Caps, Corks and Forks returns on Feb. 4 with celebrity chef Michael Smith

Niagara College’s wine and beer students continue their battle for supremacy – along with a trophy and bragging rights – with the return of one of NC’s most anticipated dining events: Caps, Corks and Forks.

The sold-out dinner event will draw 200 guests to the College on February 4 to savour offerings from the College’s School of Culinary Arts, and School of Wine, Beer and Spirits. Celebrity Chef Michael Smith will be the event’s Master of Ceremonies.

“Caps Corks and Forks is back and so am I,” said Chef Smith. “Team Wine versus Team Beer. Who will reign supreme? Either way, the students!”

This will mark Round 16 for the popular dinner event, hosted by NC’s Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division. The sold-out event marks the highly anticipated return of the first full-capacity Caps, Corks and Forks since 2020.

“Caps, Corks and Forks is one of the most asked-about events that we host,” said Dean of NC’s Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division Craig Youdale. “It gives our guests a taste of the world-class education we offer at NC and the passion that our students are developing for their industries, and it’s a fun, cross-collaborative and engaging event for our students to be involved with.”

Guests will enjoy an elegant five-course meal prepared by culinary students, led by Chef Professors Tony DeLuca and Kyle Landry. While the food takes centre stage, wine and beer students vie to steal the spotlight. Each course becomes a battleground for the most votes in the friendly competition between the College’s wine and beer students.

Two beverages will accompany each course – one from Team Wine and one from Team Beer, carefully selected after months of preparation from across Ontario. As culinary students work behind the scenes, students from Team Wine and Team Beer will be in the heart of the action – pouring, serving and introducing their team’s pairings. Guests will vote on their preferred beverage pairing after each course –with a cap (beer) or a cork (wine). After votes are counted, the winner is announced at the end of the evening.

In this round of Caps, Corks and Forks, each beverage selection will be from Ontario. Students were also encouraged to use NC’s student-made products as much as possible.

Team Wine is made up of seven first-year Winery and Viticulture Technician students who plan to pour one wine from the NC Teaching Winery and four from other Niagara VQA wineries.

Professor Gavin Robertson, who co-leading Team Wine with College Winemaker Allison Findlay, noted that participating gives students experience with beverage pairings, as well as public speaking and marketing skills.

“It is a really high-pressure situation, as it is an enormous crowd, and they only have a couple minutes to make their case for each pairing,” said Robertson. “It’s incredible that the students are even willing to talk about a beverage that many of them knew nothing about when they started the program in September. By pulling this off, they gain a confidence that will stand them in good stead throughout the rest of their studies and in the industry as successful grads.” 

First-year Winery and Viticulture Technician student Kayla Brown will be among students addressing the crowd to promote her team’s selections at the event.

“To prepare, I am putting together a two-minute speech that introduces myself and provides insights into why we chose a specific wine for the course,” she said. “This involves doing some more research into the producer of the wine we chose so we can provide enough details to the guests to ensure they can fully appreciate the pairing we made.”

Second-year Brewmaster student Nathaniel Perreault is among seven Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management students on Team Beer. He values the chance to explore an area of fine dining food pairing that is greatly underrepresented in the brewing industry.

“Most people think of pizza, wings and pub grub as appropriate beer pairings; which they are, but we believe beer also has a place in fine dining,” he said. “We can create a wide range of flavours and mouthfeel to complement the dishes with our array of malts, hops, and yeast strains.

“Discovering unique pairings between food and beer using drastically different styles has been very rewarding,” he said.

For Brewmaster students, the event corresponds with their learning experience in the program. In addition to brewing five different brews to potentially serve at the event, students learn about the art and science of pairing food and beverage in class. Participants benefit by gaining experience in real-world service and sales.

“Presenting their pairings is an exercise in salesmanship and storytelling,” said Victor North, who is co-leading the team with fellow Brewmaster faculty Adrian Popowycz. “It is also a kind of public speaking exercise: they have to be able to take the kind of theory that they discuss in class, translate it into something compelling and comprehensible to a dinnertime audience, and then compress it into a brief ‘elevator pitch’ that will be sticky and successful.”

Caps, Corks and Forks involves students from various programs. Students from the School of Hospitality and Tourism will serve the meal, Artisan Distilling students have crafted signature cocktail for a pre-dinner reception, and Baking and Pastry Arts students will prepare dessert.

“This entire event truly delivers the richest possible educational experience for the student volunteers,” said Maija Saari, Associate Dean for the Division. “It is so exciting to watch them become actively engaged in a project that brings so many puzzle pieces together in a such a real-world application of their knowledge and skills. It is an interdisciplinary project of the highest order that is not only a delight to celebrate. It is also delicious!”

Since Caps Corks and Forks launched in 2012, Team Wine has won eight rounds while Team Beer has won seven.

The sold-out event will be held on the evening of February 4 at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Information about upcoming events from NC’s Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division is available at niagaracollege.ca/culinaryarts/culinaryservices/ or NC Culinary Services Facebook page.

Niagara College has a full-time enrolment of more than 9,500 students from over 80 countries, who study in 130 diploma, certificate and bachelor degree programs at specialized campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara College is also involved in educational projects and partnerships around the world and is consistently ranked among Canada’s top 10 colleges for research funding. Learn more at niagaracollege.ca.