A local secondary school teacher has accepted a national award for her cooking skills.
Chef Adelina DeBlasis has accepted the National Chef of the Year award from the Culinary Federation of Canada.
DeBlasis is a secondary teacher with the Greater Essex County District School Board at Public Alternative Secondary School and works in the Community Kitchen Program.
She is only the second person from Windsor to win National Chef of the Year and she is the third female chef to win since 1965.
She was nominated and won the Chef of the Year for the Culinary Federation Central Region in April 2023.
DeBlasis says she won the central region, qualifying her for the national award.
"I went up against a eastern recipient and a western recipient and amongst the three of us it was voted upon and I won National Chef of the Year for Canada."
She says she's feeling a lot of emotions.
"I'm very honoured to be in the company of such amazing chefs and it's been a whirlwind and I'm surprised, shocked, happy, elated."
DeBlasis says she's a member of the Canadian Culinary Olympic Team and helps the team train and prepare for the Culinary Olympics.
"We head off to Germany at the end of January, beginning of February, for the World Olympics. So, our team will be competing and that's super exciting because we've been practicing every eight weeks. We can't wait to be on the world stage."
This award is given based on culinary skills, culinary contributions across Canada, dedication, and professionalism.
It is the highest single achievement within Canada in the culinary sector.
DeBlasis was also knighted with the Ceremonial Steel, which is only one of two in the world.
-with files from AM800's Rob Hindi