Guy Fieri brought his game face to this year’s Chef’s Challenge
By Jessica Allen - Monday, December 3, 2012 - 0 Comments
Photograph by Nick Lee
A crowd of 400 revelers gathered on Saturday night to watch five Canadian chefs–Lynn Crawford, Chuck Hughes, Mark McEwan, David Rocco and Michael Smith–lead culinary teams in a three-course cook-off at the third annual Chef’s Challenge, which has raised over $2-million for breast and ovarian cancer research at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Restaurateur and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives star Guy Fieri hosted the event, which also featured a live auction. The fight for the cure is personal to him: he told the audience early on in the evening that he lost his sister, a single mother and massage therapist, to cancer last year.
Fieri’s trademarked enthusiasm was spot on throughout the evening, not to mention contagious: he spurred his fellow chefs to up the prize ante with food and wine giveaways during the auction. Plus, he added to the “ultimate foodie package”, which awarded the winning $25,000 bidder meals at Crawford’s Ruby Watch Co., McEwan’s ONE and two prepared at home by both David Rocco and Chuck Hughes, dinner for eight at one of his restaurants. Fieri, who recently appeared on The Today Show after the New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells published an extremely entertaining but eviscerating review of Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square, also visited a number of Toronto eateries for an upcoming episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives while he was in town.
The five celebrity chefs, who weren’t allowed to touch a thing, lead their team of cooks–all top fundraisers for the event–in preparing three dishes from secret ingredients of sushi-grade Ahi tuna, beef tenderloin and phylo pastry, while guests ate a five-course meal prepared from Fieri’s own recipes.
Lynn Crawford, who won the first Chef’s Challenge in 2010 (McEwan won last year), and her team took home top honours. More importantly, a total of $775,000 was raised by the evening’s end.
Here’s how the event unfolded via Twitter:
-
Taste Canada? Yes please
By Jessica Allen - Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 8:14 AM - 0 Comments
The 2012 Food Writing Awards, which recognize and celebrate superior writing and publishing throughout Canada’s culinary world were handed out on Nov. 7 at the Arcadian Court in downtown Toronto. There were a total of twelve nominees spread across five categories. The winners are bolded below:
CULINARY NARRATIVES:
Leslie Beck’s Longevity Diet, by Leslie Beck
The Boreal Herbal, by Beverley Gray
- Unquenchable, by Natalie MacLean
Genèse de la cuisine québécoise, by Jean-Marie Francoeur
Une agriculture qui goûte autrement, by Hélène Raymond and Jacques Mathé
Revel 2012: Guide des champagnes et des autres bulles, by Guénaël Revel
GENERAL COOKBOOKS:
Whitewater Cooks with Friends, by Shelley Adams
Odd Bits, by Jennifer McLagan
- Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen, by Michael Smith
L’univers gourmand de Jean-Luc Boulay, by Anne L Desjardins and Jean-Luc Boulay
À la di Stasio 3, by Josée Di Stasio
L’artisan culinaire, by Sébastien Houle
REGIONAL/CULTURAL COOKBOOKS:
The Ontario Table, by Lynn Ogryzlo
- Made in Italy, by David Rocco
Market Chronicles, by Susan Semenak
Asie: Un voyage culinaire, by Vincent Beck and Diem Ngoc Phan
Su: La cuisine turque de Fisun Ercan, by Fisun Ercan
Stefano Faita: Je cuisine italien, by Stefano Faita
SINGLE-SUBJECT COOKBOOKS :
Preserving, by Pat Crocker
We Sure Can!, by Sarah B Hood
- Spilling the Beans, by Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan
Nos 200 meilleurs desserts et biscuits, by Coup de Pouce
Saisis, by Louis-François Marcotte
Sous le charme des courges et des citrouilles, by Louise Gagnon, Louise
-
Where famous Canucks go to play
By macleans.ca - Friday, June 11, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 6 Comments
Travel-savvy celebs tell us what to see in their home provinces
Ontario
Russell Peters
Comedian
“The Kee to Bala is always really cool. It’s in Bala, Ont. They always have these really impressive acts up there. It’s in the middle of nowhere, which makes it even more impressive. James Brown even played there. I played it in 2003. I remember seeing that George Clinton was coming up there the week after me. I’m like, what the hell? First of all, it’s George Clinton. Second of all, what the hell do they know about soul and Funkadelic in northern Ontario? The cottage crowd generally likes your basic Steely Dan, your Doobie Brothers and your yacht rock, as they like to call it.” (This year’s summer lineup includes the Sam Roberts Band, Gord Downie and Hedley.)More things to do in Ontario
-
Summer Getaway: Prince Edward Island
By Cameron Ainsworth-Vincze - Friday, June 11, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 1 Comment
Swings, sails and celebs
P.E.I. offers more than 70 adventures in the Once in a Lifetime Experiences program (John Sylvester Photography)
SummerFest (June 30-July 4)
The Island’s newest festival has something for every member of the family. For the younger kids, there’s a petting zoo, performances by the Doodlebops (a pre-school musical favourite), and a Swash Buckler Pirate Zone that features a haunted house. For teens, there’s the the Fringe Urban Zone with daily skateboard and BMX competitions. There’s a three-on-three hockey tournament on a synthetic ice surface, as well as the West Coast Lumberjack Show complete with log rolling. Plus a unique Cirque du Soleil performance that can only be seen in Charlottetown. In fact, Cirque signed a three-year contract this year to play at SummerFest. If you can’t make it to the show, you can catch Cirque du Soleil performers on Great George Street for free.Once in a Lifetime Experiences
Have you ever boarded a fishing boat and headed out to sea to catch and cook your own lobster, tasted seaweed pie or tonged for oysters? Well, now you can. Tourism P.E.I.’s Once in a Lifetime Experiences program offers more than 70 different experiential tourism adventures for those wanting, and willing, to get their hands dirty while immersing themselves in authentic P.E.I. culture. If seafood isn’t your thing, other programs include learning how to build a wind chime, creating folk art out of recycled scrap metal with the help of a master craftsman, and making your own pinhole camera.Hitting the links
P.E.I. is consistently ranked one of the top golf destinations on the continent. In fact, there are more than 20 courses within 45 minutes of each other, including the breathtaking and challenging Links at Crowbush, which overlooks the dunes of the north shore near Morell, as well as the Dundarave and Brudenell River courses near Georgetown.
Cavendish Beach Music Festival (July 7-11)
Only in its second year, this five-day outdoor music festival is picking up some serious steam. Headliners this year include country superstars Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum. And don’t forget to bring your sunscreen and beachwear. The concerts take place just minutes from beautiful Cavendish beach on the Island’s northern shore. Five-day passes start at $271 for adults and $105 for children between the ages of 6 to 12.To see what Michael Smith picks as his favourite spots, go to Where famous Canucks go to play
For more information on events and travel in Prince Edward Island, see www.tourismpei.com
