The pressure is on. Siobhan Detkavich is the youngest competitor for Top Chef Canada and she is not only representing herself, but she is also representing her band, Cowichan Tribes.
“Everyone has their own different background and everyone is going to share their own little story,” said Detkavich.
“Being Indigenous is part of my story and showcasing what that’s about is part of what I am bringing to Top Chef, and if you are going to celebrate me as a young woman and as a chef, please also celebrate me with my Nation.”
The young chef is one of 11 contestants that will be competing for the top spot on the ninth season. Her love of cooking started by chance in a high school cooking class and the rest was history.
Now she is a chef at West Kelowna’s Mission Hill Winery’s Terrace Restaurant.
“There’s always going to be barriers that you have to push beyond and I have had the older men more than once kind of be like, ‘Oh you aren’t going to make it because you are female.’ So hold up and watch me.”
At 21, Detkavich is no stranger to competition.
When she was 16, she attended the Industry Training Authority (ITA) Youth Program through her high school and then left to attend the Culinary Arts program and Okanagan College. Now, the Cowichan Tribes Band member is cultivating her own signature taste.
“Because I am coastal, I do west coast meets Interior when I am cooking Indigenous,” said Detkavich. “I love Italian food and I add Indigenous flair; it’s basically Italian-Indigenous fusion.”
To find out if she takes the prize, watch Top Chef Canada, set to air on April 19.