North African Lamb sandwich takes top prize

Oct. 22, 2013, Toronto – Montreal's Jean Émond takes homes the national title in ACE Bakery's Canada's Best Sandwich Contest.

Along with the national title, Émond is the winner of a $10,000 prize and $10,000 donation towards his charity of choice, World Wildlife Fund Canada.
Canada's four regional finalists faced off in a Sandwich Showdown in the Cooking School at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, where they created sandwiches in front of a judging panel and live audience.

After tasting each of the creations, Bob Blumer, Julie Van Rosendaal, Calgary-based blogger behind DinnerWithJulie.com, and Marcus Mariathas, ACE Bakery's master baker, evaluated each recipe based on taste appeal, creativity, innovation and originality in order to select a winner.

"All four finalists inspired us with their culinary skills and imagination in the kitchen, and it was a challenge to decide on just one winner," said Bob Blumer, host of Food Network Canada's World's Weirdest Restaurants, in a press statement. "Émond's unique mix of ingredients created a delicious flavour combination that danced off our taste buds. Along with the beautiful presentation, the recipe really stood out to the judges and was a notch above the others."

Émond developed this recipe through a step-by-step process starting with his chosen protein, lamb. From there, he layered on various ingredients and spices to create the perfect balance of flavours.
"I really wasn't expecting this, but I'm so excited my recipe has earned the title of Canada's Best Sandwich!" said Émond in a media statement. "I love being adventurous in the kitchen and it's so rewarding to know my creativity is paying off."

The other three finalists included Ashley Seely from Rothesay, N.B.; Meghan Légère from Toronto; and, Linh Huynh from Calgary.
The four finalists were chosen from hundreds of recipes that were submitted to Canada's Best Sandwich Contest: Anniversary Edition from across Canada. Each entry was reviewed and scored by Blumer, Van Rosendaal and Mariathas, and four finalists were chosen—one from Western Canada (including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada (including New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland). Each finalist received $1,000 cash prize and $1,000 to donate towards their charity of choice.