Local chef wins international competition

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/10/2019 (2235 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Westwood chef won an international cooking competition two weeks ago.

Darnell Banman, executive sous chef at the Winnipeg Squash Racquet Club, won the International Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs competition, held in Calgary from Sept. 19 to 22.

The competition attracted young chefs from all over the world to battle head-to-head in black box competitions, wherein the chefs didn’t know what they would be cooking until the event began.
Banman said he didn’t think he would place third, much less first place.

“It was very intense, it’s something I’ve never experienced before. (Canada) was hosting the competition this year, there was a lot of pressure being on my home turf,” Banman said. “I didn’t think I was going to place at first, but then they announced who had the best kitchen score, me. Then I thought ‘OK, maybe I’ll place.’”

Each competitor starts the competition with an identical black box and must come up with a three-course meal for four people, using whatever ingredients are inside. The competitors were given 30 minutes to write a menu, then around three and a half hours to cook everything.

Banman won the best kitchen score, which means he had the most organized and professional kitchen of all the competitors. Banman said he prepared for the competition by doing trials with Cameron Huley, head chef at the Squash Racquet Club.

The pair would set up mini-black box competitions and Banman would have to prepare a three-course meal without knowing what he was getting beforehand.

Banman said the first hour of the competition is the most stressful.

“The first hour is probably the most stressful, you want to … get the stock going, get the meat organized,” Banman said. “Usually the first hour is the most strenuous. Afterwards, you level out and go with the flow a little bit. You forget you’re in a competition and you just settle into doing what you do.”

Banman said the competition required him to think on his feet. He had to learn to work with everything and how to prepare a delicious meal with whatever type of protein he got.

Banman got his start as a dishwasher at various restaurants.

He said initially, he didn’t think he was going to be a chef but eventually he fell in love with cooking. He graduated from the Red River College culinary arts program in 2015.