VIU Culinary Arts student Simon Martin will compete with Team Canada in November at the RAK Porcelain Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg, which takes place every four years. (Image Credit: Vancouver Island University)

By Jordan Davidson

world stage

‘It means a lot to me:’ VIU chef preps for international cooking showdown

Feb 28, 2026 | 10:23 AM

NANAIMO — A local university student is preparing to compete with some of the best chefs in the country at one of the world’s top cooking competitions.

Simon Martin, 19, recently completed the Culinary Arts program at Vancouver Island University (VIU) and was chosen for Team Canada at the RAK Porcelain Culinary World Cup from November 21-25, in the small country of Luxembourg, sandwiched between Belgium, Germany, and France.

Martin said it’s an exciting and humbling opportunity.

“It means a lot to me. Last year, when people asked what my culinary dream was, I said to be a member of Team Canada. I would never have thought that six months later I would be practicing with the team and going to Luxembourg.”

The international competition takes place every four years, featuring over 200 teams from around the world.

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Martin credits the VIU Culinary Arts program for helping him build the skills required for high-level cooking competition. (Image Credit: VIU)

Martin, born in Kamloops and moving to Nanaimo when he was six, was first able to connect with the national culinary team when they were at VIU for fundraising dinners last April, helping to prep and deliver the dinner service alongside some of the best in the country.

“Basically, I just kept showing up at the practices that I could, and then I just put in the hard work, and the manager asked if I could come to the next practice.”

Martin is also preparing for the Western Culinary Conference in Coquitlam next month and the Skills BC Competition in Abbotsford in April, and aready thinking about the 2028 Culinary Olympics in Germany.

He told NanaimoNewsNOW training for international competition is very different than his training at VIU, with a much stricter schedule and timelines.

“It’s nerve-racking sometimes, but it’s cool to be a part of it. It’s very different from school. Everyone is watching you…really high pressure compared to just national competitions. The international competitions, you have…all the European countries and everyone is just watching you.”

He hails from a family of chiefs, and currently works for his parents’ dessert food truck, offering him a flexible schedule.

Martin said his time at VIU taught him the fundamentals and principles of cooking, giving him the skills to think on his feet and adapt to high-pressure situations, common in the world of high-end food service.

“Learning the basics, like work plans and consistency, time management, those are probably three of the biggest things that is needed for the competitions, as well as knife skills. We do a lot of knife skills at VIU… it’s a necessity for the team.”

More information on the RAK Porcelain Culinary World Cup can be found here.

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