Former Sun Peaks chef wins Chopped Canada

KAMLOOPS – Chef Shelley Robinson went the distance in the second episode of the Canadian version of a popular Food Network show, wowing judges with her couscous fritter with grapefruit salad dessert to win the title.

Robinson, 49, the former executive chef at Delta Sun Peaks that has been in the industry for more than 20 years and has owned two restaurants. She views winning Chopped Canada as the next adventure in her career.

She went up against three other competitors, two from Ontario and one from Quebec, in three rounds of the popular TV show and managed to survive being chopped in each round thanks to her consistent and creative plates.

“I think creating the wow factor is what keeps me doing this for so long,” she said during the show. “I really want to win Chopped Canada because I really want to prove to myself I can do it.”

In the first round Robinson created a 'petite lamb with warm vinaigrette' appetizer and then 'grilled pork steak with grape leaf salsa' for the entree. The judges were just as impressed with her choices and execution through both of those rounds as they were with her dessert.

“Spectacular,” the judges said several times. “Smart use. Excellent use.”

The contestants are provided with a 'mystery basket' of ingredients that must all be used in each round and are judged on presentation, taste and creativity. The rounds cover appetizers, entrees and then dessert, with one chef being cut after each round. The winner earns bragging rights as well as a $10,000 prize.

Robinson is one of only six B.C. Chefs to make the cut for the first 13 episodes of the show but is the only one from the Interior. The others are from Victoria, Squamish or the Lower Mainland. 

For those that missed the show videos of each episode are also available on the Food Network website.

To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.

This story was edited at 5:32 p.m., Jan. 10, 2014, to update that Robinson is a former executive chef at Sun Peaks Delta, not the current one.