We love showcasing Canada's talented chefs and help shine a light on the diverse cuisines Canada has to offer.

Food Network Canada’s esteemed culinary competition, Top Chef Canada, returns for a milestone 10th season featuring fiery new challenges, a roster of exceptionally talented chefs, and the title of Canada’s Top Chef on the line.

We asked the chefs to share their inspirations, favourite dish, essential tools and their top tip in the kitchen.

Let’s meet our top chefs:

(from left to right)

Chef Joachim ‘Jo’ Hayward

Toronto, Ont.

 

Hometown Inspiration: Toronto has introduced me to a broader range of cuisines I haven’t experienced before… and therefore, has inspired me to incorporate different produce, spices, and cooking techniques into my culinary repertoire.

Favourite Dish: Spaghetti Carbonara! It’s equally as satisfying to cook as it is to eat. It requires a fine attention to detail but is so rewarding when done right. One of life’s gustatory delights.

Essential Kitchen Tool: Every cook needs a decent pair of tongs in their kitchen. Like Sinbad’s blade, it has a 1001 and one uses… from turning meats in the pan, assisting to remove hot trays from the oven, and dressing chunky salads. It’s like an extension of your hand basically.

Top Tip: My number one tip in the kitchen is to clean as you go! So many people get discouraged and stressed out from the amount of mess/dishes cooking can create. Whether at home or in a professional kitchen, taking those extra few seconds to declutter your workspace, put those eggs back in the fridge, wipe your cutting board etc., it makes for a pleasant experience and less dishes to deal with post meal!

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Chef Tawnya Brant

Ohsweken, Ont.

 

Hometown Inspiration: My community has inspired my cooking by showing me the beauty of our Haudenosaunee foods. I’m inspired by their creation stories that move me to create dishes that honour those stories and teachings of their purposes set out to help us in our earthly journeys.

Favourite Dish: I’ve found over the years my favourite dish is not something tried and true, but something I’ve never made before! As I learn of new foods and have them cross my path, I feel the good energy that comes from having these ancestral foods being recognized and fulfilling its purpose again.

Essential Kitchen Tool: The one thing that is a must-have in any kitchen is a good cutting board. This can be major source of injuries, not minding your cutting surface. Always put a damp towel underneath to avoid it moving on you!

Top Tip: My #1 tip in the kitchen is to always give yourself a little time to step back and look at all your ingredients and equipment. Make sure you have everything you need before you start! It will go a long way when you’re not finding yourself without something after you’ve already started.

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Chef Deseree ‘Dez’ Lo

Vancouver, B.C.

 

Hometown Inspiration: I have definitely been more inclined and inspired to cook Asian food since I moved to Vancouver seven years ago. There is a large Asian community here, and the food is ridiculously authentic and delicious! I love fusing flavours among the diverse Asian cuisines and dishes while incorporating my western cooking techniques and experiences.

Favourite Dish: My favourite dish to make (or when my friends want me to cook for them) would be the Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup.

Essential Kitchen Tool: Every cook needs a serrated pairing-knife! It stays sharp and can cut through anything, especially tomatoes and fruits without tearing and bruising the skins. I cannot live without mine. Well, I actually have at least five of them in my toolbox.

Top Tip: My #1 tip in the kitchen is to just enjoy the process and embrace it as "me time". Don't think of it as a chore or something you have to do to survive. Listen to music, dance around, and even better, have a glass of wine! Cook the food you love to eat or you have always wanted to try. That's how I started cooking in college!

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Chef Vaishnav ‘Vish’ Mayekar

Vancouver, B.C.

 

Hometown Inspiration: I'm based out of Vancouver. The local community here is very special - it is all about the local ingredients - using what is available during various months of the year. There is a big culture of going to farmers markets in the summer and there’s also an influx of cooks and chefs canning and preserving the beautiful produce from the summer to use in the winter months. It's inspiring and it's exciting - this has really added to the 100 reasons why I have loved moving to the West Coast of Canada and it only keeps getting better.

Favourite Dish: It has to be my mom's coconut curry. It's delicious, it's full proof (for me haha) and it always triggers the cozy memories of coming home from a long day at school or work to a bowl of delicious curry and rice from my mom. 

Essential Kitchen Tool: Every cook that really wants to cook good food and make a career in the culinary world doesn't need a sharp knife or tweezers to start - they need the right attitude. Knives, whisks, and tweezers can be bought, but you can't buy a good attitude. It's really what it all comes down to. Having the ability to take feedback, criticism, putting your head down and doing the work and listening - if a cook is able to do that, they're on the right track.

Top Tip: I always say this to all the aspiring cooks and chefs, "Observe everything and ask questions - don't be afraid and stay curious. Knowledge is key! Be a student for life, you can never know everything, EVER." Having the right attitude and the willingness to learn will only lead to making the person a better cook in the kitchen.

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Chef Lindsay Porter

Edmonton, Alta.

 

Hometown Inspiration: My local community has influenced my cooking by providing really amazing restaurants and food scenes for inspiration and sometimes a little competition. As well as, a great array of locally grown prairie produce and proteins. I love using local lentils and chickpeas in dishes and surprising guests that it has all been grown in Alberta!

Favourite Dish: I love to prepare a really amazing curry! A good curry can be so versatile in the fact that you can easily make it vegan. Vegetarian is becoming a huge demand these days.

Essential Kitchen Tool: Every cook needs to have a solid heavy cutting board, sharp knife, bandages and a microplane in their kitchen.

Top Tip: My number one tip in the kitchen is to taste your food as you go! Season it in intervals and make sure there is always enough garlic butter and salt in everything (haha!) Try different cuisines and techniques and have fun with different ideas.

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Chef Camilo Lapointe-Nascimento

Montreal, Que.

 

Hometown Inspiration: I love going to the Jean-Talon Market. It’s influenced the land around me, with what’s in season. The idea of being in front of the producers, being able to speak to them and ask about their products and overall just learn through what they have to say about their products they're growing. It’s had a big influence on me and my cooking.

Favourite Dish: My favourite dish to prepare is a vegetarian Christmas feast that I cook now every year. It’s the thing I’m really happy to cook and eat each year. I make meat pies but with lentils and chickpeas, healthy mashed potatoes, etc. It’s simple and tastes like home, but you know it’s not as heavy as a normal Christmas feast would be. So there’s a pleasure in knowing it’s not that rich.

Essential Kitchen Tool: Every cook can’t go without a chef’s knife and it’s always good to have a cake tester. And some sort of knowledge on fire – how to control your flame is very necessary.

Top Tip: My #1 tip in the kitchen is to stay organized. Have a counter trash can, some sort of container for things you’re going to throw away, and a folded rag next to your cutting board. Just having everything ready so that you can either clean as you go, or when you’re done cooking and you’re ready to clean, everything is there already to help you clean because you’ve stayed organized throughout the recipe.

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Chef Martine Bauer

Toronto, Ont.

 

Hometown Inspiration: Pompette is a restaurant where we put forward seasonal product, discussing directly with my local and loyal farmers inspires me a lot. Since they are the only one who can tell when their produce is ready.

Favourite Dish: I don’t really have a favourite dish, it depends on the mood, the season and specifically the people with whom I am sharing the dish with and the moment itself. Everything is about souvenir to be. But during the summer, I tend to go more for seafood and lots of fresh vegetables, whereas in winter, it’s mostly meaty and comfort food.

Essential Kitchen Tool: Every cook definitely needs a sharp knife in their kitchen!

Top Tip: My #1 tip in the kitchen is to taste, taste and taste!

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Chef Kimberly Conway

Charlottetown, P.E.I.

 

Hometown Inspiration: Prince Edward Island is very unique in the way community forms. We are known for supporting one and other- and through my journey of cooking, I have felt that many times. My style of cooking, and flavour profiles, are very East Coast. I keep it very close to my roots.

Favourite Dish: My favourite dish to prepare is meatloaf. I know that sounds very odd but it brings back an extremely personal memory of my mother. My Mom was not a very great cook, but if you had told her you liked something- she would make that every day for you until you said stop! Every single time I would come home from being away for school or any event- she always had meatloaf in the oven ready for me.

Essential Kitchen Tool: What every cook needs in their kitchen is a sharp knife, a good quality cutting board (please not glass!!!), and a jar of salt!

Top Tip: Don’t over complicate things! In most cases the best flavours can be developed with very little ingredients. Less is more! PS: salt is your friend, I promise!

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Chef Trevane ‘Tre’ Sanderson

Toronto, Ont.

 

Hometown Inspiration: Growing up in a low-income household full of siblings, putting food on the table wasn’t always an easy task, but we made it work. I used to love going to International Grocery Stores with my mom. Being born and raised in Jamaica, she was able to find ingredients she knew well & loved to cook and eat right in our neighbourhood. Some of the best things were the curry powder from St. Catherine’s, Jamaica and really good spice buns to eat with cheese. Tasting all of these unique ingredients and flavours opened up my palette at a young age and definitely inspired my passion to cook elevated food with Caribbean roots.

Favourite Dish: This dish I love to prepare is Ackee & Salt Fish with Fried Dumplings. This always hits the spot and is my favourite to prepare – it’s the most nostalgic dish to me. This was my childhood favourite growing up and it still makes me feel the same excitement that it always used to. 

Essential Kitchen Tool: Yes, every cook absolutely needs a sharp knife in their kitchen… but in order to keep them sharp, every cook needs Sharpening Stones! This is the most essential tool in my kitchen. I like to touch up my knifes regularly on soft grit stones, just to maintain the edge and keep it cutting through everything! Sharpening my knifes is my zen time - I love to make a coffee, throw on some good music and get my knives ready for another day in the kitchen. I would say #1000 grit & #4000 grit is really all you need to keep your edge.

Top Tip: Never stop learning! This is so incredibly important for anyone who is pushing to become a great chef. I believe we can learn so much from each other, so I never stay comfortable in what I know. Being in this industry for 10 years and counting, I find that I am still constantly learning new techniques, flavours, skills and applying them to my craft in so many different ways. The culinary industry is changing constantly and in my opinion, the moment you stop learning is the moment you stop progressing with it.

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Chef Chris Irving

Whitehorse, Yukon

 

Hometown Inspiration: Growing up in the Yukon gave me a sense of the true wild north. It was hard, and you had to fight to survive. Long, dark winters meant summers of gathering, foraging and collecting for your winter stores. Chopping and cashing wood to keep you warm throughout the cold winter nights. All of this bringing everybody together to ensure the community was nurtured, nourished and protected. This nurturing has translated and carried throughout my career being able to provide my community with the sustenance we all need and deserve. We all have a sense of place, and we all have a story. Food and cooking has allowed me to share mine with my community.

Favourite Dish: I can’t say that I have one specific favourite dish to prepare. I have spent my adult life travelling the world, learning and experiencing new dishes, cultures and cuisines. My favourite dish comes from the moment, and the evocation of the mood. I love to be able to share the experience of going to a farmers market of the town or countryside where I’m visiting, cruising the shelves, picking up the produce, squeezing it and smelling it. Drawing inspiration from the providers, and making my menu on the fly. That dish might not be the same the next time, but always made with love.

Essential Kitchen Tool: A good heat source, whether it’s a wood fire, a gas lantern, or an electric stove. A nice heavy, wooden chopping block. And a sharp knife!

Top Tip: Trust your palate. Don’t be afraid to experiment and riff. Expand your palate by trying new ingredients, and playing with things you might not normally cook or eat.

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Chef Monika Wahba

Toronto, Ont.

 

Hometown Inspiration: An interesting history about my local community is that it is right on the edge of Little India. I remember as a kid, in the early to late 2000's, it was the most thriving community of Indian culture. Many local businesses were owned by immigrant families from mainly Southern Asia and India. Thus, it was dubbed Little India. I remember going there in my early teenage years and being in complete awe of how the streets and shops reminded me of home. The vibrant shops had beautiful aromas, music and an energy that reminded me of walking through the streets of Cairo. When we were looking for a place to open up Maha's back in 2014, we had trouble finding somewhere with affordable rent on Gerrard St. (where Little India is located). Rent continues to be a huge part of the problem of why countless independently owned businesses continue to close their doors. We were fortunate to find a building just off of Gerrard, on Greenwood, where rent was more reasonable and allowed us to open up shop. I always found Little India inspiring because it felt like a recreation of home and that's exactly what we emulate daily at Maha's.

Favourite Dish: My favourite dish to prepare would have to be Macarona Bel Bechamel. It’s an Egyptian classic that combines French and Italian influence. It’s a hearty dish that’s always a crowd pleaser, especially for picky eaters. Macarona Bel Bechamel is a multi-layered dish that consists of pasta, a hearty ground beef, tomato sauce and a velvety bechamel sauce. My favourite part is preparing the two luscious sauces, and waiting for the magic to happen in the oven when its baked. It is truly a delicious mess.

Essential Kitchen Tool: The most important thing every cook needs in a kitchen is loved ones to share the delicious food with.

Top Tip: When you're cooking, it is a full body experience. Meaning you should be using your whole body. Use your ears to listen to your stove, pots and pans, your eyes are always wide open observing everything you touch, and your sense of smell can be a huge indicator to know when food is ready. Become familiar with your space and ingredients and remember that practice truly makes perfect and that everyday can teach you something new as we can never stop learning.

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Watch them cook it out for the title of Canada’s Top Chef every Monday starting September 26th at 10pm ET/PT on The Food Network Canada.