Twelve Fearless Culinary Warriors Vie for the Title of Canada’s Top Chef
Returning Sponsors to the Competition Include:
Interac Corp., Air Transat, Mill Street Brewery and Kid Food Nation
Lexus, Crest, and Tourism Prince Edward Island Join as New Sponsors
Get a first look of Season 8, here
Spring heats up with the return of the country’s highest-stakes culinary competition Top Chef Canada. The eighth season sees a stellar lineup of 12 talented culinary warriors prepared to compete in cutthroat challenges and battle for the title of Canada’s Top Chef. In addition to taking home the sought-after title, this season’s lucky winner will also receive a grand prize of $100,000 provided by Interac Corp., a 2020 Lexus RX Self-Charging Hybrid Electric SUV, and an eight-night guided tour of Italy for two courtesy of Air Transat. The competition begins April 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network Canada.
To remain in the competition each week, the chefs must impress the esteemed Top Chef Canada judging panel comprised of chef and host Eden Grinshpan, chef and owner of The McEwan Group, head judge Mark McEwan, and resident judges: powerhouse restaurateur Janet Zuccarini, food writer and personality Mijune Pak and renowned food journalist, and critic Chris Nuttall-Smith.
Following a search from coast to coast, the 12 fierce competitors ready to fight for the title of Canada’s Top Chef are:
· Francis Blais, 27 – Montreal, Que.
· Brock Bowes, 41 – Kelowna, B.C.
· Dominique Dufour, 32 – Ottawa, Ont.
· Adrian Forte, 31 – Toronto, Ont.
· Shaun Hussey, 40 – St. John’s, N.L.
· Xin Mao, 26 – Vancouver, B.C.
· Lucy Morrow, 26 – Charlottetown, P.E.I.
· Jo Notkin, 43 – Montreal, Que.
· Stephanie Ogilvie, 36 – Halifax, N.S.
· Elycia Ross, 27 – Calgary, Alta.
· Nils Schneider, 27 – Calgary, Alta.
· Imrun Texeira, 25 – Ottawa, Ont.
During this season’s Quickfire and Elimination Challenges, celebrated culinary personalities and notable food lovers will join the Top Chef Canada judging panel as guest judges. These guest judges include: James Beard award-winning restaurateurs Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz (Boka Restaurant Group); chef and acclaimed restaurateur Daniel Boulud (Daniel, Bar Boulud, Boulud Sud, Café Boulud, Bar Pleiades, DB Bistro Moderne, Epicerie Boulud – New York City, N.Y.); James Beard award-winning chef, cookbook author and restaurant owner Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery + Café, – Boston, Mass.); celebrity chef, award-winning cookbook author and chef judge on Food Network Canada’s Wall of Chefs, Lynn Crawford (Ruby Watchco, The Hearth – Toronto, Ont.); famed butchers and entrepreneurs Jocelyn Guest and Erika Nakamura (J&E Small Goods); restaurateur and recipient of Canada’s 100 Best Outstanding Chef of the Year award for the past three years, Patrick Kriss (Alo Restaurant, Aloette Restaurant, Alo Bar – Toronto, Ont.); chef and owner of Laurie Raphaël (Quebec City, Que.) and creator of Air Transat’s gourmet menu Daniel Vezina, and head of fermentation at the two Michelin-star restaurant Noma (Copenhagen), David Zilber.
Visit foodnetwork.ca for an inside scoop on the upcoming season including full cast bios, competitor predictions, videos, image galleries and more. Check back week-to-week for recaps of each episode’s best moments, a closer look at the winning dish of the week, tips from the guest judges and more.
Top Chef Canada is the homegrown version of the hit Emmy Award-winning NBCUniversal Series Top Chef and is produced by Insight Productions Ltd. in association with Food Network Canada. Executive Producers are John Brunton and Mark Lysakowski, and Executive Producer and Showrunner is Eric Abboud. For Corus Studios and Food Network Canada, Marni Goldman is Executive in Charge of Production, Krista Look is Director, Original Lifestyle Content and Lisa Godfrey is Vice President of Original Content, Corus Entertainment.
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