Chefs go head-to-head for top spot at Taste of Saskatchewan

Taking a page from the Food Network, this year's Taste of Saskatchewan features a Chef Series competition, pinning chef against chef in a timed cook-off for ultimate bragging rights.

Throughout the week, 14 chefs are competing for the crown of top chef at Taste of Saskatchewan, one of Saskatoon's busiest summer festivals.

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To add to the pressure, chefs will cook in front of an audience and while they will have access to a full pantry, just like on TV, chefs will be surprised with a mystery ingredient moments before the clock starts ticking.

"The mystery box that I am expecting right now is something more about Saskatchewan, but that makes me excited because literally I have no idea about Saskatchewan ingredients but hopefully it's not seabuckthorn," said Francis Mirabuna, sous-chef at the Saskatoon Inn.

Mirabuna's originally from the Philippines and he only moved to Saskatoon two months ago.

On Tuesday, in the middle of a heavy downpour, Mirabuna squared off against another sous-chef, David Rose from the University of Saskatchewan. Rose said he's never competed in a cooking competition where he wasn't on a team, so there's a little more pressure this time.

"I'm hoping this is fun, I've never done it before and I'm looking forward to it. I'm not too worried about it,win or lose, but it will be a new experience for me and that's what I wanted," Rose told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

Learning as important as cooking

Mirabunais taking the opportunity to experiment with new foods while at the same time learning from his opponents. He said he sees cooking as a life-long learning experience, and this is just another lesson along the way.

"This competition isn't too serious because I respect all the chefs, because even new chefs have different ideas to come out with different tastes," he said. "It's really fun because having this competition, I know I'm going to learn from the other chefs."

The Chef's Series continues throughout the week at Kiwanis Park in Saskatoon. The final is set to go Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CST.