In the eighth year of the Master Chef Competition at EAT! Vancouver, British Columbia, Nevada Cope bested 16 male chef competitors to become the first-ever female chef winner of the Black Box competition.

Nevada Cope prepares her winning dish during the Master Chef Competition*

Cope and the other chefs had 35 minutes to devise a main course only using items from the Black Box. Cope created her winning dish (pictured, below) using quail, ground pork, chorizo, turnip and Windset Farms Gusto hot peppers. As the overall winner, she received a set of chef's knives provided by Shun and the House of Knives, and a complete set of Dudson China.

Nevada Cope's winning dish: Roasted quail with sunny side up quail egg, butternut squash purée and Grand Marnier demi with sautéed purple kraut and crescent vegetables.*

Cope graduated from the Culinary Arts program at the Art Institute of Vancouver in 2006 and is currently a full-time cook at both the Coast Coal Harbor Hotel and La Vallée at The Executive Hotel.

EAT! Vancouver is Canada's largest food and cooking festival, which saw over 38,000 visitors in 2010. The festival will return to the Vancouver Convention Centre, June 10 to 12, 2011. Visit www.eat-vancouver.com for more information.

*Photos courtesy of Derevko Photography.