team Canada – a team of dedicated and highly qualified
chefs sanctioned by the Canadian Culinary Federation – was awarded top place
in the hot competition and overall second place at the Culinary World
Masters Competition held in Basel, Switzerland, this week.
As
one of ten teams from around the world competing for the grand gold medal,
they presented a cold display table of food items consisting of buffet
platters, finger foods, appetizers, main courses, desserts, petit fours,
chocolate sculptures, cakes and pastries. They were awarded a gold medal in
this category.
Two
days later, they cooked 110 hot three-course meals which were served to the
public, using items that aptly displayed Canada’s great food products. Their
workmanship, professionalism and kitchen skills, together with their
creative menu, convinced the judges that Canadian cooks are the best in the
world! They were awarded a gold medal and first place rating in this part of
the competition.
At
the awards ceremony held on the final day of competition, Canada was awarded
overall second place, just two points behind the winners, Team Singapore.
Switzerland was awarded third place.
Selected for their culinary talents and their passion to compete on the
international stage, this group of young chefs has spent only a short time
working together. Teams usually spend a year or more preparing for an
international competition but, due to the restructuring of the Team after
the World Culinary Olympics held in Erfurt, Germany last October, this team
has had only two months to practice!
Team
Manager, John Carlo Felicella was delighted with his team’s success. “We
accomplished the impossible!” he said at the conclusion of the awards. “Two
months ago we did not even have a team. Putting this all together and being
so successful is a credit to everyone involved. A lot of work and dedication
has had to be concentrated into a very short space of time. The whole Team
and all Canadian chefs should be very proud of what we have accomplished!”
Members of the CCFCC Culinary Team
Canada – Basel 2005 are:
Team Manager: John Carlo Felicella, Chef
Instructor, Vancouver community College
Assistant Manager: Jane Ruddick,
President, J.R. Food Consultants Ltd.
Team Captain: Damon Campbell – Diva at
the Metropolitan Hotel, Vancouver
Team Members: Ben Pernosky – Fairmont
Chateau Whistler
Tobias MacDonald, La Belle Auberge Restaurant, Ladner
David Wong – Fairmont Airport hotel
Pastry Chef: Arthur Chen – Pan
Pacific Hotel Vancouver
Pastry Support Members: Trevor Stayer,
Otto Eckstein
Support Members: Poyan Danesh, Scarlet
Gaffney, Vince Stufano, Grace Pineda, Marco Baldissera
The President of the Canadian Culinary
Federation, Bruno Marti was the Canadian Judge.
The team returns to Vancouver on
Saturday afternoon.
For more
information, contact:
Jane Ruddick
Ph.D. Assistant Manager
jruddick@shaw.ca 604 916 9071
September 30 2005
MATTHEW BATEY
THIRD IN THE WORLD
AT 2005 INTERNATIONAL JEUNES COMMIS
RÔTISSEURS COMPETITION.
At the 2005 International Jeunes Commis
Rôtisseurs Competition held in Bermuda last weekend, Canadian competitor
Matt Batey,
Chef de Parti at La Belle Auberge Restaurant, in Ladner B.C. was awarded
third place out of 19 competitors.
The competition, open to
young cooks under the age of 27, was hosted by La Chaine des Rôtisseurs, and
was held at the Bermuda College. Competitors from around the world, chosen
through selection competitions held in their respective countries, were
given four hours in which to compose a menu and prepare a three-course meal
for four persons using ingredients presented in a black box. Compulsory
ingredients at this competition were red snapper, rabbit, veal sweetbreads,
salsify and oranges. A panel of international judges awarded marks for
taste, presentation, originality and kitchen technique. The first place
winner was Arto Rastas of Finland. Peter John Vadas of South
Africa came second.
Matt received the
distinction of representing Canada by winning first place at both the local
and national selection competitions held in Vancouver and Calgary last year.
Chef
Batey received his training at Malaspina College in Nanaimo where he
graduated in the Culinary Arts Program in 1998. He apprenticed at the
Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria and then moved to Calgary to work with
Chef Michael Noble at Catch Restaurant. In 2004, he returned to BC to
work with Chef Bruno Marti at La Belle Auberge Restaurant.
September 24 2005
Michel
Jacob
of Le Crocodile (Maitre Rôtisseur) was awarded the Vancouver Arts Award for
culinary Arts. He gave his prize money of $5000 to Scott Jaeger and Bocuse
d'Or Canada! Congratulations to two great chaîne members!
_small2.jpg)
September
25, 2005
Ryan Stone
-
the Vancouver Commis candidate came 3rd in
the National competition in Edmonton today. The winner was Daniel Craig of
the Ocean Ponte in Victoria. Dr. Jane Ruddick was a tasting judge and it was
a tough competition with some very good candidates!
Daniel Craig will represent Canada in the
next International competition in Australia in 2006.
September 30, 2004
Winner of the National Commis Rôtisseurs
Competition
Last week,
Chef Matt Batey of Bruno
Marti’s La Belle Auberge Restaurant in Ladner, BC and also a member of
Culinary Team Alberta, competed in La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs National Commis
competition held at SAIT in Calgary. (Matt won the regional competition in
Vancouver last March allowing him to move forward to the national
competition.) This is a black box competition, and competitors have four
hours in which to plan and prepare a three course menu for four people.
Competing against seven other commis from across Canada, Matt won top
honours and will now go on to compete at the Chaîne International Commis
competition to be held in Bermuda in September 2005.
From:
eChaine [mailto:echaine@chaine-des-rotisseurs.net]
Sent: Sunday,
May 15,
2005 4:08 PM
To: echaine@chaine-des-rotisseurs.net
Subject:eChaine
Circulaire - mai/May 2005
We are delighted to send you our first electronic circular with
information and a reminder of our two important upcoming international
events in 2005 and the publication of our next issue of the International
Magazine:
·
GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
DEAUVILLE, FRANCE,
16-19 JUNE, 2005
·
CONCOURS INTERNATIONAL DES JEUNES COMMIS ROTISSEURS, 30 SEPTEMBER, BERMUDA
& GRAND CHAPITRE DES BERMUDES, 29 SEPTEMBER – 2 OCTOBER 2005
·
CHAÎNE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2005 – ADVERTISING
OPPORTUNITIES
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY – DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – 16 to 19 JUNE 2005
One of our major Chaîne events this year is the annual
General Assembly which will be
held in Deauville, France on
the occasion of the Grand Chapitre International of Deauville, from
16 to 19 June 2005.
Deauville, about 200 kilometres from Paris, is a charming seaside resort
town located on the Normandy coast. It can be easily reached by train or
car from Paris and travelling time takes about 2 hours. We strongly
recommend that you make your hotel bookings well in advance, as Deauville
is very popular, not just for leisure and tourism, but also as a venue for
meetings and conventions during this period.
For
information regarding the 2005 General Assembly, the programme of events
etc, please get in contact with your Baillis Delegue. To also help and
assist you with your planning, we have put together some general and
useful information and links which are available on the ‘News’ section of
the Chaine’s official website:
http://www.chaineparis.org/english/news2.cfm?newsId=27
and
http://www.chaineparis.org/english/news.cfm
CONCOURS
INTERNATIONAL DES JEUNES COMMIS ROTISSEURS & GRAND CHAPITRE OF BERMUDA, 29
SEPTEMBER – 2 OCTOBER 2005
The 2005 Concours International des
Jeunes Commis Rôtisseurs will be held in Bermuda on
Friday, 30 September during the
Grand Chapitre of Bermuda from 29 September to 2 October. Young cooks
representing twenty National Bailliages will compete for the top prize and
the honour of this award.
Information on this event, as well as the Grand Chapitre, is available on
the Bailliage of Bermuda’s website:
www.chainebda.bm
CHAÎNE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE AUTUMN/WINTER 2005
– ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
With the Spring 2005 edition of the International Magazine now in the
process of distribution to all members, we would like to take this
opportunity to inform you that we have some
advertising spaces available in
our Autumn/Winter 2005 issue.
With more than 23,000 copies in circulation to members, comprising of
professionals and non-professionals, in over 90 countries worldwide,
advertising in our International Magazine provides you with an excellent
and ideal opportunity to promote and showcase your product(s) or service(s)
to fellow members. The Magazine’s international coverage and distribution
to a targeted audience also provides a unique and ideal chance to make new
business contacts, welcome new clients and gain worldwide exposure for
your company’s or establishment’s products and services.
For further information regarding advertising in the Autumn/Winter 2005
issue of our International edition of the Chaîne's Magazine, please
contact Penelope Stockdale at the Chaîne's headquarters in Paris as per
the contact details listed below.
Vive
la Chaîne!
Penelope Stockdale
Directrice du Marketing et de la
Communication
La Chaîne des
Rôtisseurs
Siège Mondial, 7 rue
d'Aumale
75009 Paris, France
Tel: +33 (0)1 42 81 30 12
Fax: +33 (0)1 40 16 81 85
Portable/Mobile : +33 (0)6 23 61 77
77
Email:
pstockdale@chaine-des-rotisseurs.net
June 15 2004
Chef Michael Noble,
Chairman of the Bocuse d’Or Canada Committee of the Canadian Federation of
Chefs and Cooks is pleased to announce that
Scott Jaeger,
Chef/Owner of the Pear Tree Restaurant in Burnaby and our very own Vice
Conseiller Culinaire, is the grand winner of the Bocuse d’Or National
Selection Competition held at the culinary Institute of Canada in
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on Wednesday June 9th 2004.
In a day of fierce
competition against competitors from across Canada, Scott was awarded the
highest number of points for his two presentation platters of meat and fish.
The winner was announced by Bruno Marti, President of the Canadian Culinary
Federation, at the awards ceremony held after the competition.
The competition was
judged by a team of experienced Canadian culinary judges:
Michael Noble –
Chairman, Bocuse d’Or Canada
Morgan Wilson – Bocuse
d’Or 2005 Canadian Competitor, Restaurant Chef, Marriott Pinnacle Vancouver
Michael Smitth –
Chef-At-Large
John Cirillo –
Executive Chef, Hilton Toronto
John Carlo Felicella –
Manager Bocuse d’Or Canada 2005
Christophe Luzeux –
Member, Culinary Team Canada
Chef Scott Jaeger
will now go on to represent Canada at the 2007 Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine
Contest in Lyon, France. He will also gain experience by accompanying
Chef Morgan Wilson
– Canada’s Bocuse d’Or 2005 competitor – to the next Bocuse d’Or competition
in Lyon, January 2005.
The
Bocuse d’Or
The Bocuse d’Or is one
of the premier international cooking competitions in the world. It is
organized under the stewardship of famed French chef Paul Bocuse and is held
every two years in Lyon, France. Two days of intense competition culminate
in the presentation of the Gold Bocuse Trophy to the overall grand winner.
Each of twenty-four competing countries may send only one representative
chef to the competition where they must prepare two platters for service of
12 persons. The featured ingredients for the 2005 competition are 1 whole
monkfish and 1 half saddle of veal. The difficulty of these ingredients
coupled with the five-hour time limit for preparation and the intense
pressure of performing in front of thousands of cooking fans from all
corners of the globe provide for a great cooking spectacle!
While many
competitions are judged on presentation, not flavour, the Bocuse d’Or is
different. Forty points are given for tasting alone, and 20 points for
presentation.
Monday February 23 2004
Bruno Marti,
proud recipient of first Vancouver Arts Award
Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell today
announced the honorees for the first-ever Vancouver Arts Awards at a
press conference at Vancouver City Hall.
Honorees were
announced in seven categories, and will be formally presented with their awards
at the Vancouver Arts Awards Gala to be held on March 19, at the Vancouver
Public Library.
Bruno
Marti, President of the
Canadian Culinary Federation and chef/owner of La Belle Auberge Restaurant in
Ladner, was the proud recipient of the Culinary Arts award.
He expressed his delight that the culinary arts were being recognized as a true
art form especially in Vancouver - a city blessed with a great diversity of
culinary talent.
Other recipients
were Arthur Erickson (Design Arts); Bill Richardson (Media and
Recording Arts); John Alleyne (Performing Arts); Gathie Falk
(Visual Arts); Stephen Osborne (Writing and Publishing) and Martha Lou
Henry (Philanthropy)
In announcing the
honorees, Mayor Campbell remarked, “ The City of Vancouver and Bell are pleased
to present the first Vancouver Arts Awards celebrating the creative and cultural
fabric of our city. The honorees truly represent the diversity of Vancouver
talent.
Each honoree will
be given a commission to an emerging artist in his field. These commissions will
be announced and presented at the Awards Gala.
To be considered
for the Vancouver Arts Awards, nominees are judged by peer juries with specific
criteria applicable to each category. In the culinary arts category, honorees
must reside in Vancouver and must be recognized by their professional peers for
achievement accomplished in, but not restricted to, Greater Vancouver. They must
have demonstrated through a body of work pursued through a number of years,
creative originality, professional maturity and culinary leadership, both within
their profession and in the public arena. In addition, they must have achieved
public and peer recognition for both national and international achievements.
PS.
our own Alice Spurrell
Owner of Les Amis du Fromage
was one of the jury members.
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