Hidden Gems Toronto

Send us Fan Mail Jemma Chapman came to Canada from England hoping to start a career as an architect. When job offers didn't materalize, rather than becoming dejected,  she decided to share her newfound love of our city by creating  stamp size illustrations of her favourite places and foods. What started as a hobby has turned into a business that is bringing joy and pride to our city.  Thanks...

Send us Fan Mail The Museum of Toronto's latest exhibit has developed a very creative way to profile women from a variety of walks of life. CEO, Heidi Reitmaier provides insight into how this small but mighty museum has managed to not only build a unique space for their exhibits but also to extend its reach to different neighbourhoods in Toronto. Heidi also describes, with great passion, the...

Send us Fan Mail Maddy Goldberg is a renowned Toronto Chef. She wanted to volunteer at her local Food Bank in some capacity. Then it dawned on her- maybe she could use her skills as a chef to make a difference in people's lives. Sam Garrison is a teacher who was looking to give his life some focus and also contribute to Toronto Food Banks. What seemed like a far fetched idea to swim the Engli...

Send us Fan Mail We start our first podcast of 2026 with a lively chat with our treasured Mascot/Sculptor, Austin Emery. We follow that with a fun interview with the creator of the Little Canada Museum, Jean- Louis Brenninkmeijer. Much like their original podcast, each of them has intriguing updates and stories to share. Thanks for listening! Please visit our website at hiddengemstoronto.net Follo...

Send us Fan Mail Nabilah Rawji is a passionate Sommelier in Toronto and in this interview provides some terrific wine-related facts including a few surprises about the many myths surrounding the world of choosing and serving wine.  Alexandra Newbould is one of Canada's preeminent courtroom sketch artists, (she recently covered the much followed Hockey Canada case). She shares her insights int...

Send us Fan Mail The  dynamic duo of Matt Blackett and Dylan Reid have been part of an intriguing organization that has played a critical role in making our city better. Matt is the publisher and creative director of Spacing Magazine while Dylan is the Executive Editor. The magazine that analyzes public spaces in Toronto has been nominated for 22 national magazine awards and has taken home four ho...

Send us Fan Mail Veterinarian Dr. Cliff Redford and his daughter Emily, have travelled internationally on a singular mission: Rescue as many animals in life-threatening situations as possible. Their adventures abroad have been documented in an award-winning film entitled, Dr. Cliff Worldwide Vet . This film chronicles in riveting fashion, their rescue operations across the Globe. The film also cap...

Send us Fan Mail Rob Spindler saw a problem in his local ravine and decided to do something about it. What started out as a one-man operation has blossomed into an annual community event. Cindy Ho and Joseph Tam thought that a Geriatric Care facility might appreciate and benefit from their singing and performing skills.  Their "C & J" show now warms the hearts of residents on a regul...

Send us Fan Mail The Small Change Fund , led by environmentalist Burkhard Mausberg , has developed a unique way to provide financial and strategic support for more than 200 small, enterprising organizations across Canada. Burkhard explains how the program has developed and expanded over the years and also chats about his fascinating and robust career in the environmental movement. And he talks pas...

Send us Fan Mail To celebrate our fourth Season of the Hidden Gems Toronto podcast, we decided to take a trip down memory lane. We tracked down four of the guests who appeared in our first few seasons to see what has changed since then. And much like their original podcast, each of them had intriguing updates and stories to share. Thanks for listening! Please visit our website at hiddengemstoronto...

Send us Fan Mail Coko Galore seems to have been born with an extra funny bone in her body and she proves it every night when she appears on the stage of second city Toronto.   Kurt Scanlan , meanwhile, has managed to turn his childhood passion for playing with toys into a full time career.  They both provide us with an entertaining account of how it all came about. Thanks for listening! Please vis...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Bunch is an award-winning historian with an insatiable interest and curiosity about our city's past. He has a knack for bringing history to life by including unusual and often  bizarre characters and events in  all his writing and presentations.  And he has a unique storytelling style that makes the history of Toronto seem like a John Grisham page-turner novel. Thanks fo...

Send us Fan Mail You need a good pair of running shoes to keep up with Krissan Veerasingam .  He helped launch the Scarborough Repair Café where residents can bring a multitude of household items for repair, free of charge. He is also an advocate for public transit and supports  numerous environmental initiatives.  As if this wasn't enough, he finds time to promote ethnic grocery stores and r...

Send us Fan Mail Nadya brings an indigenous perspective to her award-winning photography.  In this podcast you will learn  that it isn't just her technical ability with the camera that makes her work so special, it's  her gentle nature and empathy for her subjects that allows her to build a trust with people and that is evident in all her portraits. As she likes to say: "The camera...

Send us Fan Mail In this second episode of our series called "You do what for a living?" we introduce you to John Scott , affectionately known as the Clock Guy in Toronto. John is responsible for keeping many of our city's tower clocks running smoothly and chiming on time. John gives us a master class on how gems such as the Old City Hall tower clock operate. After listening to John...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast we launch the first episode of our occasional series about people who have interesting, if somewhat unusual occupations. And Austin Emery certainly fits the bill. Over his lifetime, Austin has attended more than 500 events dressed as a mascot. He has worn every costume you can imagine. But wait; there's more! In addition to being a mascot, he also is an accomp...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast, we interview Julia Malaniy and Marg Gadke , who are part of a remarkable group of highly skilled medical professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to treat severely injured military and civilian casualties resulting from Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine. It is a heartbreaking yet heartwarming story of human compassion and hope.   Thanks for liste...

Send us Fan Mail Jacquie Rushlow is on a mission! She is determined to rid the world of single-use plastic, one community at a time. She gave up a very successful TV production career to work full-time on accomplishing this goal. In a few short years, she has opened four outlets called The Keep Refillery, where people can bring in old plastic containers and refill them with an array of everyday, h...

Send us Fan Mail For his entire career Peter Clutterbuck has been involved in creating and implementing social policies that have greatly impacted the quality of life in Toronto. Whether it’s poverty, mental health or marginalized communities, his finger print is on them all. Peter discusses the successes and disappointments of his illustrious career and weighs in on the state of our city from a s...

Send us Fan Mail StreetARToronto has turned our urban neighbourhoods into an outdoor art gallery. Initiated 10 yours ago  as a plan to reduce graffiti vandalism, the program has engaged artists to change  thousands of drab buildings, underpasses and traffic-signal boxes into vibrant colourful street art. Toronto is now a world leader in this work. And as project manager Catherine Campbell explains...

Send us Fan Mail While growing up in Europe, Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer had a real passion for miniature trains. Later on in life, he developed a similar love for the country where work brought him for a two year stint. That country was Canada. He then had the brilliant idea of combining these two passions into one,  and though it took 11 years and millions of dollars to complete, the effort was we...

Send us Fan Mail Tourism is an $8 trillion global industry yet very little of that money makes its way into the hands of local businesses and communities. Fortunately, there is an organization called Planeterra that is trying to change all that. They have helped create nearly 500 community-based initiatives in more than 77 countries. Each one provides travellers with a unique travel experience tha...

Send us Fan Mail Zach Grant is the Community Director at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto. The church is a mere 21 steps from the Eaton Centre, the epicentre of retail consumerism in Canada. The contrast could not be more stark. Zach works with, and on behalf of,  the homeless people living in Toronto.  Each month there is a memorial at the Church to celebrate the life and tragic...

Send us Fan Mail The indefatigable Sarah Lazarovic has been a journalist, editorial cartoonist and  author. Her book, A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy, is a lively tale of her fight against overconsumption, including going one whole year without  buying a single piece of clothing.  And her regular  newsletter, Minimal Viable Planet, which she describes as an undepressing newsletter about how...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast we chat with the Executive and Creative Director of El Mocambo, the effervescent, Mike Chalut.  Mike talks about how the El Mocambo was completely renovated into a state of the art facility, while at the same time, paying homage to its illustrious past. It seems everyone has an Elmo story and you will hear lots of them in this podcast.  Thanks for listening! Please...