Anthony Rose

sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada


Rose, a native Torontonian, awoke his passion for food under mentor David Lee at Centro. Upon graduating from the California Culinary Academy, Chef Rose worked alongside legendary chefs Bradley Ogden at the Lark Creek Inn and Mark Franz at Farallon, savouring the cuisine culture of Northern California. A move to the East Coast, brought Rose to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Mercer Kitchen and Jonathan Waxman’s Washington Park, lending a New York edge to his California “farm house” cooking.

Rose now makes his Toronto return as the executive chef of the  Drake Hotel, bringing with him his fresh and flavourful approach to food. The Dining Room menu at the Drake will surely excite with our seasonally inspired menu.

Lynn Crawford

sponsored by Amgen

Whether competing against Bobby Flay in the popular Iron Chef competition, or hosting Food Network Canada's Restaurant Makeover, Chef Crawford never fails to excite audiences with her love of food and engaging energy.  Lynn has established herself as a tremendous culinary presence in Canada. Chef Crawford began her career with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts 19 years ago in Montreal. During her career with Four Seasons, Crawford worked in Nevis, West Indies; Vancouver and Toronto, Canada; and New York. After studying fine arts in university, Crawford moved to Toronto and attended George Brown College's acclaimed culinary program.

During her studies there, she worked and received classical training from the city's premier chefs. After graduating, she traveled throughout California to further her culinary education. While female chefs were still an anomaly, Crawford was fortunate enough to work and learn from two of the best: Alice Waters and Barbara Tropp. Today, she still considers them role models and mentors.

Crawford received tremendous media attention as the executive chef of Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto and New York City, but returned home to Canada from New York to debut a Food Network Canada series entitled Pitchin' In, in which she goes out to take on the challenge of getting the freshest and best ingredients. In 2010, she launched Ruby Watchco, a table d'hôte restaurant, in Toronto's Riverside neighbourhood, which opened to critical praise.

Christian Pritchard

sponsored by Warner Chilcott
 

Christian Pritchard is the host of Roger TV’s daytime. Christian's background includes national broadcast experience with CBC TV’s Steven & Chris and The Food Network, provincially with CHCH Hamilton and CITY TV’s Breakfast Television and locally with Rogers TV on many series’ including Mission Meal and Diggin’ Durham. He has also been widely heard on NEWS TALK 1010 and AM 640.

When not in front of the camera, Christian is in demand for his work as a “gastrotainer” across Canada, the United States, and Italy, and has been hosting the Iron Chef competitions at Harbourfront Centre since 2003. Christian teaches cooking across Canada and is Co-Chef of the Culinary Cottage just outside of Collingwood, Ontario.

Donna Dooher

sponsored by Wampole

Chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur, Donna Dooher is one of North America’s leading culinary advocates. Passionate about food and its creation, Donna has spent over 25 years pursuing its perfection. She has been creating memorable experiences at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, Mildred Pierce, Avant Gout Catering, and ran the Cookworks for more than 10 years.

As Executive Chef and Director of Cookworks Cooking School, Donna led the culinary instruction scene in Toronto. She used to host The Cookworks on The Food Network Canada and The Food Network. Armed with impeccable standards, she is a highly respected chef and advocate within the culinary world, with a network of chefs and suppliers that stretches across the country.

A successful entrepreneur, Donna is also a frequent representative at food industry events whose presence has been requested by such icons as Julia Child and Williams-Sonoma. She has also been featured on CBC’s Venture, Air Canada’s on-board Toronto profile, and in numerous national magazine and newspaper articles. Donna has appeared on Breakfast TV, City Cooks, Vicki Gabereau, Fanny Kiefer, and Rogers Daytime.

Her cookbook, Out to Brunch, which Donna co-authored with Claire Stubbs, won Cuisine Canada’s Cookbook of the Year award in 2003. Recognized by her peers, Donna was recipient of the Ontario Hostelry Institute 2003 Media and Publishing Award and the Ontario Hostelry Institute’s Chairman’s Gold Award for Industry Lifetime Achievement in 2009. Donna is a member of Slow Food, Cuisine Canada, Women Chefs and Entrepreneurs, the Canadian Food and Restaurant Association, International Association of Culinary Professionals, and the James Beard Institute.

For more information on the Chef Challenge, please contact:

Abby Burke
Special Events Coordinator
Phone: 416-696-2663 x 290
Fax: 416-696-2673
E-mail: aburke@osteoporosis.ca