North African Lamb Sandwich on Ciatbatta Named Canada's Best Sandwich

~ Montreal's Jean Émond takes homes the national title in ACE Bakery's Canada's Best Sandwich Contest ~

TORONTO, Oct. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - After slicing and dicing their way to the Sandwich Showdown, one Canadian aced the final competition. ACE Bakery and Food Network Canada personality, Bob Blumer, today announced that Jean Émond's North African Lamb Sandwich with Harissa and Figs on ACE Bakery Ciabatta has been officially toasted Canada's Best Sandwich. Along with the national title, Émond is the winner of a $10,000 prize and $10,000 donation towards his charity of choice, World Wildlife Fund Canada.

Canada's four regional finalists faced off this morning in a Sandwich Showdown in the Cooking School at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, where they created their sandwiches in front of a judging panel and live audience. After tasting each of the creations, Bob Blumer, Julie Van Rosendaal, popular Calgary-based blogger behind DinnerWithJulie.com, and Marcus Mariathas, ACE Bakery's master baker, evaluated each recipe based on taste appeal, creativity, innovation and originality in order to select a winner.

"All four finalists inspired us with their culinary skills and imagination in the kitchen, and it was a challenge to decide on just one winner," said Bob Blumer, host of Food Network Canada's World's Weirdest Restaurants.  "Émond's unique mix of ingredients created a delicious flavour combination that danced off our taste buds. Along with the beautiful presentation, the recipe really stood out to the judges and was a notch above the others."

Émond developed this recipe through a step-by-step process starting with his chosen protein, lamb. From there, he layered on various ingredients and spices to create the perfect balance of flavours.

"I really wasn't expecting this, but I'm so excited my recipe has earned the title of Canada's Best Sandwich!" said Émond, overall winner of Canada's Best Sandwich Contest. "I love being adventurous in the kitchen and it's so rewarding to know my creativity is paying off."

The other three finalists included Ashley Seely from Rothesay, New Brunswick; Meghan Légère from Toronto, Ontario; and, Linh Huynh from Calgary, Alberta.

The four finalists were chosen from hundreds of recipes that were submitted to Canada's Best Sandwich Contest: Anniversary Edition from across Canada, a contest run by ACE Bakery in celebration of its 20^th anniversary. Each entry was reviewed and scored by Blumer, Van Rosendaal and Mariathas, and four finalists were chosen - one from Western Canada (including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada (including New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland).  Each finalist received $1,000 cash prize and $1,000 to donate towards their charity of choice.

Images and recipes are available for download here.

ABOUT ACE BAKERY:
One of North America's leading artisan bakeries, ACE Bakery opened in 1993 creating hand-made, European-style rustic breads.  The gentle shaping of each loaf, long fermentation periods, and a stone deck oven all work to create exceptionally flavourful bread with a pleasing texture and crisp crust. The breads contain no preservatives and are made with the finest ingredients. ACE Bakery's baguettes and artisan breads are available at hundreds of restaurants, hotels, caterers, grocery and gourmet food shops across Canada, throughout the United States and the Caribbean.

Community involvement is an essential part of ACE's philosophy. The company donates a percentage of its net profits to charitable organizations in the principle centres where ACE breads are sold. ACE's focus is on food and nutrition programs that assist low-income members of the community, financing culinary scholarships and supporting organic farming initiatives.

SOURCE: ACE Bakery