Taste of Stampede's Culinary Cup features local chefs competing under the spotlight
Executive chef Alejandro Buzzalino used liquid nitrogen and Alberta ingredients to win the BMO Centre preliminary round Tuesday.
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Inside the BMO Centre, the stoves are hot and the stakes are higher as Taste of Stampede hosts its Culinary Cup — a tournament bringing 16 local chefs head-to-head for 10 days.
The bracket-style competition divides chefs into two groups: old-school chefs born before 1985 and new-school chefs born after 1985. In the preliminary round, competitors must prepare a dish in one hour, judged on taste, creativity, and presentation.
In Tuesday's final preliminary match, Alejandro Buzzalino, executive chef for Salt+Brick, advanced to the semifinals by beating Heonyeol Jeong, a sous chef from Vintage Group. Buzzalino's dish — a pork tenderloin pinwheel with cauliflower and broccolini, alongside a maple bacon green apple tart with green apple sorbet on a crisp blue corn shell — showcased Alberta ingredients and technical precision. He used liquid nitrogen to make his sorbet, drawing on past culinary competition experience to gain an edge.
"Honestly, I am not a chef that practises his dishes, so I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to make it all in one hour," Buzzalino said. "I'm just super proud that I came up with a dish." Buzzalino is known for transformative raw fish dishes, but chose to focus on techniques and local ingredients for the Stampede stage.
Jeong's gochujang and maple pork tenderloin — served with soy-braised pork belly and pasta with miso and shallot vinaigrette — nearly didn't come together in time. He said he began to panic midway through when the meat was still raw but thanked volunteers and the audience for helping him finish.
Liz Riehl, second vice-chair for the Taste of Stampede committee, said the event came together quickly, beginning organiza in early 2026. "That's really what the Calgary Stampede is about, is celebrating the agricultural community and sharing that knowledge back with the people that come and visit," Riehl said. The competition aims to show how produce is transformed in the kitchen, both by professionals and home cooks.
Riehl was ecstatic with the turnout and audience engagement. "People are stopping, but the really exciting thing is people are coming and they're staying," she said. Many chefs brought family and loved ones to cheer them on, giving the audience insight into the minds behind the food.
