Khalil Akhtar

Khalil Akhtar is a CBC journalist, food writer and culinary instructor. In his weekly food issues column that airs on CBC morning radio programs across Canada, Khalil examines how the food we eat shapes the lives we lead. He also looks at culinary trends from haute cuisine to homecooking and slow food to fast food, as our foodways evolve to meet modern demands.

Khalil's culinary education began before he can remember. He grew up learning the varied traditional techniques of Indian cuisine beside his mother, grandmothers and an extended community of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi expats. With one foot firmly rooted in the cuisines of South Asia, Khalil spent time working in several professional kitchens during his student years in New Brunswick. He brings decades of experience in Indian cuisine to his cooking classes and he also brings plenty of context to one of the world's oldest and most complex culinary traditions.

Khalil can be heard daily as co-host on CBC Radio's On The Island. He lives, eats and dreams in Victoria, British Columbia.

Chef Lucais Syme

Chef/Owner Lucais Syme opened La Quercia with partner Adam Pegg in 2008.  La Quercia has won Vancouver Magazine  awards such as Best Casual Italian (three times), and also Restaurant of the Year.

Using local ingredients as well as specifically sourced Italian products the menu at La Quercia reflects the cuisine and philosophy of Northern Italy.

Chef Trevor Bird

After competing (and placing second) on Top Chef Canada last year, Chef Trevor Bird was inspired to open the farm-to-table Fable restaurant in Kitsilano. "I've always been very passionate about how things are grown," he says, "and knowing where food comes from." Chef Bird earned a degree in culinary management from Ottawa's Algonquin College, was the chef de partie at MARKET in the Shangri-La Hotel in and has also worked as a chef at Truffert and as a sous chef at Restaurant Garcon (both in Montreal) along with Sooke Harbor House and Lumiere (Vancouver).

Chef Kunal Ghose

Kunal Ghose, chef/co-owner of Red Fish Blue Fish, (in Victoria's beautiful Inner Harbour), and creator of the popular "tacones", sleeps well at night knowing that success came via sustainable practices. After 20 plus years of running restaurants for others (and not so sustainably), when the opportunity came up to do it right in Victoria, he jumped on it. The Ocean Wise program aided him in creating a 100% sustainable menu. Well studied and passionate about the issues that face our oceans, Kunal is acutely aware that hand selecting the finest and most ethical seafood for his kitchen serves a great purpose for the longevity of his business and for our oceans. Redfish Bluefish composts and recycles nearly all of the waste created. Kunal has had some TV appearances that include "Eat St." and being a chef'testant on "Top Chef Canada", as well as other recent media in "Reader's Digest", "Western Living" and "Yam "magazines . His recipes and tips have been also been published in "The Oceanwise Cookbook", "A Good Catch" and soon to grace the, "Eat St. Cookbook". Twitter follow him at @ChefishBluefish.

Chef Gregory Reid

Chef Greg Reid joined our team last summer, and as January 1 he took over leadership of our kitchen and culiary program as our new Chef de Cuisine.

Greg was born in Newfoundland, and spent most of his young years in the Atlantic Region. In 2004 Greg pursued his passion for cooking by enrolling at The Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown, beginning the Culinary Arts program.

After graduating, Greg began his quest west. He spent time at The Willow on Wascana in Regina, Saskatchewan, rated by En Route Magazine as one of the best New Restaurants in Canada. Shorly after taking the position at The Willow, Greg was featured on the Global television program Canada's Next Great Chef.

After his tenure in Regina, Greg continued west to Vancouver, taking a position with one of Canada's most celebrated Chefs, Bruno Marti at La Belle Auberge. During his time there he built upon the foundation of classic French Cuisine, Learning directly from the Master himself and from Chef de Cuisine Tobias MacDonald.

In winter 2008 Greg joined the team at West Restaurant and Bar, under chef Warren Geraghty, and soon became Warren's Sous Chef. During his time at West, Greg learned the processes into running a successful business, from cost and inventory control, to staffing and menu design. Also during this time, he helped on the project West; The Cookbook. With Chef Geraghty leaving West and moving home to his native England, Greg felt it was a good time for him to move on as well - and he did, to Daniel Boulud's db Bistro Moderne. Greg spent the summer of 2011 as Sous Chef at Old Vines Restaurant at Quails' Gate, inspired by the Okanagan's bounty. He returned to Vancouver that fall to take a position with The Ensemble Restaurant Group, Headed by Canada's Top Chef Dale Mackay.

He has proven an invaluable member of Edible Canada's management team, since joining the company, with his creative and experienced culinary skills, quick wit and sharp sense of humour. In his spare time Greg enjoys spending time with his wife Leah and their daughter Eve.

Chef James Avila

Chef James Avila loves food. The endless combinations of local, Canadian and international ingredients keeps chef busy bringing old favorites and new classics to the table at Fiamo and he might even deliver your food to your table. Chef is not satisfied unless the diner is satisfied.
Buon appetito!

Chef Joel Watanabe

Joël 
Watanabe 
was 
born 
in 
1976 
in 
Ottawa, 
Canada 
to 
a 
French 
mother
 and
 a
 Japanese 
father, 
a
family 
of 
food 
lovers. 


His 
great 
grandfather
 was
 a 
chef 
in 
Corsica, 
his 
father 
is 
a 
tofu
 maker,
 and 
Joel's
mother
 always 
cooked 
all 
their 
family 
meals 
from
 scratch 
and
 instilled 
a
 love 
for
 food 
in
 Joel 
from
 an
early 
age.


 He 
began 
apprenticing 
in 
restaurant 
kitchens 
at 
age 
17
 and 
moved 
to
 Montreal 
where 
he
often 
held 
two 
jobs 
at 
the 
same
 time.
 
At 
21, 
Joël 
was
 mentored 
by 
a 
chef 
from 
the 
Japanese 
embassy
who 
was 
hired 
to 
train
 him
 in 
sushi 
at 
Icho 
restaurant 
in 
Ottawa. 

This 
disciplined 
educatio n
 imparted
valuable 
skills 
as 
well 
as
 a
 keen
 respect 
for 
Japanese 
cuisine.


 He 
quickly 
moved 
up 
through
 the 
ranks
and 
in 
2000, 
he 
was 
hired 
for
 his 
first 
chef 
position
 to 
open 
Kinki, 
a
 high‐end
 modern
 sushi 
restaurant
 back 
in 
his 
hometown
 of 
Ottawa.



Food
 Network's 
popular 
'Opening
 Soon' 
show 
chose 
the 
restaurant 
for 
one 
of 
their 
episodes. 

Kinki
opened
 to 
rave 
reviews
 and 
was 
considered 
a 
huge 
success. 
After 
a 
year 
Joël 
felt
 that 
it 
was 
time
 to
improve 
upon 
his 
European
 technique 
and 
moved
 back 
to 
Montreal 
where 
he 
honed 
his 
French 
and
Italian 
skills.



 In 
2004 
he 
moved 
to 
Whistler, 
Canada 
and 
worked 
at 
Araxi 
for 
3 
years
 as 
the 
raw
 bar 
chef
which 
has 
won 
the
 best
 fine
 dining
 award 
in
 Whistler 
for 
numerous 
years 
in 
a 
row
 in
 the 
Vancouver
Magazine
 Restaurant
 Awards. 

During 
this 
time,
 he
 was
 chosen 
to 
be 
part 
of 
a
 team
 to 
go 
to
 Rome
 to
cook 
for 
the 
Governor 
General 
at 
the 
Canadian
 Consulate.


 Following
 his 
travels 
around
 south
east 
Asia
 and 
a 
brief 
stint 
cooking 
in
 Melbourne, 
Joël 
moved 
to
 Vancouver 
where 
he
 worked 
with 
Gord
 Martin 
at 
Bin
942 
which 
won 
best
 small 
plates 
the 
year 
he 
was 
there.

 Afterwards, 
he 
was 
opening
 chef
at 
La
Brasserie.




In
 2009,
 Tannis 
Ling 
approached
 Joel
 with 
her 
concept
 of 
modern
 Chinese 
food,
 updating 
classic
dishes 
and
 placing
 them 
in
 an 
intimate
 atmosphere. 

In 
January 
of 
2010, 
Bao 
Bei 
opened
 its 
doors 
and
became
 an 
instant 
success, 
winning 
a 
series 
of 
awards,
 including 
Enroute
 Magazine's 
second
 best
restaurant 
in 
Canada
 award. 

Critics 
were
 enamored
 with 
the
 menu 
and 
lauded
 the 
blending
 of 
French
and
 Japanese 
techniques 
with 
traditional 
Chinese 
flavors. 

Joël 
continues 
to
 titillate 
the 
palates 
of 
Bao
Bei 
costumers 
with 
his 
unique 
approach 
to
 Chinese 
cuisine.

Chef Nicole Gomes

Nicole Gomes is the chef and proprietor of Nicole Gourmet, a boutique catering company in Calgary, AB. Realizing her passion for cooking at an early age, she pursued a classical education at Vancouver's Dubrulle French Culinary School. Shortly after graduation an apprenticeship opportunity guided her to work in Paris, France, which sparked many travels working throughout Europe, Asia and Australia to expand her culinary knowledge.

Upon return to her hometown of Vancouver she was the first female hired by Chef David Hawksworth at West Restaurant. In 2002, a move to Calgary sparked work with Chef Michael Noble at Catch Restaurant then onwards to the opening Chef of Mercato. Madly in love with cooking, Nicole is also a great lover of traveling, continuously inspired by food culture from around the world. Her philosophy is to create quality, well-prepared food from scratch that will leave a lingering impression.