8.--Fraser Valley Food Show Winners

If you missed the Abbotsford Food Fair this year, you missed a real treat. In addition to LB Emporium (mentioned in last week’s post) they had 92 other exhibitors, plus 19 alcohol exhibitors in the Wine, Beer & Spirits tasting pavilion, five restaurants in the Bite of the Valley area , a Master Chef competition, daily cheese seminars, a Food Network Celebrity stage, a Grapes & Hops presentation stage, and a Great Canadian Sausage Making competition. One could attend all three days and never have to make a meal, there were so many delectable samples to try.

The winner of the Master Chef competition was chef William Tse, executive chef of the Sandbar Seafood Restaurant on Granville Island.

The Great Canadian Sausage Making competition was a little more extensive, winner-wise. Windsor Ontario’s Robert Bornais took the amateur division with his wonderful chorizo, and won in addition gold standing in the Game, Italian, and Breakfast Link sausage categories. Manfred Cross won gold as well for his bratwurst, and Steve MacLeod also won gold standing in the Farmer’s sausage category.

For the professional division the grand winner was Viktor Kozak of Sedo’s Old Fashioned Butcher Shop & Deli in Salmon Arm, B.C. with his salami entry, winning gold standing as well in the Liver/Braunschwieger and Chorizo categories. Other gold standing winners were Mink Lindsay of Hopcott Premium Meats, Pitt Meadows (Andouille, Boudin, and Italian sausage categories; Dianne and Dale Herbert, Davis Quality Meats, in Abbotsford (Kielbasa and Breakfast Links); and Gerry Gelderman, Gelderman Farms, Abbotsford (Farmer’s and Specialty).

Robin Brooks won the People’s Choice award for his Kielbasa sausage, also winning a gold standing in the Bratwurst category.

In my opinion, though, everyone there was a winner. Especially the people who went to see, and taste!