Just over two months ago I started shooting for Nella Cucina at their second annual Discovered Culinary Competition.  This 14 week contest gives up-and-coming Canadian chefs the opportunity to showcase their culinary talents as they work against the clock.  The high energy, black box competition takes place in front of a live audience at the Nella Cucina Bathurst Street location.  Each week is a new round, where a competitor will be eliminated as they get ‘the blade’. The chefs work to create an appetizer in 20 minutes, a main course in 30 minutes, and a dessert in the final 20 minutes. All in front of a weekly rotating panel of judges, selected from some of Toronto’s most notable chefs.  Some of those presiding include Rodney Bowers – Hey Meatball, Doug Neigel – Mercatto, Rob Rossi – Bestellen, Daniel Mezzolo Executive Chef – Gusto 101, Craig Harding – Campagnolo, Alexandra Feswick – Samuel J. Moore, Stella Yu – Food Junkie Chronicles, John Placko – Modern Culinary Academy, Jamie Drummond – Good Food Revolution, and Rob Gentile – Buca.  The winning competitor will be awarded a one week all expenses paid trip for a week-long cooking stage in the North of Spain.  All of this is made possible by the graciousness of the event sponsors which include Hilite Fine Foods, Amsterdam Brewery, Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, LiberTerre, Newport Fish Importers and MGM Truffles. Here are some photos from the past few weeks: