Cheftimony

I recorded today’s episode just before dashing to catch the ferry to my hometown of Gibsons, British Columbia. Before running out the door, I look back at two additional culinary highlights from a recent trip to my original hometown of Thunder Bay. I also look ahead to an upcoming interview with a chef in Asia who practised law for years before committing to cooking, and I’m delighted to update yo...

Today’s show features three interviews focused not on food but on the important matter of what to order with it. From Vancouver to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, today’s episode of Cheftimony is all about how to answer that key question: Can I Take Your Drink Order? Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website .

Join me today in my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario for a talk about a legendary Coney Island-style joint plus a relative newcomer to the culinary scene that really has changed the game in Northwestern Ontario. I also look ahead to the next two full episodes of the podcast, the first featuring three interviews on what to drink with our food and the second to feature a chef/lawyer in Asia! Detaile...

Today I’m back in Las Vegas, meeting up with a new friend, Kristy Totten of the Spicy Eyes Podcast. Together, Kristy and I interview Chef Jamie Tran of Black Sheep Las Vegas. Chef shares some great stories, from cooking over fire in the blackouts of California to explaining just how dodgeball provided essential training for her kitchen career. We also get into cultural identity in cooking, on-Stri...

While I really did have good intentions to bring you the interview from Black Sheep Las Vegas this week, an oh-so-understandable delay means that it’s a snack-sized show this week, featuring more detail on the food stops during the last trip to Las Vegas, some thoughts about a trip to New York City coming up this fall, and a look ahead to some upcoming interviews on the drinks side of the culinary...

I recently spent three very fun days in Las Vegas with three close friends. We made our obligatory donations at the craps tables, lounged by the pool, and took in a lot of good food. On today’s short episode, I’ll take you through some of the culinary stops and introduce you to a new friend who brings an insider’s view of the Vegas food scene (along with some restaurant recommendations that just m...

On today’s show, Vancouver’s Chef Robert Belcham helps me look back over some shared years in the industry but also ahead to what’s in store for restaurants, for cooks, for chefs and for all of us as restaurant guests. With a background in fine dining and whole animal butchery, Robert has built – quite literally – some of the best restaurants in the city. Join us from the back room of his Campagno...

Before the heat of the summer becomes unbearable, I’m heading back to one of my favourite cities to visit, Las Vegas, Nevada. With an undeniably great food scene on the Strip and a growing local culinary scene off-strip, Vegas offers a whole lot to tempt me away from the tables. On this trip, I’ll be heading down with old friends and meeting some new ones too, including an on-the-ground Vegas food...

Today’s episode comes from the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. I’ve been lucky to live on the Coast since late-2017. It’s an absolutely beautiful spot, close to Vancouver but pleasantly distant at the same time. In recent years, the Coast has seen a lot of development and that has brought both controversy and a seriously-improved culinary scene. Today, I speak to the partnership behind a brill...

Today’s snack has some information about two upcoming full-length episodes, one from Gibsons, BC on the Sunshine Coast, and the other from Main Street in Vancouver. I also have a short interview from a place that’s very close to my heart, the legendary McKellar Confectionery in my hometown of Thundery Bay. This place has been serving up crave-inducing Coney-style hamburgers and hotdogs since 1926,...

Today we continue the vegan theme on Cheftimony with another wonderful guest, Anna Pippus. Anna’s work includes time as a food writer, a food lawyer, an animal rights activist, and a very popular vegan author and blogger. We talk about everything from the heavy issues of undercover animal welfare investigations to the lighter side of veganism, including a lightning-quick plant-based sauce that goe...

On today’s show I have two really fun interviews, both connected to a great story involving a vegan food producer in Vancouver, a food industry lawyer in Toronto, and a complaint to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Just what is “cheese”? The answer is not nearly as simple as you might think, but my guests and I have a lot of fun talking it through. Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony web...

Today’s episode is a snack-sized portion of Cheftimony. Join me for five minutes, and I’ll tell you about what’s on tap for the show in the coming weeks. In short: vegans! I’ll be posting episodes to discuss a saga in Canadian food labeling that I’ve taken to calling Cheesegate. Soon on the podcast, a vegan chef and a food lawyer dive into just what can be called “cheese” and how the whole food in...

The first episode of Season 2 took me to a delightful bake shop on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. The two owners of Lone Wolf Bakery welcomed me into the heart of their kitchen where our food talk covered chef life, community building, artisanal pastry, and heavily-crusted sourdough bread (not for the weak of tooth!). Detailed show notes are at the Cheftimony website .

From Vancouver to Las Vegas and from New York to London, Season 1 of Cheftimony was a whole lot of fun. Looking ahead at the new season, I plan to bring you more talks with more chefs and of course a few more lawyers. One particular goal for Season 2 is to spend more time cooking in restaurant kitchens and reporting to you on those experiences. Another is to incorporate more of your ideas into the...

Picasso Restaurant in the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas has amazing food, an amazing kitchen and, of course, amazing art on the walls – original Picassos! It’s also where I first cooked as a stagiaire in Vegas. In Episode 011, I talk with Matthew Fleisher, the Executive Pastry Chef at Picasso, about everything from his work as a diamond courier before becoming a chef to where he eats in...

The best part of producing the Cheftimony podcast is meeting people I simply wouldn’t meet otherwise. On Episode 010, I have an across-the-ocean talk with one such amazing person, Seetal Savla of the London food blog SavlaFaire. Seetal is a blogger and restaurant reviewer with the writing talent to take us inside her favourite restaurants and right to the table when she interviews chefs. Join us a...

One of the chefs I met during my early days as a stagiaire at Bishop’s Restaurant in Vancouver was Thompson Tran. Thompson is a very interesting fellow. In recent years, he and his wife have started a food business, left Vancouver and set up shop just outside of Toronto. Now, Thompson keeps multiple plates spinning through his company Wooden Boat Food. On Episode 009, Thompson and I talk about ent...

Whatever you’re into, New York’s got it. And when that whatever is food, you’re particularly lucky. Join me in the big city for my talk with Jenny Dorsey, a fascinating chef who’s pushing the boundaries of traditional culinary work to incorporate her vision as an artist into her dishes. Chef Jenny uses food, art and technology to express exactly what matters to her. Detailed show notes are at the...

How can you, the customer, improve your experience at a restaurant? One of the best ways I know is to become a regular at the places you love. In Episode 007, I speak to four regulars at the Vancouver restaurant closest to my heart, Chef Andrea Carlson’s Burdock & Co. This episode is also my chance to say Happy 10th Anniversary to Chef as we mark a decade of cooking and laughing together. Deta...

There’s a problem in the culinary world: the industry demands so much and it pays too little. On Episode 006, I talk with two wonderful chefs I worked with at Burdock & Co. in Vancouver, Greg Sugiyama and Will Beere. They’ve both left cooking behind, Will to be a mechanic and Greg to work in software. I’m happy they’ve both found fulfilling new careers, but I can’t deny that I’m disappointed t...

In 2015 I had one of the best experiences of my life, cooking aboard the schooner Passing Cloud in some of the most remote and most beautiful parts of the British Columbia Coast. On Episode 005, I’m joined by two colleagues – Tasha Sawyer and Erin Vickars – who have also lived the dream (and the challenge!) of cooking aboard Passing Cloud in the Great Bear Rainforest and in Haida Gwaii. Join us to...

For years at Burdock & Co., Sunday dinner shifts ended with my friend and long-time Burdock server Richard Boucher pouring us all staff drinks which we’d sip while chatting and cleaning up. These days, Richard is the man behind Curious Oyster Catering Co. and on this episode, the two of us have a great talk about all things oyster. After talking to Richard, I’m joined by lawyer and cicerone Ch...

Have you ever met someone who’s such an enthusiast, such a committed, driven expert that no matter what their area of interest, you become fascinated with it too? On Episode 003, you’ll meet my friend Chef Jacob Deacon-Evans, the most dedicated student of culinary history I know. My many cups of coffee with Jacob followed many earlier cups with Andrea Rasmussen, a business lawyer who shares my lov...

For years, I’ve been lucky to cook in kitchens in Las Vegas and since 2014, it’s always been at Bouchon Bistro in the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. On Episode 002, I speak to my friend Joshua Crain, Chef de Cuisine at Bouchon Las Vegas. Josh and I talk about everything from his years at the original Bouchon in Yountville, California to the unique challenges and rewards of cooking in the heart of t...