NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NAIT to oversee Junior Culinary Team Canada for next four years

NAIT has been entrusted with a prestigious task of assembling and training Canada's national junior culinary team for global competition for the next four years. 

For aspiring chefs, the Junior Culinary Team Canada offers a chance to hone their craft, represent their country, and elevate Canadian culinary excellence on the world stage. 

Led by NAIT culinary instructors Troy Lymburner, Nigel Webber and Enrico Caparas, the team of young chefs-in-training all of whom must be under the age of 25 at the time of competition will prepare for events such as the 2026 World Culinary Cup in Luxembourg and the 2028 IKA Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany. 

It's because of NAIT's success at international culinary competitions including bringing home a silver medal from the 2024 IKA Culinary Olympics and its reputation as a leader in the culinary arts that the National Culinary Federation bestowed this honour on the polytechnic. In a letter to NAIT, federation president Ryan Marquis lauded the institution for its "cutting-edge facilities, distinguished faculty, and commitment to culinary excellence." 

Lymburner, who has coached NAIT culinary teams for more than two decades, including the 2024 silver-medal winning, all-female NAIT Olympic Culinary Team, and even competed with the NAIT team as a student, has seen what it takes to succeed at these competitions. 

"You watch these young culinarians, they handle themselves like seasoned professionals," says Lymburner. "They're calm, they're cool, their game face is on. They move about the kitchen like it's a ballet. Our job now is to get our students to that level." 

Eight competitors will ultimately be selected for the national team. They will train to compete in a restaurant-style event featuring a three-course meal at the World Culinary Cup in Luxembourg in 2026 and the IKA Culinary Olympics in 2028. Instructors will volunteer extra time to help prepare students. 

The experience the chefs-in-training will receive is about more than bringing home hardware. Dennis Sheppard, dean of the JR Shaw School of Business, which oversees NAIT's culinary programs, notes how this opportunity will help launch successful careers for these aspiring culinary professionals. 

"Whether or not students end up on the podium, the experience prepares them for rewarding careers and contributes to a stronger culinary community locally and across Canada." 

For students like Baking and Pastry Arts student Miranda McElwain (Culinary Arts '21, Professional Meatcutting and Merchandising '21), the opportunity is transformative. McElwain knows the rigor of international competition, having won silver in the community catering category at the 2024 IKA Culinary Olympics. 

"Competing pushes your skills and your limits," says McElwain. "It's a priceless opportunity." 

The journey will be intense, but as McElwain notes, the rewards are worth it. "You learn leadership, professionalism, and how to work well with others," she says. "Every competition you do, you get better and better." 

Though McElwain is now too old to qualify for the team, she encourages eligible students to take advantage of this career-defining opportunity. 

Lymburner and the rest of NAIT's coaching staff have started the recruitment process as the team gets set to show off their skills two years from now at the World Culinary Cup in Luxembourg.