Canada’s Great Kitchen Party celebrated their 20th anniversary with the Vancouver All-Star Invitational at The Pipe Shop.
The evening featured six competing chefs.
– Jasper Cruickshank, L’Abattoir
– Robert Lee, Five Sails
– Bal Ajagaonkar, Desi Indian Lounge
– Bo Li, The Fish Man
– Felix Zhou, ATLAS steak + fish
– Clement Chan, The Apron
Chef Jasper Cruickshank won gold for Alliums, featuring scallion pasta ravioli with braised beef cheek, baby leek terrine and cave-aged Gruyère, a cipollini soubise tartlet and French onion consommé. His wine pairing was Fort Berens Estate Winery Pinot Noir Reserve 2025.
Chef Robert Lee earned silver and the People’s Choice Award for his Duck and Prawn Duet, featuring duck and spot prawn terrine, a confit duck taro puff and spot prawn tartare, served with Nomad Cider.
Chef Bal Ajagaonkar took bronze for Botanical Reverie: A Journey Through Roots, Fruits & Leaves. His dessert brought together paan mithai, strawberry, carrot, fennel, cherry, beet, rabri and saffron, served with La Stella Moscato d’Osoyoos 2025.
Unsworth Vineyards Pinot Noir received Wine of the Year and Best of Show honours. Ailm Chenin Blanc 2025 earned silver, and Joie Farm En Famille Chardonnay received bronze.
Chef Cruickshank will join Vancouver’s Chef of Distinction, Alex Chen, chef-partner of Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar and culinary director of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa on January 29 and 30, 2027.
