Tag Archives: Toronto

Chef David Zilber on Top Chef Canada’s landmark Season 10: “It is a litmus test for the state of gastronomy in this country”

Top Chef Canada is celebrating its landmark 10th season this year, and the homegrown version is celebrating in style.

First, the season is being dubbed Top Chef Canada X, and is rife with newer, bigger challenges, devious twists and a new face on the judging panel in Chef David Zilber. Zilber, originally from Toronto, has worked in some of the top kitchens around the globe, most recently as head of the Fermentation Lab at the revolutionary three-Michelin-star restaurant NOMA in Copenhagen, ranked as the top restaurant in the world.

Returning Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network Canada, the first challenge for the chefs—the traditional showing off of knife skills—has its stress and energy level upped because they’re doing it outside in front of a crowd of people, host Eden Grinshpan and judge Janet Zuccarini. It only gets better from there.

As in past seasons, Top Chef Canada‘s casting team deserves a gold star for landing a diverse crop of chefs from across the country, serving up dishes celebrating their regions and backgrounds.

We spoke to David Zilber—who joins Grinshpan, Zuccarini, Mijune Pak, Mark McEwan and Chris Nuttall-Smith—ahead of Monday’s return.

How did you end up on Top Chef Canada as a judge?
David Zilber: I was a guest judge on Season 8 and I enjoyed it. It was fun and pretty inspiring and I meshed well with all of the other judges—some of them I had known before—and it was an honour to come back.

What are your thoughts on the Top Chef franchise overall?
DZ: It’s become a household name. It has launched whole careers. So many chefs from the U.S., Canada, and overseas, capture the hearts of a nation and become the next generation in food television or opening restaurants. In that regard, it’s a catapult for all of these people. The talent is real. It’s not like a reality TV show where they are getting the craziest personalities; these are the people with the chops to actually cut it. The number of former co-workers who have been on Top Chef Canada that I have worked alongside, I’ve looked up to or have taught me things, is extensive. It becomes a colosseum for culinary talent that champions a worthy contestant in the best sense.

What was the experience like being alongside the Top Chef Canada judges more long-term?
DZ: I’ve known Mijune for years, cooking for her in Vancouver and then at NOMA before I was ever a judge; Chris Nuttall-Smith I’ve known through his food writing and he did a profile on me years ago; I’ve cooked in Mark McEwan’s restaurants and he has cooked at places where I was a sous chef… there is actually a lot of culinary history in Canada. I say big country, small industry. So, I didn’t feel intimated, they knew me. [Laughs.] Sometimes on my good behaviour and sometimes on my not-so-good behaviour. Kitchens are heated places, what can I say?

On the judging panel, there are a lot of voices vying for a position, if you will. There are a lot of opinions. [Laughs.] It’s understanding what angle to take and what one’s specialty is. Mark might be looking more for the classical technique if that’s there. Mijune is super-poetic with her words. Chris is super-witty. That was the learning curve for me. What is my voice and how do I contribute to this in a way that is true to myself and not stepping on anyone else’s toes?

What are your thoughts on the 11 competitors this season?
DZ: I was supremely surprised at how good some of these cooks were. They were putting out two-star Michellin dishes in the time trials. There was a lot of talent. Early on, I could see who wasn’t going to last based on some of the Quickfire’s and lo and behold it turned out to be true. The chaff fell to the wayside quickly and what we were left with was strength on strength. And there were some sleepers; people who I thought wouldn’t last that long who ended up in it for the long haul.

It really is a litmus test for the state of gastronomy in this country and it’s a positive test at that because the contestants really show Canada’s mettle.

Top Chef Canada airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network Canada.

Image courtesy of Food Network Canada.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Almost Live at the Canadian Screen Awards

(photos by Derek Langer)

MartinShort2_zps6719b3d2

I spent last Sunday night in the press room at the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards. It was quite the night for Canada. The Sony Centre in downtown Toronto was at capacity with Canadian celebs, writers, directors and producers. The two hour broadcast aired on CBC in staggered time slots across the country, with a half hour of red carpet hosted by Shaun Majumder.

Majumder_zps1ed5a7c3

This was followed by an hour and a half of Martin Short singing show tunes and cracking one-liners. Oh yeah, I think we gave away a few awards in there too.

The biggest question surrounding the event has perhaps been what to nickname the actual award. While some felt that a nickname would present itself as Canadians talked over the event, others believed a nickname should be chosen and presented to the media as the “official nickname” of the awards. Twitter was ablaze with suggestions and theories over what the nickname should be. When I asked the winners and presenters I heard everything from the obvious “Screenie” to the more imaginative “Candy,” “Geminini,” “Ceesah,” “Huggy,” and “Awardy.” It’s safe to say that by the fifth broadcast one nickname will have broken ahead of the pack.

This was the first year that the film-based Genies and the TV-based Geminis merged into one meta-broadcast. While the ratings were up from last year’s Geminis by over 75%, there was some question about whether the separate ceremonies should have been combined at all.

With two industry galas preceding the main event, a plethora of the awards were given out earlier in the week, saving some of the audience favorites for the televised broadcast on Sunday night. While the members of the Academy worked hard to pare down the categories into a manageable amount, they didn’t quite cover everything. Writer/director Sarah Polley requested categories for crew contributors at next year’s event.

DragonsDen_zpsbdc3bd4f

On the subject of combining the two awards shows, Kevin O’Leary (Dragon’s Den) was all for it. He agreed that combining film and tv was the smartest thing to do, creating a wider audience, building ratings and  inspiring a higher level of awareness for Canadian productions.  Spoken like a true Dragon.

A show this big doesn’t happen without its fair share of controversy. This year’s malcontent came courtesy of several decisions that surprised the audience and ruffled a few feathers. The hot-button issue was CBC’s choice to stagger the broadcasts across different timezones. While this is a classic fight between coasts, staggering this event handcuffed media to one of two realities: hold off on live tweets, announcing the winners, and posting photos until the last broadcast was airing, or spoil the results for those further west. I didn’t see anyone doing the former, especially since audience members were offering digital congratulations during the awards.

Another piece of controversy arose when the award for Best Comedy Series was given in the off-air pre-show. Taken by Less Than Kind, the award was given out to an almost empty theatre, while the attendees snagged one last cocktail before the live broadcast. A compromise was made when a pre-taped segment of the Less Than Kind winners on stage was spliced into the broadcast (the same with Brian Williams who won for Best Sports Host).

LessThanKind_zps96439c65

LTK showrunner Mark McKinney had positive words down in the press room. “I don’t hold it against the Academy, as they’ve done a lot of things right and done their job for year one. But next year, they won’t get away with the same thing.”

Despite the controversy, attendees of the awards were in high spirits. The red carpet was bustling with celebs and a wild scrum of photographers before the event. The post-show cocktail party was so popular that it continued until staff from the Sony Centre hustled everybody out to the after-party several blocks away.

The audience engaged with Martin Short, and the spirit of camaraderie was evident in the theatre as well as the press room where not only winners appeared, but nominees and attendees also showed up to hobnob with the media vultures and test out the press room food.

Martin Short proved not only to be a nominee and talented comedian but a true entertainer as well, when he busted out a song I’ve dubbed “Marty’s Night” about his chances at winning an award. When he lost in both categories, he kept his good humour, maintaining that his “rock bottom is everyone else’s dream.” Short wasn’t afraid to press a few buttons, poking fun at Cheryl Hickey’s pregnant “ice cream” belly, and critiquing the Housewives’ collective intelligence level. He also brought back some beloved characters from the past.

FatMartinShort_zps20d9b17aJiminy Glick (The Martin Short Show) joined Majumder during the red carpet broadcast, embodying Joan Rivers and bringing life to the pre-show. Some of the major presenters during the awards included Catherine O’Hara (SCTV), Adam Beach (Arctic Air), Kristin Lehman (Motive), Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle), Allan Thicke (Growing Pains), Sarah Canning (Primeval: New World), Rick Mercer (Rick Mercer Report), Meg Tilley (Bomb Girls), Jody, Ronnie and Mary (The Real Housewives of Vancouver), Gerry Dee (Mr. D), Enrico Colantoni (Flashpoint) and many more.

The last award of the night was given out for Best Dramatic TV Series. Unsurprisingly the final award went to the team from Flashpoint, making them the big winners. This was undeniably a big honor after wrapping their fifth and final season by their own choosing. The series finale aired in December last year.

Flashpoint also took home awards for acting, writing, and the team was honoured for their achievements in television at the industry gala on Thursday night.

Flashpoint_zps7432a9d7

The Five Best Things About the Canadian Screen Awards:

  1. Martin Short as a bagpipe.
  2. A professional, multi-camera broadcast with an elegant stage, celebrating Canadian achievements.
  3. The sheer volume of media interested in covering this event.
  4. The mini roast beef amuse-bouches served after the awards.
  5. Seeing a theatre filled with diverse Canadian talent, excited to celebrate each other and themselves.

The Top Five “Opportunities” for Improving the Canadian Screen Awards:

  1. One live broadcast, country wide (no spoilers!).
  2. A better balance between Film and TV at the Main Event.
  3. Better media information, press packages, and subtitles on the press room feed during the awards.
  4. A longer live broadcast, or at least some wiggle room at the end for overages. If the Oscars can close in on 4 hours we can at least manage 2 and a half.
  5. PICK A DAMN NICKNAME! Tell the press and market it or they’re going to end up being called The Pointies or similar.

And just for good measure, here’s my buddy Strombo looking steeped (yep, I’m bringing it back!):

Stombo_zps06ff4fdb

What were your favorite moments? What would you change? Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail