New series sets table for Niagara chefs
Niagara chefs have cooked up something new with a video-ondemand series debuting on Bell Fibe’s TV1 Monday.
X-Plated gathers six of the region’s top chefs for a six-episode series showing viewers how to recreate restaurant-quality dishes in their own kitchen, using basic store-bought ingredients.
Host and co-producer Chris Patheiger says the concept will appeal to everyone who tried replicating a great dish they had at a restaurant. Little things make the difference, which the chefs will reveal.
“They don’t necessarily know all the tips and tricks that chefs know when they’re making their dishes,” he says. “We saw that as the hook, and Niagara as the backdrop.”
The show will feature chefs Tara Nicholson of the Itty Bitty Pie Company in St. Catharines, Ross Midgely of Ravine Vineyard Estate in St. Davids, Robert Forster of Weinkeller Craft Winery in Niagara Falls, and the Niagara-on-the-Lake trio of John Vetere (Brushfire Smoke/Oast House Brewers), Chris Smythe (Prince of Wales Hotel) and Maurizio Cesta (Pie’Za Pizzeria).
Each episode offers a step-bystep guide how to replicate menu items at home. Patheiger, who co-owns the Uncle Smoke Cookhouse in Toronto, says while Niagara’s wineries are wellrepresented in TV shows, he and executive producer Derek Miller of Nicedog Films felt the region’s chefs deserve some spotlight as well.
“We feel they kind of get overlooked, but they’re definitely there and they’re producing amazing stuff,” he says.
Fibe TV also recently produced the Niagara craft brewery series Tales From the Ale Trail and the grape and wine series Cork Screwed.
“They have a mandate with the content they produce to put the ‘local’ into the show,” says Patheiger. “They wanted a production that was locally focused for the Niagara region.
“Derek and I thought, what’s the first thing you think of (with) Niagara? It’s typically wine, but close behind that is food. Wherever you have a thriving wine scene you have a really supportive food scene. In an area like Niagara, that’s often overlooked.”
He adds subsequent seasons of the show will likely visit other culinary regions in Canada.