A taste of the Prairies, on the national stage — that’s what local restaurant Hearth wanted to bring to the 2026 Canadian Culinary Championship.
“I really wanted to make something that would represent Saskatchewan, and cook something that was dear to me — something that I’ve enjoyed cooking throughout my career,” said Kevin Monych, the chef de cuisine at Hearth and the restaurant’s representative at the event. “Wanted to showcase Saskatchewan ingredients and elevate them as much as we could.”
In the fall of 2025, Hearth was the winner of the regional culinary championship that earned them a spot in the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa in late January 2026. Run by Beth Rogers and Thayne Robstad, Hearth first opened its doors in a location just south of Ruth Street in Saskatoon before moving into the prestigious Remai Modern art gallery in the heart of downtown.
The Canadian Culinary Championship, organized by Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, pits 10 chefs from coast to coast against each other in a special cooking competition. There are three challenges — a mystery wine pairing event, a “black box” secret ingredient cooking challenge, and the grand finale where each chosen chef brings their own special dish and wine pairing to the proverbial and literal table.
Monych’s — and Hearth’s — contribution to the competition was a dish full of Saskatchewan inspiration. Bacon wrapped rabbit saddle filled with a shallot, garlic and thyme-infused pork sausage and smoked rabbit leg; served with parsnip and potato pavê, powdered leek, fondant celeriac, plum, chervil, reindeer moss, rabbit jus, and a parsnip tuile (something akin to a thin, wafer-like crisp).
And of course, the whole dish was paired with a Rosewood Estates Winery 2023 Blau — slightly less Saskatchewan, but definitely delicious.
“I’ve never had the opportunity to represent Saskatchewan at the national level,” Monych said. “It was an honour to get to represent the Prairies.”
Kendall Knuttila, the Director of Operations for Hearth, said it was exciting for Hearth to be among so many great restaurants — both in the regional and national competitions.
“With Saskatoon having so many restaurants per capita, there are so many places that are great representations of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan … to be the ones that get to do it is really fun and special,” she said.
Canada’s Great Kitchen Party originated as a reimagining of the former Gold Medal Plates fundraising organization which provided support to Canadian Olympic athletes.
Under its new title, the organization has grown to supporting youth sport and music programs as well as regional food charities across the country.
And a key part of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party has continued to be connecting and growing chefs in the country, as well as connecting with wineries and breweries.
Unfortunately, Hearth did not take home the gold in the 2026 competition — that honour went to Chef Jaeyoung (Jay) Park from Vancouver — but Knuttila said the event was a tremendous experience for Hearth as a whole.
“To be able to go to a national competition and show these other cities and bigger areas what is happening here in Saskatoon, a place that’s often overlooked, is really cool,” she said.
Monych said Hearth embodies the “family first, Prairie feel” in the restaurant. Getting a chance to meet other chefs, learn new techniques and create new connections made Monych, as he puts it, eager to get back into the kitchen.
“There was a lot of interesting things people did, different preparations of food,” Monych said, “Seeing all these talented people working hard, it’s inspiring … it really lit that fire to be inside the restaurant and work on things here.”
