A local chef is preparing for the Culinary Olympics

Windsor-Essex has produced many Olympic athletes throughout the years, but now a local chef is going for Olympic gold. “We want to podium,” said Adelina Sisti-DeBlasis.

She is not an elite athlete but she is part of Canada's Culinary Olympic team. “I love the role that I have,” she added.

Sisti-DeBlasis is a support manager for Team Canada, which features chefs from across the country with exceptional culinary skills. They were chosen by their peers to represent Canada.

The team has twenty members with eight chefs that actually cook. Sisti-DeBlasis has many roles including finance administrator.

“I book all the flights, the practices, do the fundraising. All the logistics. Making sure the team is supported really well,” said Sisti-DeBlasis.

Each member is asked to volunteer four years to the team. They meet every six to eight weeks in Toronto and train for five straight days.

“We're very observant on everything. Taste is huge. Cleanliness is really big. There's a lot of marks you can lose with not having things done a specific way,” explained Sisti-DeBlasis.

Her role also calls on her to put on the chef's hat. “We get to critique the food that comes to the table.”

She's a co-op and culinary teacher for the Greater Essex County District School Board at the UHC Community Kitchen.

“It's given me inspiration to be part of team Canada,” said Community Kitchen Chef Rafe Hanna. “Stepping outside the box and getting more creative with my culinary skills.”

Neil Concepcion was shocked to find out who his teacher is after doing a Google search. He has completely embraced the opportunity to learn from Sisti-DeBlasis.

“She just opened my eyes up to many more things and now my set goal is I want to get to the Olympics too,” said Concepcion.

He and others have learned there's more to being a chef than being able to cook. “Many of the home cooks we really don't know much about kitchen safety,” he added.

Concepcion has learned to run a kitchen, be part of a team, and how to make eggs.

“She showed us some examples and really surprised me because I did it. Mine was ok but hers was very good,” said Concepcion.

Scrambling eggs is at a different level for a chef like Sisti-DeBlasis, who has her sights on helping Canada crack the podium at the Culinary Olympics slated for February of 2024 in Germany.