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Inaugural Canadian Young Chef Young Waiter competition winners announced

TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2022 – Canada’s leading hospitality icon, Nick Di Donato, CEO of the Liberty Entertainment Group, is pleased to announce the winners of the first-ever Canadian national Young Chef Young Waiter contest (YCYW). Online contest entries ran from August through September and a judging panel of renowned hospitality personalities shortlisted six finalists for both categories, who participated in the grand finale of culinary and service challenges at Toronto’s Michelin award-winning restaurant, Don Alfonso 1890 Toronto. Today’s winners move to the international stage, to compete in the World YCYW Finals on November 15 – 17th, in Monaco. The winners are:

Canadian national *Young Chef Young Waiter* contest (YCYW) winners Paul Mckeand, Dunja Zdralic, and Katherine Veilleux pose with judges.

Table of Contents

Servers

1. Paul Mckeand Langdon Hall Country House and Spa, Cambridge

2. Dunja Zdralic Langdon Hall Country House and Spa, Cambridge

3. Katherine Veilleux Her Father’s Craft Ciderhouse and Kitchen, Toronto

2022 Canadian Young Chef winners Haofeng (Tyler) Lin, Karly Ready and Brendan Tran with judges

Chefs

1. Haofeng (Tyler) Lin Hilton Toronto

2. Karly Ready Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa, Cambridge

3. Brendan Tran Richmond Station (FT) Wynona (PT), Toronto

Canadian Young Chef Young Waiter contest judges: Made up of top figures from Canada’s hospitality sector and industry professionals with world-class skills, the expert judges included Richard Andino, corporate chef, Liberty Group,

The esteemed judges

Made up of top figures from Canada’s hospitality sector and industry professionals with world-class skills, the expert judges included Richard Andino, corporate chef, Liberty Group,

Daniele Corona, Michelin star awarded executive chef, Don Alfonso, Toronto, Nick Di Donato, president and CEO, Liberty Group, Rosanna Caira, editor and publisher of Kostuch Media’s Foodservice and Hospitality and Hotelier magazines, Nadia Di Donato, vice president and creative director, Liberty Group, Scott Breard, Chairman, DiRoNa, Michael Lombardi, Ontario Regional Director, Les Clefs d’Or Canada, Jason Bangerter, executive chef, Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa, Shinan Govani, author, Maria Sosnovtseva, Ontario Regional Secretary, Les Clefs d’Or Canada, and more. All are well known advocates for new talent as well as staunch supporters of food culture and will help competitors advance their careers and achieve their goals. Sponsors of the event included ChefWorks®, Canada Produce, Profile Wine Group and Halpern Wine Enterprises.

“We are thrilled to be title partner to host the inaugural Canadian contest, and are very proud of the contestants, and the grand winners,” said Nick Di Donato, president and CEO, Liberty Group. “Following a gruelling challenge of service and a tightly marked competition thanks to our esteemed judges, we can truly say the winners represent the best of Canada’s hospitality industry, and we are proud for them to now take the world stage.”

More About Young Chef Young Waiter

The Young Chef Young Waiter competition, established in 1979, was relaunched by hospitality experts The Nth Degree Global in 2019 in partnership with UKHospitality and the Restaurant Association. The competition promotes hospitality as a career of choice, a profession, and a vocation. The competition is open to all young chefs and waiters from any background under the age of twenty-six. The aim of World Young Chef Young Waiter is simple: to uncover the absolute best young talent in our industry and help equip them with relevant skills, current knowledge and the network needed to succeed in the world of hospitality. Devised by respected professionals, the competition has a fresh modern approach that focuses on tasks and criteria that are challenging, educational and fun. World Young Chef Young Waiter highlights all aspects of hospitality. Inspiring, empowering and inclusive, we celebrate the capabilities and diversity of our amazing industry. These are the hospitality leaders of the future. Many past winners have gone on to achieve tremendous success in hospitality and World YCYW proudly supports the future stars of kitchens and restaurants. Winners, finalists and judges have included some the industry’s great recognizable names to include – Mark Sargeant, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Marcus Wareing, Adam Handling, Simon King, John Torode, Annie and Germain Schwab, Jeremy King, Raymond Blanc OBE, Heston Blumenthal OBE, The Earl of Bradford, Lord Forte, Angela Hartnett MBE, Simon Girling, Johanna Wimmer and Fred Sirieix. Twitter @worldycyw | Instagram @worldycyw Facebook youngchefyoungwaiter | Linked In YCYW YouTube YCYW. Website youngchefyoungwaiter.com .

About Liberty Entertainment Group

For over three decades the Liberty Entertainment Group — led by Nick Di Donato — has redefined Toronto’s restaurant, nightlife and special event experience. As developers and operators of numerous landmark establishments, the company is recognized as one of the most successful and innovative in the industry. It continues to achieve success for its impressive roster of venues including Toronto’s premier special event facilities, Casa Loma and Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex. Liberty Group is also responsible for the development of Toronto’s most prolific restaurants including BlueBlood Steakhouse, Don Alfonso 1890, Xango and three Cibo Wine Bar locations (King West, Yonge St and Yorkville), and the vibrant nightlife space, Arcane. With over 500,000 square feet of hospitality space, the company caters to a diverse clientele of upwards of 1.75 million people per year including A-list celebrities, sports personalities and industry leaders. Visit libertygroup.com and on social media @libertygroup #libertygroup.

photography by SV Photography

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