The Chef's Domain

Life and work partners Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith share a deep passion for the Okanagan Valley, having built their catering business on the products of the region. It's one of the most fertile growing regions in Canada. The renowned caterers want to celebrate their good fortune at the end of the season by hosting a dinner for the suppliers and local growers who have helped to make their company a success. But with a self-imposed 25-mile limit to obtain all the ingredients, the process becomes harder than they imagined.

In 2010, Raymonds Restaurant raised the culinary bar in St. John's, NL, and won enRoute magazine's prestigious Best New Restaurant award. For the restaurant's two-year anniversary, Chef Jeremy Charles and Sommelier Jeremy Bonia are planning a blowout dinner party featuring the best of Newfoundland produce that they can find themselves. These owners will be hunting for fresh game meat, diving for scallops and foraging for mushrooms with some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country as the backdrop. But since they are known for their culinary brilliance rather than for punctuality or organizational skills, getting it all done on time could be an adventure.

Come autumn, Treadwell Farm-to-Table Cuisine is hosting "The Wine Maker's Affair," a sold-out gala dinner featuring pinot noirs from nine Niagara vineyards. Chef Stephen Treadwell, a consummate professional with a biting wit, must create a perfect pairing for each wine that will also seamlessly combine into a multi-course meal. A chef for more than 40 years, Treadwell demands only the best from his suppliers and staff. Whether it's a delivery of local trout or a trip to a favorite veg farm, Stephen's eyes are always on keeping everyone and everything in line. The pressure is on to please the pinot makers, and impress a dining room full of highbrow oenophiles.

When Chef Emma Cardarelli opened Nora Gray Restaurant with partners Lisa McConnell and Ryan Gray in Montreal last year, she struck gold. People fell in love with Emma's rustic Southern Italian fare, making Nora Gray the hottest new restaurant in town. Now Emma's ready to kick it up a notch: exploring what it would take financially for her small, young restaurant to go organic AND throwing a special dinner for a group of esteemed European winemakers. She's wowed the locals, but how will Emma fare when pairing the winemaker's latest vintages with a Sicilian-inspired menu of Quebec kale, local organic duck breast and pasta made from eggs she has gathered herself?

In remote Tofino, on Vancouver Island's breathtaking western shore, Vancouver Island native Chef Nicholas Nutting and Aussie ex-pat Pastry Chef Matt Wilson are put to the test. To lure back the tourists in a post recession economy, Wickaninnish Inn owner Charles McDiarmid will host a dinner party for influential food and travel writers. Fishing for fresh spot prawns at the crack of dawn, foraging for mushrooms in the northern rainforests and harvesting kelp right out of the Pacific, our chefs are on a mission to ensure that only Tofino's freshest ingredients end up on the beachside table.

Just 5 months ago, big city chef Matt DeMille left the bright lights and good press in Toronto behind for pastoral Prince Edward County. HIs new boss, restaurateur Kimberly Humby, knows she's snagged a major talent, but worries that this tattooed, 'skinny pant' wearing chef still has a thing or two to learn about what the locals in Wellington want to eat during the off season. Matt DeMille will have to work his hardest to win them over. To get his hands on the county's finest bounty, Chef Matt rolls up his sleeves to milk water buffalo, bake the old-fashioned way and forage for wild greens around the restaurant. How the locals receive this gourmet 'Pleased to meet you' meal remains to be seen...

Model chef and restaurant owner Christie Peters, along with her partner Kyle Michael is throwing a head-to-tail pig feast. Dedicated to a 'waste-not' philosophy of meat eating, Christie wants to make sure each part of the pig is utilized to it's fullest. Attending the meal are her loyal customers who are accustomed to her restaurant's largely vegetarian menu. From feeding pigs to harvesting hemp, Christie is determined to bring Saskatoon's best to the table.

Award-winning executive chef Hayato Okamitsu left his post at the esteemed Calgary restaurant Catch to teach and inspire young chefs at SAIT, a college training the next generation of chefs. He thinks they are ready for the big time but will a table of discriminating restaurant critics and owners tasting the locally sourced and ambitious feast agree? Hayato goes the extra mile to help sourcing the best ingredients possible including saddling up to check out a cattle ranch. Or has he pushed them too far, too quickly?

To end the autumn season, luxury country hotel Langdon Hall in Cambridge, ON will be hosting their 3rd annual Harvest Dinner. Over 100 well-heeled guests will be in attendance to experience fall at its finest. Chef Jonathan Gushue has big plans for the menu - including a fishing trip for fresh trout eggs. But there is something on the horizon he hadn't bargained on: Hurricane Sandy ripping across the east coast and putting the kibosh on any boating. Despite the storm, our chef is determined to impress, heading to a local farm to select heritage breeds of partridge and going out to the woods with his mushroom forager Kriss. Chef Jonathan Gushue will also have some company in the kitchen. With old pal from Todd Perrin flying in from Newfoundland to share the spotlight as a guest chef, Jonathan will have to go above and beyond to impress his repeat clientèle...

Juggling a Quebec food-travel TV show, recipe writing, charity event appearances and a new café, food-scene golden boy Danny St Pierre still has to find time to tend to his modern brasserie Auguste in Sherbrooke Quebec. With the autumn season at its peak, Danny is planning a locavore 'Quebecois Oktoberfest' to highlight his connection to the Eastern townships and his customers. Danny takes his quirky personality and devilish grin on the road, seeking out top township ingredients to use in his meal: apples are picked, pork is smoked, and cheese is made, all in a bid for the best. Will a flawless autumn event maintain Danny's place as the King of Sherbrooke?