Bento Sushi Champion Competition 2017

Fact: When you get an opportunity to eat sushi, it would be a crime to say no.

After attending the Bento Sushi Champion Competition last year, I got invited to attend the event again this year and be one of the judges! With the main responsibility of eating and judging sushi, who was I to say no?

For the 6th year in a row, Bento Sushi hosts a Sushi Champion Competition for all Bento Sushi chefs in Canada to compete in. They battle roll into battle with their most innovative ideas yet, and hope to be the winner to win a $5,000 cheque. Out of all of the competing chefes, 6 are then chosen to come to the final round in Toronto. This year, Bento Sushi hosted their Sushi Champion Competition at The Chefs' House, operated by students from George Brown.

The event started with everyone enjoying the delicious platters of sushi from Bento Sushi & a couple glasses of wine. The contestants were introduced and then they were quickly sent into the open concept kitchen. The Chefs' House was a great venue, as we were able to see all the chefs in action as they prepared their sushi rolls for us!

1 Hour Later - Time's Up!!

I was 1 of the 5 judges this year and the other judges consisted of other's in the industry including: the President & CEO of Bento Sushi, Glenn Brown, GBC's Director & Corporate Chef, John Higgins, Product Development Manager at High Liner Culinary, Karen Gold, and Senior Director of Merch & Commercial Programs, Richard Allardyce. Along side these other 4 judges, I sat at the judging table as each contestant presented their sushi roll to us.

I had so much fun discussing each roll with the other judges, while eating (of course). I honestly loved each and every one of the rolls. They were super unique and innovative. You can really tell that the sushi chefs put a lot of thought into how they would use their secret ingredient into their sushi rolls. Keep scrolling to see more pictures from the event, and also the winners!