Saskatoon restaurant Ayden wins over Canadian foodies

A Saskatoon restaurant has beat out the competition for the top spot in Canadian foodies' hearts and stomachs.

Ayden Kitchen &Bar has won enRoute Magazine's People's Choice Award.It also ranked eighth on the magazine's list for the Top 10 Best New Restaurants.

Co-owner Dale MacKaycredits the success to the support of the people of Saskatchewan.

I have always wanted to put Saskatchewan on the map- Dale MacKay

"I think everybody loves a hometown boy or girl. I have always been super, super proud to be from the prairies when working abroad, or wherever," MacKaysaid.

MacKay won Top Chef Canada in 2011. After winning he assembled a culinary dream team in Vancouver and convinced the group to move back to Saskatchewan with him in order to openAyden.

"I have always wanted to put Saskatchewan on the map. I feel that Saskatoon and Saskatchewan has really got behind us, it makes me feel amazing," MacKay said.

Nathan Guggenheimer, co-owner and chef at Ayden, was fresh off a gig in New York when MacKay made the Saskatchewan pitch to him.

"I love travelling and I love seeing new places and I have got an open mind for them all," Guggenheimer said of making the decision to join MacKay in Saskatoon. "I was really interested to learn and to see the agriculture of what Saskatchewan has to offer... right from their livestock to their produce."

MacKay said that although critics have grown accustomedto painting Ayden's food as 'Asian fusion' its actually more of a blend of classic comfort food and French cuisine.

"We do everything from chicken wings to burgers all the way to southern fried chicken but then we also do things like an elegant Ahi tuna dish or a beautiful pineapple souffl," MacKay explained.

People from across Canada voted online to determine the winners of enRoute'sPeople's Choice Award.