Join us at the
Weber Grill Stage
And watch six local chefs battle it out on the grill!
Free with admission, experience a live indoor grill
competition that is thrilling and delicious to sample!
Three chefs compete on Friday and three compete on Saturday.
The winners from each day go on to battle head to head on Sunday.
They must cook a minimum of three courses.
They are given meat, fish and vegetables within each battle and a mystery box which contains up to 13 ingredients.
They must use all the ingredients in the box.
The competition is timed and they are judged on taste, presentation and creativity.
FRIDAY COMPETITORS
Christian Pritchard
Christian Pritchard is always on a culinary adventure. His love for food, travel and culture was born at St. Lawrence Market in Toronto with his first epicurean inspiration his Dad. The sight’s, sound’s, smell’s and taste’s of the market was the flame that turned on the stove. Christian’s culinary landscape has been painted by his work in Italy, France, Ireland, The US and the far North of Canada. How many people can cook in Dawson City, Yukon and Tuscany, Italy in the same week!
In demand for his media, emceeing and culinary work Christian has graced the food stages of the world with the world’s most famous Chef’s and personalities. His most recent training as a Chef was with Baci Perugina in Perugia, Italy where he worked alongside Master Choclatier’s to learn the craft of chocolate making and sculpting. This experience lead Christian to teaching the art of chocolate making at Eataly In both New York City locations, Chicago and Boston.
Christian now carries the flag for Aurora Importing out of Toronto, Canada and is their Executive Chef and Brand Ambassador a role he is truly proud of. “Only in Canada could a kid from The Beaches in T.O. represent famous Italian brands from all over the country with passion and zest.”Christian says. . At home Christian’s family is the real reason to cook well. Kim, Lilea and Lochlan are his biggest fans.
Devan Rajkumar
Chef Devan Rajkumar’s relentless passion and ambition to become one of the best in the food service industry is rooted in his time spent as a young boy in a tiny apartment kitchen with his Guyanese grandmother. Her dedication and enthusiasm for food was instilled in Chef Devan and so began his quest for life-changing flavour profiles. Guyanese cuisine is often cooked over an open fire and Devan developed an appreciation for open fire cooking travelling back and forth from Canada to Guyana throughout his life.
Before his formal training at Toronto’s George Brown College for Honours Culinary Management, Chef Devan honed his skills under celebrated local Chef Adrian Niman of the Food Dudes catering company during a time of explosive growth. After several years of high-end catering, Chef Devan parlayed his position as Sous Chef with the Food Dudes into an Executive Chef role at Luxe Appliance Studio, a multi-million dollar showcase kitchen for his favourite brands Bosch, Thermador and Gaggenau.
Chef Devan continues to volunteer his time with local charitable organizations and schools, while acting a brand ambassador for the Food Dudes, appearing on Cityline and other television shows, conducting live culinary demonstrations across Canada, extensively travelling to broaden his palette and running his own catering company.
Joe Friday
Chef Joe Friday was born in North Carolina, raised in Okinawa, Japan, and trained in French Cuisine. At the age of 20, he was one of 10 students selected from around the world to work in the international culinary program at Walt Disney World. He has staged at top restaurants in Europe, Japan, Norway and England. In the US, he was the Sous Chef at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
In 2010, Chef Friday moved to Canada to work under Jason Bangerter for the opening of Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini’s new venture, Luma at TIFF Bell Lightbox. He was part of the team that opened Bar Mozza (Alimento Fine Foods Emporium) where he was also the Executive Chef. In 2015, Joe became part owner and Executive Chef at ViaVai, a Pizzeria and Wine Bar in Yorkville Toronto
Joe is the Founder of The Chef Collective., which is a chef driven organization committed to supporting local and world wide chefs by providing them with a platform to showcase their talents. Joe is also owner in Grindzfood , which is a Hawaiian/California inspired meal prep company just launching in Toronto.
SATURDAY COMPETITORS
Keith Hoare
Chef Keith Hoare broke into the industry 36 years ago and started his own catering company at age 19. After 20 years at the helm, Chef Keith embarked on a new career leading Toronto’s most exciting high school culinary program. Under his guidance, Thistletown students produce hundreds of meals a day, have competed in countless competitions, food festivals, produce their own line of salsas, and tend to their own 14000 sq.ft. organic PACT garden.
In 2018, Chef Keith won the CAFP Toronto Branch ‘Foodservice Executive of the Year’ & was a recipient of Humber College’s “Greatest High School Teacher’ award. He was named Toronto Star ‘Teacher of the Year’(’14) and used the proceeds from a Chopped Canada victory (’15) to help fund a European culinary adventure for 18 of his students. Over the 12 years Chef Keith has taught at Thisteltown he has helped raise over $ 350 000 for student initiatives: International field trips, sports teams and the school garden.
Matthew Sullivan
Corporate Executive Chef, Matthew Sullivan oversees all MLSE properties and restaurants. He started his culinary career attending and graduating from Stratford Chefs School. Since then, he has obtained a tremendous number of accolades over the years. He has staged in restaurants all over the world–across Asia, Europe and North America, including Michelin Star kitchens. With these experiences, his passion for cooking and love for food grew even stronger. This allowed him to eventually become a Chopped Canada champion and a competitor on season 6 of Top Chef Canada with an impressive showing, being a front-runner of the show.
Chef Sullivan’s career at MLSE started over four years ago, where he was instrumental in pushing the food program at Real Sports and the Arena’s quick service locations forward at an exponential level. Now in his role as Corporate Executive Chef, Chef Sullivan supports the Culinary Director, Chris Zielinski and their team of talented chefs to continuously grow MLSE’s food program
Emily Richards
Emily Richards is a professional home economist, freelance food writer and media spokesperson who also enjoys culinary instruction to home cooks who want to learn more and have fun in the kitchen. She is the author and co-author of 5 cookbooks which include topics from Italian cuisine, weeknight dinners and glycemic index diets. Emily writes and develops recipes for cookbooks, print and online publications and websites that include everyday cooking and healthy eating. Emily’s varied skills have allowed her to engage with consumers and colleagues to share her passion for food through trade and consumer shows, radio and television appearances.
You can follow Emily for more information and recipes on Facebook Emily Richards Cooks Instagram and Twitter via @eriscooking