Karl Wells

Karl Wells is a food writer and restaurant critic for The Telegram in St. John’s. He also hosts the Rogers TV show One Chef One Critic. He has been a judge at many professional cooking competitions and is a recipient of the Canadian Culinary Federation’s Sandy Sanderson Award.

Bob Arniel

Bob Arniel is a Canadian Certified Chef, holding a Bachelor of Vocational Education Degree.  Bob is the owner/operator of Chef To Go, a cooking school and catering company in St. John’s.

Kitty Drake

Kitty Drake has owned and operated two award-winning restaurants and a wild Newfoundland berry preserves company. She’s worked as a food consultant, food stylist for advertising, and as a chef on TV and radio.

Cynthia Stone

Everyday Kitchen columnist Cynthia Stone learned by trial and error what people with a taste for good food appreciate. Her column has been a regular fixture in The Telegram for a decade.

Todd Perrin

Todd is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Canada. He’s cooked for The Lodge at Kananaskis and a private hotel near Zurich, Switzerland. Currently he operates the Chef’s Inn and Mallard Cottage restaurant in St. John’s.

Chef Mike Barsky

Robert Beauchemin

Robert Beauchemin has been one of the main restaurant critics and food writers in Montreal for the last 17 years. An academic, trained in anthropology, he also teaches in college what he likes best: culture, music, books and of course food.

Gildas Meneu

Gildas Meneu has been a restaurant critic since 1998, first for the free weekly Ici and then forVoir. In love with the Montreal restaurant scene, he’s still eager to discover new fine dining tables each week. As a passionate food aficionado, he’s also research journalist for the Radio-Canada TV Show L’Épicerie.

Julian Armstrong

Julian Armstrong is a food writer for The Gazette, Montreal, and author of the cookbook A Taste of Quebec.

Lesley Chesterman

Lesley Chesterman has been the fine-dining critic and food columnist for The Montreal Gazette since 1999. Prior to her career in food writing, Ms. Chesterman attended the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec for three years before working as a professional pastry chef in Quebec and in France. She has written a cookbook, Boulangerie et Pâtisserie: Techniques de Base(Trécarre, 2000), and two restaurant guides: Flavourville 2000 and Flavourville 2003-2004 (ECW Press). Her writings have also appeared in Gourmet, Saveur, The Art of Eating, Nuvo, Montreal Centre-Ville, and Wine Tidings magazines.

Rollande DesBois

Author, educator and broadcaster, Rollande DesBois has been described as “the Julia Child of Quebec.” Her many international honours can be found listed at her web site,

www.rollande-desbois.riaq.ca.

Chef Jean-Philippe Saint-Denis

Anne DesBrisay

Anne DesBrisay was the Ottawa Citizen’s restaurant critic for twenty years. She is a regular contributor to the food pages of Ottawa Magazine and the travel pages of a number of publications. She is the author of three editions of Capital Dining, her series of guide books to the best restaurants in the Capital Region. Anne is also a senior editor and feature writer with Taste &Travel Magazine.

Judson Simpson

Judson Simpson, Certified Chef de Cuisine, is the Executive Chef at the House of Commons in Ottawa and is the Chairman of the Canadian Culinary Federation. He competed four times at the VKD World Culinary Olympics, most notably as Manager of Culinary Team Canada in 2004, and is an internationally certified competition judge.

Margaret Dickenson

Margaret Dickenson is a culinary Ambassador for Canada, recently recognized as one of the TOP 50 People in the Capital and the 2011 Alumna of Honour of the University of Guelph Alumni Association. This in acknowledgement of her community and charitable works, her lifestyle TV series and the many international awards her cookbooks have garnered.

Pam Collacott

Pam Collacott is a long serving TV cook and spokesperson on the CTV Ottawa News at Noon. She is a cookbook author, food stylist, culinary teacher, columnist and contributing editor for Taste & Travel Magazine, ever roaming the globe for new gastronomic challenges.

Sheila Whyte

President/owner since 1991, of Thyme and Again Creative Catering and Take Home Foods, Sheila is an innovative leader and trend-setter in Ottawa’s food industry. Active in the arts and charitable communities, Sheila sits on the advisory board for Savour Ottawa and the Culinary Management advisory board at Algonquin College, and is a founding member of the Royal Ottawa Women for Mental Health Campaign.

Chef Marc Lepine

Sasha Chapman

Toronto native Sasha Chapman briefly wore chef’s whites before she decided that writing about food was much easier than cooking it. Her award-winning stories have appeared in major Canadian and U.S. magazines and newspapers. She is currently an editor at The Walrus.

Christine Cushing

Christine Cushing, celebrity chef, is host of Viva and W networks’ cooking show, Fearless in the Kitchen.

Lucy Waverman

Lucy Waverman is the food columnist for The Globe and Mail, Food Editor of Food & Drink Magazine and  food columnist for the new MSN.ca site.  Her latest book is A Year in Lucy’s Kitchen.

Anita Stewart

Anita Stewart is the founder of Food Day (http://foodday.ca), broadcasts regularly on CBC Radio (cbc.ca/freshair) and for nearly three decades has chronicled the food life of Canada in her 14 books. She is on the Advisory Council for the Governor General’s Award in Celebration of the Nation’s Table and is an honourary lifetime member of the Canadian Culinary Federation of Chefs and Cooks (CCFCC). This year, she was awarded the Order of Canada. John Higgins

Chef John Higgins has cooked for the Queen and heads of state, won dozens of gold medals in competition, and commands international acclaim. He is currently the Director and Corporate Chef of the George Brown Chef School and was previously the Director of Food and Beverage/Executive Chef of the King Edward Hotel Toronto.

Jeff Gill

Originally from England, Jeff Gill trained as a chef at the Savoy Hotel in London. He got a job at the

Waldorf in New York but somehow ended up in Winnipeg instead where he was executive chef for a

number of restaurants and hotels. For the last 15 years, he has been a Culinary Arts Instructor at red River College.

Arvel Gray

Arvel Gray is a writer, broadcastor and producer with more than 33 years in the industry. Her career has included radio and television at the local, national and international levels as well as writing and editing for books and magazines.

Christine Hanlon

Homegrown Manitoba writer Christine Hanlon is passionate about her province and its prairie cuisine. She has had the privilege to cover its vibrant culture, restaurants and personalities through such publications as Style Manitoba, Western Living, Harry (Rosen) magazine and Fodor’s Canada travel guide. She is also the co-author of the Manitoba Book of Everything.

Mary Jane Feeke

MJ Feeke is a red seal chef, and baker who has enjoyed teaching pastry arts and baking for the last 8 years. She supported Team Canada to go for the Gold in 2008 for the world Culinary Olympics, she is currently pastry chef for Team Manitoba, who will be attending the next Olympics in 2012. MJ has been chef-owner of Benjamin’s in Selkirk for 12 years.

Chef Michael Dacquisto

C J Katz

CJ Katz is the culinary host of CTV’s The Wheatland Café, and publisher of the award-winning weekly on-line food and drink publication, Savour Life Magazine (www.savourlife.ca). A long-time commentator on cooking, dining and entertaining for CBC Radio 1’s Morning Edition, CJ introduced a new bi-weekly radio column this fall called Savour Saskatchewan, profiling the local flavours and producers of the Prairie. Her first book, Taste, Seasonal Dishes from a Prairie Kitchen will be published this year.

Amy Jo Ehman

Amy Jo Ehman is the author of Prairie Feast: A Writer’s Journey Home for Dinner. She is a food columnist in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and CBC Radio, and a founding member of Local Bounty in Saskatchewan.

Trent Brears

Trent Brears has been the Manager and Execuitve Chef of the legislative food service in Regina for 14 years. As a frequent national and international competitor he won two silver medals at the Luxembourg Expogast in 1994. In 2000, he captained the Saskatchewan Culinary Team at the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany and also received a silver medal.

dee Hobsbawn-Smith’s poetry, fiction and food writing has appeared in books, magazines, newspapers, anthologies and literary journals across Canada and elsewhere. She is an active Slow Food member, award-winning freelance journalist, chef and culinary educator “gifted with whimsy and precision”. After 27 years in Calgary, she now lives in the family farmhouse west of Saskatoon, where she is currently earning her MFA in writing at the University of Saskatchewan. Her fifth book, Foodshed: An Edible Alberta Alphabet, published by TouchWood Editions, has been hailed by The Globe and Mail as ‘a locavore call to arms’.

Janis Hutton is co-owner of Calories Restaurant on Broadway Avenue and was a co-founder ofSouleio Foods on 3^rd Avenue South in Saskatoon. With 16+ years in the food industry, she currently represents Saskatchewan and independent operators on the Canadian Restaurant & Food Service Association Board of Directors. She is known as an innovator and a leader in her community.

Chef Anthony McCarthy

Mary Bailey (senior judge)

Wine, food and travel writer Mary Bailey publishes The Tomato Food & Drink and is co-author of two best-selling books on Alberta food. She is an ISG-certified sommelier and wine instructor for the Art Institute of Vancouver, teaching Wine & Spirit Education Trust courses in Edmonton. Mary founded Edmonton’s Slow Food convivium in 2002.

Clayton Folkers

A world-class pastry chef and baking and pastry instructor at NAIT School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts,  Clayton has participated as chef member, co-captain, captain and coach with Culinary Team Alberta and Culinary Team Canada, winning numerous gold medals as well as the IKA Culinary Olympics in 1992 and the ScotHot World Championship in 2005. A renowned international judge, he was the first pastry chef to captain the Canadian National Culinary Team (2000).

Gail Hall

Gail Hall is a well-known chef, educator and writer. Her award-winning catering company, Gourmet Goodies, is legendary for its focus on quality food and customer service.  Another of Gail’s companies, Seasoned Solutions, presents loft cooking classes and organizes culinary tours. She is a favoured speaker at workshops and conferences and appears frequently on TV.

Liane Faulder

An award-winning reporter, Liane Faulder writes about food for The Edmonton Journal.  Her blog, Eat My Words, was named Best Regional Blog in Canada in 2010. Liane is also food columnist for CBC radio’s afternoon show in Edmonton.

Chris Wood 

Chef Chris Wood Trained in Europe and in London’s West End before being imported into Canada by Four Seasons Hotels, 26 years ago. Today, he is a personal chef for a philanthropist and businessman and his family in the city of Edmonton.

Chef Jan Trittenbach

John Gilchrist

John Gilchrist has reviewed restaurants for CBC Radio in Calgary since 1980 and is the author of nine National Best-Sellers on dining in southern Alberta. His weekly Off the Menu column appears in the Calgary Herald, he is a contributing editor for Avenue and Where Calgarymagazines, and he teaches Food and Culture programs for the University of Calgary.

Susan Hopkins

Susan Hopkins is co-owner of Red Tree, Calgary’s preeminent catering company and take out gourmet food stores.

Michael Allemeier

Chef Michael Allemeier is a culinary instructor at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). His career includes chef roles at Vancouver’s Bishops, Calgary’s Teatro and the Okanagan Valley’s Mission Hill Family Estate  Winery. Allemeier is one of the hosts of Food Network’s Cooks Like a Chef.

Kathy Richardier

Kathy Richardier publishes and edits Calgary’s City Palate magazine (citypalate.ca) and has done so for 18 years.  When not editing/publishing, she travels and writes about food, drink and landscape — grist for the Palate mill. Richardier also reviews restaurants for the Calgary Herald’sSwerve magazine

Chef Michael Dekker

Sid Cross

Sid Cross is an educator-judge of both wine and food with many honours including Wines Committee Chair in London England for the world based The International Wine & Food Society, Gourmet of the Year by The Society of Bacchus America, Officer status in the Ordre du Merite Agricole by the French Government, and BC Restaurant Association Hall of Fame.

Andrew Morrison

In addition to teaching food writing at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, Andrew Morrison is the restaurant critic for the Westender newspaper, a contributor on food and restaurants to Vancouver, Conde Nast Traveler, and Harry magazines, and the editor of BC’s leading food blog, Scout.

Lesley Stowe

Lesley Stowe is the creator of raincoast crisps, author, chef, entertaining expert, slow food devotee, advocate for the Canadian ski jumping team, and Cracker Queen.

Barbara-Jo McIntosh

Barbara-Jo McIntosh, proprietress of Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks – beautiful, smart and ready to eat.

John Bishop

An iconic and much-respected figure in Vancouver’s restaurant scene, British chef John Bishop first came to the city in 1973. He opened Bishop’s in 1985 and it has been one of Vancouver premier restaurants ever since

Chef Rob Feenie