Ambassador Profile – Chef Mariel Legere-Van Herpen

Winning Competition Dish: Herb crusted Flank steak tataki with an avocado yogurt sauce, crispy curried potato noodles, beer poached apple spheres, caramelized fennel and star anise poached celery

Personal Hero: My mom

Secret Comfort Food: Lasagna

Tool of the Trade: Sujeo (Korean tasting spoon)

Culinary Philosophy: Focus on flavour and taste your food! A clean station is a clear mind.

Although Chef Mariel Legere-Van Herpen has spent most of her life – dating back to her high school years – competing in culinary competitions, she expressed that she felt such pride in being able to look back and say she participated, and won, in the Garland Culinary Competition at RC Show 2024. “It’s a completely different scale in terms of the kind of competitions I had experience with,” Mariel recalls. “Not only do you gain access to advancing your culinary skills, but you also have frontline access to the new technology and equipment that’s available”. Chefs are always on the lookout for the “next best thing”, so having everything easily accessible, and all in one room, simplifies a busy chef’s life.

It’s no coincidence that, when interviewing Garland Canada Culinary Competition finalists, each had a very similar response when it came to what they felt they gained from competition experience. Assertiveness, access, and a new approach were just a few of the things that the finalists felt they all gained, and in personalized ways. What really stood out to Chef Mariel was how she felt the Garland Canada Culinary Competition afforded her the opportunity to be around chefs whose names you hear all the time, but never dream of meeting in person – much less preparing meals for. Although the chef world is small, having a space to share a communal passion made competing all the more worth it.

In the throes of competition, it’s often easy to stick to what you already know, but Chef Mariel’s best advice for those considering applying for the upcoming year is to avoid the assumption the competition is bigger then you.

“You are at the level you push yourself to be at, and if you give it your best, you may just end up walking away with more than just experience.”

From being behind the scenes, to standing front and centre, Chef Mariel reflects back on this experience knowing that she gained a breadth of knowledge with lessons she can apply both in and out of the kitchen. She is already seeing the results of what the Garland Canada Culinary Competition has opened up for her, and is excited for everything yet to come.

Follow Chef Mariel @mariel.culinary