Top Chef Canada (2011)
Top Chef Canada is a reality competition show. The first season premiered on April 11, 2011 on Food Network Canada. The first season consisted of 13 episodes, with 16 contestants vying for a grand prize of $100,000 and a GE Monogram kitchen valued at $30,000. Contestants shopped at Loblaws in season one and McEwan in season two. Like the original American series, each week the chef contestants compete against each other in culinary challenges. Contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry, with one or more contestants being eliminated each week. The Canadian edition uses the same graphics and music as the American version of the program. Season one of Top Chef Canada was one of Food Network Canada's most highly-rated programs. The network renewed the program for a second season, which began to air on March 12, 2012.
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Episode 1 - Getting To Know You
Release Date: 2012-03-12In the series debut, viewers meet the 16 chefs who will compete for the title of Canada’s Top Chef.
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Episode 2 - Cheese, Glorious Cheese
Release Date: 2012-03-19In the high stakes Quickfire Challenge, the chefs must create an inspired breakfast dish using 100% cow’s milk cheese from the Dairy Farmers of Canada. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs host an art gallery cocktail party where they serve hors d’oeuvres that use cheese to paint a picture of their teammate.
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Episode 3 - From Russia with Vodka
Release Date: 2012-03-26The remaining chefs compete in the classic Top Chef Blindfold Taste Test for the Quickfire Challenge. Later, the chefs divide into teams to create a traditional Russian Zakusky – tapas style meal – using pure filtered vodka.
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Episode 4 - Food From Around the World
Release Date: 2012-04-06With a focus on food from around the world, the chefs must create their own unique salad for the Quickfire Challenge this week. For their Elimination Challenge, the chefs are dispatched to different ethnic neighbourhoods to purchase their ingredients. Using those ingredients, they must create a hot and a cold dish that is inspired by different world cuisines.
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Episode 5 - Pork to the People
Release Date: 2012-04-09For the Quickfire Challenge, the chefs must properly butcher a whole pig. In the Elimination Challenge, the chefs use the same pork they butchered to create dishes at George Brown Chef’s School for a cocktail party in support of Food Banks of Canada. Senior students from the Chef’s School at George Brown lend a helping hand.
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Episode 6 - The French Feast
Release Date: 2012-04-16The contestants put their own spin on poutine. Later, they take on classic French cuisine.
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Episode 7 - Life's Little Milestones
Release Date: 2012-04-23The chefs must use All-Bran cereal in dishes for the Quickfire Challenge. Then they prepare a romantic meal for couples celebrating a special anniversary.
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Episode 8 - Restaurant Wars
Release Date: 2012-04-30In this episode, the competitors compete in the signature Top Chef challenge, Restaurant Wars. Special guest, David Adjey, sits at the judges' table.
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Episode 9 - The Numbers Game
Release Date: 2012-05-07The chefs must create an amazing dish using a specific number of President's Choice™ signature products.
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Episode 10 - A Day in the Life of Canadian Food
Release Date: 2012-05-14The chefs must choose a distinct region of Canada and create a day's worth of meals from their chosen region.
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Episode 11 - Surf and Turf
Release Date: 2012-05-21In this episode, the chefs are challenged to take haute cuisine to the street. For the Quickfire Challenge, they create two distinctive dishes with international flair that can be served from a street cart in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square. In their Elimination Challenge, they choose from a selection of seafood to create three distinct dishes in a very short period of time.
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Episode 12 - Chef McEwan's Favourite Things
Release Date: 2012-05-28The chefs must create a special family style meal for Mark and some very close friends.
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Episode 13 - Finale
Release Date: 2012-06-04The chefs are first challenged to create a BBQ-themed meal, followed by a 3-course menu of their own design.