änkôr, Canmore

Born and raised in Sherbrooke, Québec chef Danny Beaulieu spent his younger years traveling. His career in the kitchen didn’t start until he was 22, he first started as a server & bartender in various venues before making a move to the kitchen where he found his true passion. Honing his skills in various restaurants for over a decade Chef Beaulieu finally decided to launch his career to the next level by opening änkôr in November 2020. Now after 3 years, surrounded by a team that is driven, knowledgeable and aiming at the same goal with passion. Chef Beaulieu is able to offer a culinary journey that is elevated yet approachably warm and comforting

Deane House

John Beddoes was born and raised in Vancouver and started his cooking career at the national award-winning Pear Tree Restaurant before moving to Calgary to expand his culinary expertise. He led the kitchen teams at Calgary’s acclaimed Notable and Model Milk before joining Deane House in 2022, where he is currently Executive Chef. John has always had a passion for local, seasonal food and has strong connections with the Alberta farming community, utilizing the best possible seasonal ingredients. At Deane House, John and the entire kitchen and service teams make conscious decisions on how to source, prepare, and serve food in a way that lessens their impact on the environment and honours the land.oes here

Paper Birch, Edmonton

Growing up on his family’s acreage in Central Alberta, Chartrand learned how to grow and respect food from his father of the Métis Nation and his mother, a member of the Mi’kmaw Nation and Irish-Canadian descent. He later relocated to Edmonton to pursue culinary training, where his strong work ethic and passion for cooking found him honing his craft in some of the best restaurants around. As a fierce competitor, Chef Chartrand has earned gold at the Canadian Gold Medal Plates Championships—becoming the first Indigenous chef to do so—and appeared on popular food shows, including Top Chef Canada, Iron Chef Canada, Chopped Canada, Fridge Wars, and Wall of Chefs. He also co-authored the award-winning cookbook tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine in 2019, a celebration of his heritage and innovative culinary style.

The Wilde on 27

An experienced chef and educator, Joshua Dyer is the executive chef at The Dorian. Among his many accomplishments, Chef Dyer was chosen as one of the Top 30 Under 30 culinary artists by the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance. Dyer has travelled to the world's top restaurants and was invited to do an apprenticeship at the Maido restaurant in Peru (World's Top 50). Dyer was immersed in the country’s finest Nikkei cuisine, where he worked with top chefs to deliver exquisite dishes using fresh, colourful ingredients. Dyer's passion is to bring the very best local ingredients together to create dishes that, while informed by the great culinary traditions, are also uniquely Western Canadian.

Tecolote, Toronto

Chef Elia Herrera is Co-Owner of Toronto’s newly opened Tecolote (previously Los Colibris) where she draws inspiration from her Mexican heritage. She is best known for opening Calgary’s Milpa in 2023 as well as star turns on Top Chef Canada and Top Chef Mexico, and winning gold at Toronto’s Great Kitchen Party in 2018.

Orchard

Born in South Korea, Jenny Kang grew up on a farm outside Seoul before heading to Calgary, where she cooked at top rooms including Bow Valley Ranche and Shokunin Izakaya. Now she is Chef and part-owner of the stunning new Sturgess Architecture-designed Orchard. In this playful space, she dishes up modern Mediterranean cuisine with pan-Asian flair. Orchard has been recognized by Canada’s 100 Best and named one of Avenue Magazine’s top five best new restaurants of 2022, and Chef Kang won a gold medal at Canada’s Great Kitchen Party 2018, previously known as Gold Medal Plates.

Naagan, Owen Sound ON

Zach Keeshig is the owner and head chef of Naagan.

Born in Wiarton and raised in Owen sound he knew he wanted to become a chef at the age of 17, after a part-time job in a restaurant.

He went on to study at Georgian College for Culinary Arts, then did an apprenticeship under Chef Tim Johnston.

Continuing to build on his culinary education, he went on to work in various restaurants across Ontario with many of the top chefs in Canada.

His time in the kitchens of places like Michael Stadtländer’s Eigensinn Farm (9th Best Restaurant in the World 2002), Restaurant Pearl Morresette (1 Michelin Star, 1 green star), Canoe (Michelin recommended), Enigma (1 Michelin Star),  Langdon Hall (Michelin recommended) and in April Aska (2 Michelin star) , this has helped him fuse his Ojibwa background with modern culinary techniques. 

Teatro

Executive Chef Camilo Kobek has cooked in a lot of great rooms — from Toronto’s Alo Bar to Vancouver’s Pidgin to Calgary’s River Café — and is currently infusing the Teatro menu with hints of his Chilean heritage

Banff Hospitality Collective

Justin Leboe, the former Model Milk and Pigeonhole star (each earning an enroute Best New Restaurant award), has continued his gastronomic journey in the iconic mountain town of Banff. He joined Banff Hospitality Collective in March 2020, where he has consistently raised the profile of Banff as a culinary destination. Here, he has overseen the culinary programming and development of four new restaurant concepts, including Three Bears Brewery & Restaurant, Hello Sunshine, LUPO Italian Ristorante (No. 6 Best New Restaurant by Canada’s 100 Best in 2023) and, most recently, Bluebird Woodfired Steakhouse. Leboe received the coveted 2013 Pinnacle Award for Canadian Chef of the Year, and he was named the country’s most innovative chef by Canada’s 100 Best in 2016.

DOPO

Fresh off a stint as Executive Sous Chef at the three-Michelin-starred Per Se in New York, David Leeder is the Executive Chef at the intimate DOPO (whose name in Italian means “after”) in Calgary’s Marda Loop. Inspired by the restaurant’s predecessor, D.O.P., Chef Leeder brings years of experience cooking at Teatro Ristorante to the mostly Italian table, as well as prodigious skills earned at three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Martin Berasategui in Spain, Noma in Copenhagen, and Michelin-starred Frenchie in Paris. At DOPO, both Leeder and Owner Tony Migliarese share a passion for Italian cuisine which is deeply rooted in Migliarese’s family recipes and provides an opportunity for Chef Leeder to dive deep into Italian techniques and flavours.

AnnaLena, Vancouver

AnnaLena is one of Vancouver’s most popular and highly regarded restaurants, with a cheeky modern décor, a Michelin star and a steady presence on Canada’s 100 Best. It was named Vancouver magazine’s Restaurant of the Year in 2023 with Michael Robbins winning Chef of the Year and Restaurant of the Year again in 2024, when it also won Gold in the Best Contemporary, Best West Coast, and Best Kitsilano categories. Along with Co-Owner and Operations Manager Jeff Parr, Executive Chef Michael Robbins opened AnnaLena in 2015, naming it for his grandmothers and earning a Top 10 finish on enRoute’s Best New Restaurants. Since 2020, Chef Robbins has offered his fresh, flavourful, modern Canadian cuisine as a tasting-menu-only experience of local, seasonal ingredients, thoughtful wine pairings and unique cocktails.

Published on Main, Vancouver

At Published on Main, Gus brings his passion for locally farmed, foraged and fermented foods to the table, celebrating the bounty of British Columbia, while being globally inspired. Under his leadership, Published on Main has received several accolades, including #1 on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants in 2022 and #3 in 2023, attaining one of Vancouver’s first Michelin stars, and being named 50 Best Discovery. He was also Vancouver Magazine’s 2022 Chef of the Year. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Gus spent a big part of his time growing up either in the garden at home or out at his grandparent’s farm. He’s always had an incredibly close connection with food, and from an early age, felt most at home in the kitchen. After several years working through many busy Winnipeg restaurants, Gus decided to get out of his comfort zone and cook abroad. He completed several stages at Michelin-starred restaurants in Germany, before returning to Canada to work with well-respected chef Scott Jaeger at The Pear Tree Restaurant in Vancouver. He then spent a summer at Copenhagen’s famed Noma, an experience that further shaped his food philosophies and broadened his knowledge

Marilena, Victoria

When Marilena Café + Raw Bar finally opened in 2023, the Toptable Group’s first Victoria restaurant had been under scaffolding for four long years. But it’s been worth the wait: Canada’s 100 Best has crowned Marilena the country’s best new restaurant and No. 27 overall, crediting Executive Chef (and hometown hero) Kristian Eligh for “his prodigious skillset and razor-sharp instincts in the kitchen.” Those skills were well-honed at world-renowned Michelin-starred restaurants including Jean George in NYC, The French Laundry in Napa, and Blackbird in Chicago. Most recently, he spent six years as Culinary Director for Vancouver-based Hawksworth Restaurant Group, during which Vancouver magazine twice named him Chef of the Year.