Knives out for Top Chef Canada’s second season
Four B. C. chefs will be part of gruelling, ‘ stressful’ competition
When Lumiere was still operating with Dale Mackay in the kitchen, a young cook wanted in. He wanted in so badly that he bugged Mackay for three weeks, every day, even when told there were no jobs.
“I kept giving my resumé to him until he told me ‘ You need to piss off,’ so I stopped. Two days later, he gave me a call and asked if I wanted to come in,” says Jimmy Stewart, who got the job. He’s now sous chef at Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler.
That, in a nutshell, is the thick- skinned attitude it takes to be a Top Chef Canada contender. That kind of raw energy and competitiveness is what made Top Chef Canada the top- rated series in Food Network Canada’s history.
Stewart, 24, was one of 16 young chefs and cooks who vied for Top Chef 2012. ( MacKay, incidentally, took the title last year in the show’s first season.)
“When I was working at Lumiere and [ Daniel] Boulud was there, I realized, if you want something bad enough, you’ll get it,” says Stewart.
He joined Top Chef unaware of just how gruelling and stressful it would be. Contestants with lowest scores are eliminated in each episode as they cook and roll with the twists and turns. “We’re young and naive and we had a good time but it was stressful.”
They were sequestered in a hotel for five weeks. “I was allowed to call my girlfriend once or twice,” he says. And hardest of all was keeping the secret. “My family was, like, ‘ Where’ve you been for so long?’ They were completely in the dark.”
Top Chef Canada’s second season premieres on March 12 at 10 p. m. on Food Network. It’s hosted by actress Lisa Ray and the top judge is Toronto restaurateur Mark Mcewan.
Guest judges include celebrated New York chef Marcus Samuelsson, Canada’s home reno doctor Mike Holmes, Toronto Maple Leaf Colby Armstrong, actor Alan Thicke, writer/ director/ producer Spencer Rice and singer Johnny Reid.
Other B. C. competitors are Trevor Bird, 28, of Vancouver, Joel Aubie, 27, of Tofino ( Shelter Restaurant) and Kunal Ghose, of Victoria ( Redfish Bluefish fish shack). Bird, who runs a catering and consulting business, last worked at ShangriLa Hotel in Vancouver. He quit to compete in Top Chef, and is now planning on opening a restaurant.
“It really helped narrow down my style of cooking and strip away what I don’t like,” he says of his Top Chef experience. He’s keen on farm to table cooking, “trying to cut out the middle man and establish more relations with farmers.”
The competition was tough because they weren’t allowed to take anything with them, he says. “No recipes, no books, no wallets, zero literature. It’s completely dependent on your mind.” But he says he’s finding out the real meaning of stress as he thinks about opening his own restaurant.
The “reveal” of Canada’s Top Chef is on June 4. The winner takes home $ 100,000 and GE Monogram kitchen appliances worth $ 30,000.
To celebrate on the final episode, both Stewart and Bird have something cooking.
Stewart will be offering dishes he cooked on the show on a $ 98 five- course tasting menu at Whistler’s Bearfoot Bistro and Bird will be at an airing party at Mackay’s Ensemble Tap restaurant.
“Everyone’s invited. There’s going to be drink specials. Dale will be there. You can look at me on TV and laugh,” says Bird.