''Top Chef Canada'' is a Canadian

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

television series and is considered one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in Canada. The show premiered on April 11, 2011, on

Food Network Canada Food Network, formerly called Food Network Canada, is a Canadian English language specialty channel based on the U.S. cable network of the same name. It airs programming related to food, cooking, cuisine, and the food industry. The Canadian versi ...

. The first season consisted of 13 episodes, with 16 contestants vying for a grand prize of $100,000 and a GE Monogram kitchen valued at $30,000. Like the

original Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

series, each week the

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a ki ...

contestants compete against each other in culinary challenges. Contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

industry, with one or more contestants being eliminated each week. The Canadian edition uses the same graphics and music as the American version of the

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Programm ...

. The first season of ''Top Chef Canada'' was one of Food Network Canada's most highly rated programs. The network renewed the program for a second season, which began to air on March 12, 2012. Top Chef Canada returned in 2017 with an all-stars edition for the fifth season. Season 6 of Top Chef Canada returned April 8, 2018, with a lineup of 11 chefs from the next generation. The tenth season premiered on September 26, 2022.

Judges, guest judges, and special appearances

Mark McEwan and Thea Andrews discuss Top Chef Canada

The host for the first season of the Canadian program was

Thea Andrews Thea Andrews (born October 4, 1973) is a Canadian journalist and television personality in both sports and entertainment news, as well as hosting reality competition and morning shows. From October 2003 to November 2006, she served as co-host on ...

. After giving birth to her second child, Andrews stepped down from the position. On November 15, 2011, actress

Lisa Ray Lisa Rani Ray (born 4 April 1972) is a Canadian actress and model who has also worked internationally. Ray began her modelling career in India in the early 1990s, appearing for leading Indian brands like Bombay Dyeing and Lakmé. She made her ...

announced that she was named as host. Beginning in Season 5 Toronto-born Eden Grinshpan took over hosting duties. Trained at

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institutio ...

Grinshpan is co-founder and executive chef at Middle Eastern restaurant DEZ in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and host of Eden Eats and Log On and Eat with Eden Grinshpan on the

Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting ...

. The head judge is

Mark McEwan Mark McEwan is an American-born Canadian celebrity chef based in Toronto, Ontario. He was head judge on Food Network Canada's ''Top Chef Canada''. McEwan had his own television show on Food Network Canada entitled ''The Heat'', which followed h ...

, chef and owner of several restaurants in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, including ONE in Yorkville and Bymark in the Toronto-Dominion Centre as well as host of the Food Network Canada program ''

The Heat with Mark McEwan ''The Heat with Mark McEwan'' is a Canadian food and catering show produced by General Purpose Pictures which airs on Food Network in Canada. It is hosted by Mark McEwan, a Celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebr ...

''. In preparation for elimination challenges, contestants shop for ingredients at McEwan Gourmet Grocery located at the

Shops at Don Mills The Shops at Don Mills (corporately known as CF Shops at Don Mills) is a lifestyle centre-type shopping centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East in Toronto. There are 72 retail stores with a total floo ...

. The "resident judge" (the position held by

Gail Simmons Gail Simmons (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian-American food writer and cookbook author. She has served as a permanent judge on Bravo's Emmy-winning series ''Top Chef'' since the show's inception in 2006. Simmons was previously the head critic on ...

in the original version) was Shereen Arazm, a

native and owner of several

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

-area restaurants. Beginning in later seasons, the show introduced three new resident judges, who include Chris Nuttal-Smith,

Janet Zuccarini Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...

and Mijune Pak. In Season 6, guest judges included chef-owners of distinguished Toronto restaurants, such as

Lynn Crawford Lynn Crawford (born July 18, 1964) is a Canadian chef and television personality. She is known for her appearances on the Food Network show '' Restaurant Makeover'', which is seen in over 16 countries worldwide. Biography Lynn Crawford was bo ...

(Ruby Watchco),

Susur Lee Susur Lee (; born December 1958) is a Canadian celebrity chef based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Culinary career Susur was born in Hong Kong, the youngest of six children. He served his culinary apprenticeship at Hong Kong's renowned Peni ...

(Fring's, Lee),

Rob Gentile Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

(Buca, Bar Buca) and Alexandra Feswick (Drake Devonshire). ''Top Chef Canada'' alumni returning as guest judges included Steve Gonzales of Baro, Dustin Gallagher of 416 Snack Bar as well as ''Top Chef Canada: All-Stars'' winner, Nicole Gomes of Calgary's Cluck ‘N’ Cleaver. Additionally, Evan Funke, L.A.-based chef and co-owner (with

) of Felix restaurant, and Danny Bowien, chef-owner of New York's Mission Chinese Food join as guest judges.

Seasons

Notes

Season 5 was an "All Star" season; Gomes originally appeared in Season 3, and Gallagher originally appeared in Season 1.

References

External links

* * {{Food Network (Canada) series Food Network (Canadian TV channel) original programming 2011 Canadian television series debuts 2010s Canadian reality television series 2010s Canadian cooking television series English-language television shows Canadian television spin-offs Reality television spin-offs Television series by Corus Entertainment Cooking competitions in Canada Canadian television series based on American television series Television series by Universal Television Television series by Insight Productions