Saskatoon chef heading to the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa

Saskatoon chef Taszia Thakur is setting her eyes on the big prize at the Canadian Culinary Championship.

Thakur, co-owner of Calories Restaurant and Pique Café, recently won a gold medal at the Great Canadian Kitchen Party, a regional competition. That earned her a chance to compete against 10 chefs from around the country at the national championship.

The cook-off will be held at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. 

"I just love the competition," said Thakur. "It's kind of something that is different from our daily work that we do at the restaurant. It's kind of fun to get ready and to prepare for that, and to brainstorm new ideas and things like that."

This will be the third time Thakur competes in the competition since it began three years ago. 

"It's about cooking skills," she said. "But there's so much more to it."

In the regional round, Thakur prepared three duck dishes that wowed the judges. She said she has tweaked a few elements in advance of the national competition.

"There are so many techniques for cooking," she said. "But I've always been true to this.… The way I cook is simple. Let the ingredients speak for themselves."

She uses a lot of ingredients from local producers, purveyors, fishermen and foragers. She said her plan going into the competition is to highlight a lot of Saskatchewan flavours. 

• Read about some of the city's notable restaurants in our Saskatoon Bites series

Cooking has always been a passion

Thakur grew up in Tisdale, Sask., and was first introduced to culinary arts in Grade 8. 

"Home economics class got me into it," she said. "When I was in Grade 10, my family took a trip out east to Prince Edward Island and I toured the culinary school there, and from that on I was set." 

Thakur said set off to P.E.I. after high school.  

Thakur she said she eats, sleeps and breathes cooking. She used to cook for her whole family, even before going to culinary school.  

"This is just my passion," she said. "If you cook for other people and you watch their faces, you know, it's this wow factor kind of and we always still see that. So it just keeps me interested." 

Thakur said she has been eyeing other competitions for the future, but for now she is focused on the upcoming championship. 

"I would like to win, but I'm just gonna cook how I always cook," she said. "I'm sure everybody else is gonna cook how they cook, and we'll see who comes out on top."