Former Rocky View County resident Korae Nottveit brought home the gold medal in culinary excellence for Canada during the recent WorldSkills Competition in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Over 1,000 people from around the globe competed in the 2022 edition of the WorldSkills games in 62 different trades skill areas. The games started Sept. 7 and go through until Nov. 26.
Nottveit’s competition took place from Oct. 23 to 26, and was considered among the most prestigious of events being showcased in Lucerne during the WorldSkills games, with a particularly strong following in Europe.
“It was extremely intense just because I was on such a strict timeline,” said Nottveit, who competed against chefs from 30 different countries. “You had 4.5 hours each day to get finished with massive amounts of tasks.”
According to Nottveit, competitors were judged based on the quality of the dishes they produced as well as their fundamental cooking skills. With 30 people metaphorically slugging it out for culinary supremacy all in the same room, focusing on only your own tasks was key to success, said Nottveit.
“I blocked everybody out, and just focused on what I was doing,” she said. “I don’t care about what is happening right in front of me (at other work stations). If someone started a fire on the other side of the competition, I tried not to notice. It was a huge mental game.”
The cooking was the easy part, according to Nottveit. The challenge was remaining focused in the hectic environment.
“The entire time I was constantly telling myself to breathe, focus, calm down, you can do this,” she said. “Just do one thing after the other. Don’t get overwhelmed. Especially with all the judges watching you the entire time.
“I knew what I was doing. But if I had the time in a more relaxed environment, it would have been a lot easier. Just kind of keeping that (intense) focus was super-stressful.”
Nottveit, who during her high-school years was home-schooled in east Rocky View County near Chestermere, credits her mom Mona for sparking her interest in cooking by making it part of her daily learning experience growing up.
Mona and Nottveit’s father, Phil, travelled to Europe to support their daughter during the WorldSkills competition.
Nottveit started working as a cook in a restaurant when she was 16 years old, and then later attended culinary school, graduating in 2019.
After completing her program, she left Rocky View County and now works as a professional cook in the restaurant industry in California.
She said standing on the podium with a gold medal around her neck in Lucerne was a surreal moment, and at first she couldn’t believe she had won.
But that disbelief soon turned to a gratifying sense of accomplishment.
“It was so much excitement, and I was just happy to be bringing this (medal) home to Canada,” she said. “It’s such a big achievement.”
The win also affirmed her decision to follow her dream of becoming a full-time, professional chef, confirmed Nottveit.
“It feels like I have a lot more responsibility and a lot more accountability,” she explained. “At work now, since everybody knows (I won), I can’t really get away with cutting corners. Which is so good for me for getting better at this trade.
“I am hoping to work under some very talented chefs and keep growing, and then hopefully, maybe 10 years down the road, open a restaurant of my own.”
Nottveit would encourage anyone interested in pursuing a career in cooking to believe in themselves, and be willing to put in the hard work necessary to achieve their dreams.
“You have to love it,” she stated. “It’s hard. It’s a very difficult industry, but you’ve got to love it. And you got to pursue it. The fun part is when you really put in your time and your energy, and work really hard, and see all that (pay off). It takes years, but it is totally worth it.”
