In the second day of head to head match ups on Tuesday, Chef Shelby Schiller of BJ's Restaurant and Creekside Pub moved on to advance in the Kootenay Granite Stone Soup Challenge.
Schiller's vegetable bean soup was voted above Chef Barb Smythe of the Roadhouse Grill in Cranbrook who challenged with a culinary creation of butternut squash and carrot.
The soups were made in the Salvation Army soup kitchen and served to Salvation Army clientele, who then voted for their favourite between the two.
Both chefs came into the competition without knowing exactly what ingredients were available and what kind of facilities they got to work with.
"I didn't want to plan and have this idea in my head, then come in and have nothing of what I wanted and get stuck, so I just winged it," Schiller said. "
I saw all the vegetables and it kind of reminded me of a soup my mom used to make for me"
Smythe has had some experience with the Salvation Army, volunteering in the kitchen many years ago, but she still had no idea what to expect when the challenge began.
"I've been in the industry for over 20 years so I've seen a lot of soups and it just started with the basics of carrots celery and onion and just build your flavours from there, taste as you go and keep adding," Smythe said.
The two chefs were given full license to raid the refrigerator and the pantry.
"Lots and lots of donations of various things to use so we had a great assortment this time around," said Smythe. "They don't always have the fresh produce we had today, so we got off really lucky."
The final matchup of the opening round of the Soup Challenge will go down on Friday, as Chef Marc Rathpoller of Tuscany's goes up against Sous Chef Doug Wagner of the St. Eugene Mission Resort.
Semifinals will kick off next week, which will determine the the two finalists.
The finalists will conclude the challenge by competing at a luncheon fundraiser hosted by the Prestige Rocky Mountain Resort on March 4th at noon. Tickets are available to the public, and proceeds will be split between the Salvation Army's effort to establish a 24/7 shelter and the Cranbrook and District Community Foundation's general endowment fund.
Tickets can be purchased with cash at Max's Place or by calling 250-426-1119.