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With Bobby Flay at the helm and six celeb chefs on deck, this year’s Chef’s Challenge fundraiser proved a relaxed affair

Host Bobby Flay has a refreshment (Image: Yves Freypons)

At last year’s Chef’s Challenge, the famously potty-mouthed Gordon Ramsay ended up throwing the chefs off the stage after a skillet caught fire. This year, the annual fundraiser for Mount Sinai’s breast and ovarian cancer research was led by grill master Bobby Flay, meaning there were no fires—although there was a good deal of impaired cooking by the end. Mark McEwan was swigging limoncello from the bottle, while Flay downed prosecco and Lynn Crawford tried to curry favour with the judges with some frozen mojitos. Who knew the night would end in such delightful debauchery?

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Aprons & Icons

November 14, 2011 | 4:28 pm

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Less than two weeks until Bobby Flay touches down for the second annual Chef’s Challenge cancer fundraiser

Bobby Flay, the Iron Chef star famous for his devotion to the grill, will be heading north this November to host the second annual Chef’s Challenge: The Ultimate Battle for a Cure next week. Last year, under the supervision of the infamously potty-mouthed Gordon Ramsay, the event raised a whopping $1.1 million for Mount Sinai Hospital’s ovarian and breast cancer research. This year, their goal is simple: surpass last year’s total (with less swearing, presumably).

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TV Diner

November 11, 2011 | 11:03 am

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VIDEO: Watch Marge dream about Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay (from Sunday’s foodie episode of the Simpsons)

Food bloggers of the world are bracing themselves for this Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons, wherein Marge becomes a food blogger with a little help from Lisa and Bart, leaving Homer, perhaps the world’s best-known animated food enthusiast, out in the lurch. The clips of “The Food Wife” that have been released by Fox show the Three Mouthketeers (yes, that’s what they call the blog) salivating over such delicacies as pine needle sorbet and a deconstructed caesar salad served in four test tubes. The episode also features cameos and animated appearances from scads of food celebs, including Gordon Ramsay, Mario Batali, Julia Child, the Swedish Chef (yes, that one) and Anthony Bourdain, who appears in Marge’s dream at a Singapore street food market and describes himself as “food bad boy Tony Bourdain.” Expect lots of squirming out loud and flashes of self-awareness on Twitter starting at around 8 p.m. on Sunday night.

The Dish

Aprons & Icons

August 11, 2011 | 11:14 am

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Gordon Ramsay’s inauspicious Montreal launch

Last year, Toronto diners lamented the decision of U.K. mega-celebrity-chef-cum-ball-of-rage Gordon Ramsay to launch his first Canadian outpost in Montreal. Well, that restaurant, Laurier Gordon Ramsay, opened to the public last night, and ironically for the Hell’s Kitchen host, the place was promptly evacuated after the sprinklers went off. Apparently the damage was limited and the situation is under control, but it’s not an auspicious start for the beleaguered and famously perfectionist chef. Read the whole story [Montreal Gazette] »

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TV Diner

May 10, 2011 | 12:25 pm

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Top Chef Canada recap, episode 5: 11 little piggies

A toast to us! (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

TOP CHEF CANADA
Season 1 | Episode 5

Last night on Top Chef Canada, the competition moved into its second phase: some obvious underperformers have been eliminated, a leader pack is emerging, and the clowning around has died down. Tellingly, even when the contestants are shown in their underwear, they’ve got their game faces on. Here, our recap of an episode that contained everything from whole hogs to former military officers.

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Restauran-TO

April 14, 2011 | 4:28 pm

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Daniel Boulud announces new Montreal resto, joins long line of Michelin-starred chefs to snub Toronto

Daniel Boulud at his eponymous restaurant in New York (Image: winestem)

First Jean-Georges Vongerichten, then Daniel Boulud, then Gordon Ramsay, and now Daniel Boulud again. That’s three Michelin-starred celebrity chefs that have passed over Toronto to open Canadian outposts in Vancouver and Montreal. Boulud (who made his name at Le Cirque and Daniel, among others) announced today that he would open a new restaurant, Maison Boulud, at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal.

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Aprons & Icons

January 14, 2011 | 4:52 pm

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Gordon Ramsay praises Black Hoof in Food Network interview

Gordon Ramsay, the British chef known for his passion (read: yelling profanities) in the kitchen, has heaped even more praise on The Black Hoof, which he dined at when he was in Toronto for the Chef’s Challenge in December. In an interview with Food Network Canada, Ramsay raved about the horse mortadella, saying:

I tried serving a horse burger once in London, and PETA dumped ten tons of horse shit outside the front door of Claridges and we had to evacuate the hotel. Why is everyone squeamish about horse meat? It’s delicious, for God’s sake.

He goes on to say: “The Black Hoof, for me, was extraordinary. I was like a pig in shit.” Presumably, not horse shit.

• Spotted! Gordon Ramsay dining (and tipping decently) at the Black Hoof

The Dish

Aprons & Icons

November 16, 2010 | 3:54 pm

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Spotted! Gordon Ramsay dining (and tipping decently) at the Black Hoof

Gordon Ramsay poses for a photo with Black Hoof staffers last night (Image: Grant van Gameren)

If you’ve ever wondered just how devoted the Black Hoof is to its no-reservations policy, consider this: when chef-owner Grant van Gameren was tipped off that Gordon Ramsay was on his way over, van Gameren didn’t guarantee a table. Lucky for Ramsay, there was one available. “We let him order off the menu,” van Gameren tells us. “We didn’t do anything super-special for him. We like to treat everyone the same.”

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Opening

November 12, 2010 | 2:30 pm

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Gordon Ramsay shafts Toronto by opening his first Canadian restaurant in Montreal

Gordon Ramsay, the blond British ball of rage with the vast culinary empire, is finally expanding into Canada. In February 2009, the master chef told CBC’s The Hour he would open a restaurant in Toronto, and while that might still be the case, Montreal is getting a Ramsay resto first. The chef is taking over Rotisserie Laurier BBQ and subtly redubbing it Rotisserie Laurier BBQ by Ramsay. It sounds like Toronto won’t even be next on the list. After filming a season at Araxi, Whistler’s most acclaimed restaurant, Ramsay gushed that he wants to retire in the ski town.

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Aprons & Icons

September 29, 2010 | 12:10 pm

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There’s still a chance to be yelled at by Gordon Ramsay when he comes to T.O.

Jamie Kennedy, David Rocco, Massimo Capra and Mark McEwan show off their creations at the George Brown cooking school (Image: Karon Liu)

The city’s celebrity chefs converged at the George Brown cooking school yesterday at a media launch for Chef’s Challenge, November 20’s Hell’s Kitchen–esque fundraiser for Mount Sinai hosted by Gordon Ramsay. The premise is that five of the city’s top chefs—Mark McEwan, David Rocco, Jamie Kennedy, Massimo Capra and Lynn Crawford—will head up a team of 10 (consisting of the top 50 fundraisers) and cook the same three-course menu. Ramsay and a panel of yet-to-be-announced judges will determine who cooked it best.

: David Rocco’s rice balls

: Massimo Capra admires his duck confit crêpes

: Mark McEwan shows off his crostini

: Mark McEwan, David Rocco, Jamie Kennedy and Massimo Capra ham it up at George Brown College (Image: Karon Liu)

: Massimo Capra, Jamie Kennedy, Mark McEwan and David Rocco pose at George Brown College

: Massimo Capra, Jamie Kennedy, Mark McEwan and David Rocco show off their creations at George Brown College

: Jamie Kennedy and his cold smoked whitefish

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Aprons & Icons

August 20, 2010 | 10:48 am

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Gordon Ramsay, Mark McEwan and Lynn Crawford head up epic celebrity cook-off at the Carlu

Normally, we have to watch celebrity chef battles from our couches, but this November, we’ll have a chance to see it all live and, just maybe, get screamed at by Gordon Ramsay. The Chef’s Challenge takes place on November 20 and 21 at the Carlu, with Ramseay hosting a cook-off between teams led by top T.O. chefs David Rocco, Jamie Kennedy, Lynn Crawford, Mark McEwan and Massimo Capra. Participants must raise a minimum of $2,500 (the money goes to Mount Sinai Hospital), and the top 50 fundraisers will be put into the cooking teams.

More information about the event is available here.

The Dish

Aprons & Icons

February 1, 2010 | 1:27 pm

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Celeb chefs and namesake restaurants: arrogance run amok or marketing genius?

Marco Pierre White (Photo courtest of ITV)

Marco Pierre White (Photo courtesy of ITV)

The Guardian is shaming celebrity chef Marco Pierre White for attaching his name to restaurants he rarely cooks in. “The idea of a famous chef exploiting their name in this way should be a thing of the past. No one, no matter how talented and clever, can assure the quality of a restaurant by remote control,” the British daily writes, smarting at the spread of MPW-branded venues. By comparison, Toronto’s top chefs operate differently, typically launching spin-offs and side projects as separate entities under discreet titles. Star chef Jamie Kennedy added his name to most of his projects, but he was deeply engaged with all of them (oddly, his surviving locavore locale is simply monikered Gilead Bistro). When his flagship Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar was sold, the new owners dropped the name—and name recognition—immediately. Bad boy Marc Thuet once attached his name to his ventures, as well, but now prefers provocative titles, like Bite Me and Conviction (Petite Thuet remains eponymous, albeit diminutive). And then there are Michael Stadtländer’s Eigensinn Farm and Haisai—names as organic as their menu items, but devoid of chef branding.

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Read All About It

November 30, 2009 | 9:12 am

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Gordon Ramsay’s new face, the sudden deluge of boneless chicken wings, how garlic became more valuable than oil

Gordon Ramsay, before crevice removal (Photo by Dave Pullig)

• BrewDog, a Scottish brewery known for its highly alcoholic Tokyo beer (and for its barely alcoholic Nanny State beer, brewed in retaliation for being branded irresponsible), has launched what it calls “the strongest beer in the world.” Tactical Nuclear Penguin, as it is called, packs a punch almost as strong as hard liquor, weighing in at 32 per cent alcohol. A warning on the label advises users to enjoy the brew like “a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.” [BBC]

• Under advice from Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay has undergone a painful procedure to have the deep grooves in his face smoothed out, the Daily Mail reports. The formerly craggy chef will have to repeat the procedure two or three times per year to maintain his new nubile glow. We can’t see this baby-bottomed visage as having a positive effect on his intimidation factor. [Daily Mail]

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Aprons & Icons

October 2, 2009 | 2:13 pm

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Gordon Ramsay completes transformation into a cartoon character

Leader of the snack: the famous chef as he appears on Gordon Ramsay, at Your Service (Photo courtesy of Cuppa Coffee Studios)

Gordon Ramsay’s next television venture will have nothing to do with losing his cool around incompetent kitchen staff. Instead, he’ll be appearing as a valiant puppet in a new stop-motion animation series called Gordon Ramsay, at Your Service, which comes from the masterminds behind MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch. The irascible chef is reportedly thrilled at the idea and has signed a deal with Toronto’s Cuppa Coffee Studios—the largest stop-motion animation studio in the world—to be caricaturized and provide vocal talent.

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Read All About It

October 2, 2009 | 8:34 am

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Kobe beef dogs versus Shopsy’s, mac-and-cheese taste test, the science of successful wine labels

Hot dog, we have a weiner: Shopsey's beef bests Kobe's in a taste test (Photo by Matito)

Hot dog, we have a wiener: Shopsy's beef bests Kobe's in a taste test (Photo by Matito)

• A Kobe beef hot dog should be superior to the standard wiener, right? With high-end wieners recently making a splash in Toronto by being sold at the ACC (though those dogs are made of beef from North American Wagyu cattle, not the real Japanese deal), the Toronto Star set out to answer that question. The paper conducted a blind taste test of an array of hot dogs, including Kobe. The judges’ favourite comes as a bit of a surprise. While Kobe dogs hovered in the realm of mediocrity, plain old Shopsy’s dogs ranked the highest. [Toronto Star]

• Not to be outdone by the Star (see above), the National Post has done a taste test of the hot dog’s partner in crime: boxed macaroni and cheese. Their reviews of four brands, including Kraft Dinner and some other more obscure offerings, is intriguing on its own, but what is really fascinating are the reader comments. Many have submitted their far more interesting tips on how to cook KD and its doppelgängers “properly” (many point to ludicrously inaccurate cooking directions on the box). Some highlights: toss some jalapeños or curry powder into the mix, grate in some real brick cheese and use only a tablespoon of milk. [National Post]

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