Professional & Amateur Challenges 
Our Competition Stage celebrates the creativity and craftsmanship of both seasoned professionals and passionate home cooks.  Do you love cheese and love to cook? Then the Big Cheese Chef Challenges  are for you!

The Big Cheese Chef Challenge, taking place February 27 – March 28, 2026, showcases Professional chefs and their culinary creativity in Grilled Cheese and Mac & Cheese, celebrating local flavors and Canadian cheese. Each entry must feature at least one cheese featuring 100% Canadian milk. 
Participating businesses will display their entry on their menu for the duration of the event and customers vote for their favourites in each category. A Media Tour of 3–4 local media personalities will also visit participating restaurants to sample entries. Media choice will be announced shortly after the tour with the People's Choice Award announced Friday, March 27 at 4:30 pm at Hassen Arena.
Then Amateur Chefs will be on deck Saturday, March 28, 2026, at Hassen Arena to show off their culinary creativity in one of the fun, community-focused challenges. Whether a youth chef, a home cook, or someone who just love experimenting in the kitchen, this is the chance to make something delicious, meet fellow cheese-lovers, and celebrate cheesy creations with the community! Who will take the Big Cheese award? Find out at 2:30pm at Hassen Arena.

Rooted in community and friendly rivalry, these challenges spotlight the talent and flavour thriving across our region.
​
To stay on top of the latest event updates, be sure to join our Facebook event