CORNWALL, Ontario – He left the competition early, but Luc McCabe’s humble mentality in the kitchen means he’s first in our books.
McCabe bowed out in the first round of Chopped Canada, which aired an episode Saturday night featuring the executive chef at the Nav Centre in Cornwall.
McCabe got tripped up with prairie oysters – bull’s testicles – and the fact that his competitors kept him from being able to effectively deep fry his concoction.
The chef created prairie oysters, dusted with ketchup chips and hemp hearts and needed more time at the deep fryer to avoid being chopped by a panel of judges.
“I’ll probably never cook another one in my life,” he said on the show.
It also didn’t help that his competitors spent time at the deep-fryer, blocking the chef with a passion for football.
Instead of complaining, the burly McCabe, who wanted to use the $10,000 prize money to take his mother (a cancer survivor) on a vacation, took the high road.
“I just figured I would stay out of everyone’s way,” he told his competitors.
Chopped Canada features four chefs who compete before an all-star rotating panel of three expert judges. Armed with skill and ingenuity, the chef competitors race against the clock to turn mystery ingredients into an extraordinary three-course meal.
McCabe is no stranger to competition. He was the runner up in the Copper Skillet competition held recently in Toronto. The Copper Skillet is the championship for Conference Centre chefs in Canada.
In August, McCabe was instrumental in organizing and judging the first “Iron Pan” competition at Upper Canada Village.
