A burgeoning chef and student at Vancouver Island University has been named a member of Canada's Junior Culinary Olympic Team.  19 year old Otis Crabbe will train with eight other Olympic culinary students from across the country at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Vancouver. Crabbe may have been born to it, having started working at Abbondanza, his family's restaurant in Ucluelet, when he was 13.

Crabbe is working on his Red Seal certification, which is an apprenticeship for cooks.  He will receive his Culinary Management Diploma from Vancouver Island University this spring.  Jason Lloyd, the Chair of the V.I.U. Culinary Arts program, says Crabbe was an early standout, winning two awards during his first year in the program.  Jason Lloyd says Crabbe's  passion for cooking and zeal for learning is what earned him the recommendation from instructors for a place on Junior Culinary Team Canada.  Crabbe says being chosen to represent Canada at the oldest culinary competition in the world is just starting to sink in.

Crabbe and the team will represent Canada at the IKA Culinary Olympics, which take place in Stuttgart Germany in 2024.