Oakville chef to represent Canada at world competition

An Oakville chef is taking her cooking talents to the world stage.

Victoria Rinsma, a young chef from Hexagon Restaurant in downtown Oakville, has been named the Canadian regional winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2024-25.

Rinsma, who beat out nine other finalists from across the country, will now represent Canada at the Grand Finale in Milan, Italy, in October 2025.

The Oakville chef’s signature dish, “Across the Sea and Home Again,” impressed the judges, which included chefs Normand Laprise, Jason Bangerter, and Nuit Regular.

A valuable member of the kitchen team at Hexagon Restaurant awarded a prestigious star by the Michigan Guide, Rinsma was mentored at the Canadian regional finals by Hexagon’s executive chef, Rafael Covarrubias.

Covarrubias, the Toronto 2024 Young Chef Award Winner, provided invaluable guidance and expertise to help refine her winning signature dish.

“This is the purest form of expression of my journey,” said Rinsma of her signature dish heading into the regional finals. “This dish will take you through the beginning of my career, all the way to the present. It takes inspiration from my grandmother’s impactful love for cooking transmitted to me as a young girl, to the reflection of my culinary career.

“My development as a chef and the learning cultures were turning points of finding my own identity and what has devoted me to this chapter.”

Each dish was assessed based on three criteria: technical skills, creativity, and personal belief in the transformative power of gastronomy (the art or science of good eating) to positively change society through food.

Over 1,000 chefs from 15 countries entered submissions into the competition.

Three other talented young chefs were also awarded at the Canadian Regional Finals, winning the collateral awards:

·       Clement Cavoret from Quebec, with his signature dish “Deerly Not Wasted”, won the Acqua Panna Award for Connection in Gastronomy.

·       Sébastien Rémillard from Quebec, with his signature dish “The Evolution of My Life”, received the S.Pellegrino Award for Social Responsibility.

·       Mary Yap from Toronto, with her signature dish “Duck Sinigang (Tamarind Consommé)”, took home the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award.

At the Grand Finale in Italy next year, Rinsma and finalists from 14 other regions worldwide will present their signature dishes to a jury of seven distinguished international chefs, also known as the “Seven Sages”.

Past “Seven Sages” have included chefs Pía León, Eneko Atxa, Hélène Darroze, Vicky Lau, Nancy Silverton, Julien Royer, and Riccardo Camanini.