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David O’connor | All About An Experience
Raised in England where he was also trained, Chef David O’Connor polished his skills at the Savoy in London, a Michelin star restaurant near London, and the Hauptbahnhof, the largest train station in Switzerland renown for gourmet dining. Adept in food art, he won gold in the Salon Culinaire competition. Eventually O’Connor made his way…
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Micheal Laird | Canadiana Master
Artwork injects a subtle presence into the food at Creations in Edmonton. Most of the artwork depicts landscapes, and the natural world, something that appeals to Executive Chef Micheal Laird (yes this is how he spells his name), “I love the way First Nations culture is about respecting the environment and nature.” At Creations, Sawridge put…
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Daniel Vézina | The Star Chef
At his Quebec City restaurant Laurie Raphaël named after his two children (he has another restaurant of the same name in Montréal) Daniel Vézina assumes various roles – chef; owner; teacher. For a chef who has achieved star status in Québec, with cooking shows, books and restaurants, I expect that Vézina had long ago left…
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Justin Leboe | Risk Taker
Growing up in Vancouver, food was an important part of the Leboe household, whether picking chanterelles in winter on Vancouver Island, collecting beach oysters or crabbing with cousins. For ten years, the chef worked in some of the top kitchens in North America (The French Laundry, Daniel, Jean-Georges). Sensing that the best way to advance his…
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Hugo Ortega | Mexican King
Originally from Mexico, Chef Hugo Ortega immigrated to the United States working as a night janitor and dishwasher in restaurants, gradually becoming a line cook in Houston in 1990. “I worked on my English skills and was able to graduate from Houston Community College Culinary Program and I became a working chef at Backstreet Café…
