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SOME OF OUR MANY SUCCESSFUL GRADUATES...
"George Brown's Chef School has a strong focus on the fundamentals of good-quality cooking skills and knowledge."
Mark McEwan, North 44° Restaurant. (Alumni)
 Jamie Kennedy - graduate success story is one of Canada's most celebrated and talented chefs. Having graduated from the cook apprenticeship program at
George Brown in 1977, he is recognized as one of the pioneers of contemporary Canadian cuisine, creating menus and dishes that are distinctively
Canadian. He is also the author of two acclaimed cookbooks that feature his innovative recipes, and is a passionate proponent of high quality, fresh
ingredients and advocate for locally grown organic produce. Kennedy's talents as a chef have earned him significant professional recognition, including
the Ontario Hostelry Institute Gold Award for Chef of the Year in 2000.
As the owner and executive chef of JK ROM at the Royal Ontario Museum and previously as partner and chef at Palmerston Restaurant, Kennedy is a successful
restaurateur. He also has a reputation as a generous supporter of local causes and is an enthusiastic participant and organizer in charitable events, including
Empty Bowls and Feast of Fields. Kennedy says George Brown provided him with the knowledge and skills to prepare him for his career as a chef and considers
his classroom time there as important to his development and training at the Windsor Arms. [Watch the video interview with Jamie Kennedy - graduate success story]
Peter McKnight entered the two-year culinary program at George Brown, and impressed his instructors so much that he was hired
as an assistant to one of the professors after graduation. Following his stint at George Brown, he went to work as a chef at Toronto's A la Carte
Catering, where he had previously done a great deal of apprenticing. The opportunity at Wish soon came up and the 40 seat restaurant (with a 30-seat
patio) opened in June 2001, with McKnight taking the helm shortly after. McKnight cooks in a style he calls "French eclectic. I keep it very
simple", he says. It's the essence of French cuisine; the simplicity, the enhancing of ingredients - I let the food speak for itself rather
than manipulating it".
Scott Baechler began an apprenticeship at The Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel under esteemed chef John Higgins, whom he calls
a mentor. After four years at the King Eddy, he moved on to Hogan's Inn in King City. After a brief stint, he vacationed for a few months and
returned to Canada. He has since worked at the Rimrock Hotel in Banff, the Empress Hotel in Victoria and this past February has accepted his first
executive chef post at Diva the Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver.
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Pamela MacDonald and Liako Dertilis
Chef Training - H112, Graduated 2005
What comes to mind when you think about the centre of a cornmeal muffin? Surely not a boiled egg. What about the pairing of Moroccan spices with shortbread or a hot chocolate with shaved chocolate and gummy worms? These unique combinations are the creations of Pamela MacDonald and Liako Dertilis, two innovative chefs who met at George Brown in 2005 as students in the Culinary Management program.
Read more about Pamela MacDonald and Liako Dertilis |
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Roger Mooking
Culinary Management – H100
Graduated 2001
In many ways it's no surprise that Roger Mooking cooks for a living. His father owned a restaurant for more than 20 years, one that he bought from his father. So it's safe to say that cooking is in his blood. What is surprising, however, is the route he took to becoming an Executive Chef acknowledged by Toronto Life, EnRoute, Wallpaper, and the New York Times.
Read more about Roger Mooking |
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Kelly Hughes and Heather Baker
Culinary Arts - 1994 & 2002
Graduates of George Brown College's culinary program, Kelly Hughes and Heather Baker apply their craft in PC's Brampton-based test kitchen, creating and testing new recipes using a steady supply of new PC products that come from around the world.
Read more about Kelly Hughes and Heather Baker |
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Vicky Cheng
Apprenticeship
Vicky Cheng can add a new addition to his many accomplishments, he has been
selected as the 2006 recipient of the Recent Graduate Premier's Award.
Read
more about Vicky Cheng |
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Patrick Kriss
Apprenticeship
With the clock counting down for competitors at the
2006 San Pellegrino "Almost Famous" Chef Competition in California
this past October, George Brown Chef School apprentice Patrick Kriss
began to experience the most stressful - and unforgettable - 45 minutes
of his life. His ravioli of braised sweet breads had taken slightly
longer to cook, forcing him to turn the heat up on the rest of his carefully
planned menu in order to finish on time.
Read more about
Patrick Kriss |
Photo: Couvrette Studio,
Ottawa |
Judson Simpson, CCC
Executive Chef
Judson "Jud" Simpson has been executive chef of Food Services
at the House of Commons in Ottawa since July 1991.
Jud graduated from George Brown College in 1981 with honours, two scholarships
and the Dean's Award.
During his apprenticeship years, Jud worked at many Toronto landmarks
such as Fenton's, Hazelton Lanes, the Inn on the Park and Napoleon's.
Afterwards, in order to perfect his skills in garde-manger, Jud became
part of the brigade at the historical King Edward Hotel. In the spring
of 1985, Jud took on the position of executive sous-chef at the Sheraton
Toronto East Hotel where he was proudly responsible for Whitesides, the
hotel's fine dining room. In 1989, Jud became executive chef at
the Chimo Hotel Markham, ushering in a new dimension of cuisine and supporting
the hotel chain in its menu planning and food programs
Read more about Jud Simpson |
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ROBERT RAINFORD
Works as a Continuing Education instructor at George Brown College
"Courses at George Brown give students the opportunity to ingest
the knowledge," Robert Rainford says, adding that the college
is the ideal place to transition from wanting to become a chef to being
one.
His advice to those aspiring to be chefs - get a good education.
"Educate yourself by getting into an accredited, reputable program."
Read
the article about
Robert Rainford...
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JOHN CIRILLO, CCC
Owner and Chef at Cirillo's Culinary Academy
An active member of the Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks, Escoffier Society of Toronto and the international organization, Les Toques Blanches, Chef John Cirillo's role in promoting the culinary arts has been recognized by his peers since 1998, when he was first honoured by the Escoffier Society as Toronto's "Chef of the Year." A two-time honoree, he was again bestowed the honour in 2003. In 2004, Chef Cirillo was Team Captain of Culinary Team Ontario at the Culinary Olympics and led the team to victory, winning second overall (regional) as well as two Golds and one Silver medal.
Chef Cirillo grew up in a Toronto household where food took centre stage. His mother's Sicilian roots meant home-cooked Mediterranean style meals while his father, originally from Italy's Puglia region, was a cheese importer whose store featured deli meats and a popular take-out section. Enthralled by a high school teacher's stories of working in hotels and kitchens in different countries and competing in the Culinary Olympics, the young chef-to-be, then 17, began an apprenticeship at the Hilton Toronto Airport under Marcel Rothlin. He then honed his trade in Europe at the Hilton on Park Lane in London, England and then Switzerland's Hilton Basel. He returned to Toronto to complete a Certified Chef de Cuisine (C.C.C.) diploma at Humber College, the highest accreditation available to Canadian Chefs.
Between 1994 and 1996, Chef Cirillo was Executive Sous Chef at the Hilton Toronto, working under the legendary Chef Albert Schnell. At 31, he returned to the Hilton Toronto Airport as Executive Chef. Four years later, Chef Cirillo was appointed to the position of Executive Chef of the Hilton Toronto and Tundra Restaurant where he redefined Canadian cuisine until his departure in 2006.
Chef Cirillo discovered a passion for teaching during his tenure at the Hilton Toronto Airport and Hilton Toronto where he hired and trained culinary team members and also developed an apprentice program. His dream of opening his own recreational cooking school came to life in 2009 when he and his wife, Margit, launched Cirillo's Culinary Academy, a state-of-the-art facility located in the heart of Toronto's Islington Village. In the summer of 2010, Chef Cirillo extended the Cirillo's brand with the launch of his first restaurant – "Oregano by Cirillo's" – a neighbourhood bistro-grill located next door to the Academy.
Find out more about
Chef Cirillo and the Cirillo's Culinary Academy here |
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Amy Bracco
Culinary Management – H100
Graduated 2002
With an MBA in marketing and 13 years of experience with companies
like Kellogg's, Uncle Ben's and Dreyer's, Amy
Bracco was an expert at getting new products to fly off the shelves.
The problem was she wasn't learning anything new or really
enjoying her work.
"So I quit," says the 41-year-old Michigan-native.
In her late thirties, Bracco went back to school to
master one of her passions — cooking. After taking a few
courses through Continuing Education at George Brown, she decided
to enroll in the full-time Culinary Management program.
"The curriculum is pretty extensive and complete," says
Bracco. "What
I liked most was the hands-on experience I got from
the labs and the professional relationships with the
chef professors, which
then led to job opportunities."
Read more about Amy Bracco
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Radford Cook
Culinary Management – H100
Graduated 1982
To Radford Cook, cooking is more than a hobby, a passion or even
a calling — it is a skill that is essential to life.
He adopted this outlook on his future career while
travelling through Europe (and working odd jobs to pay for the
trip) after high school.
"I realized that if I knew how to cook, I could always
have a job and I could always eat," he says. "Cooking
is a life skill. It's something you can do everywhere and
everyday."
With this in mind, Cook enrolled in the Culinary Management
program at George Brown College after he returned to Canada from
his year abroad. He completed the two-year program in 1982.
Read more about Radford Cook |
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D'Oyen Christie
Patissier Certificate
Basic and Advanced Baking Certificate
Graduated 1990
When D'Oyen Christie was a young boy growing up in Jamaica,
his mother baked and sold pastries out of their home. Although
he would often help her, he never thought that when he grew up,
he would make desserts decadent enough for royalty.
But the last time the Queen visited Victoria, BC in
2002, it was Christie's pastry panache that she enjoyed while
dining at the Fairmont Empress hotel where he is the Executive
Pastry Chef.
"I just kept thinking, 'this little Jamaican boy is making
dessert for the Queen'," Christie says, looking back
on that memorable but nerve-wracking experience.
It's an honour that he deserves, having dedicated much of
his life to the art of pastry making. While attending high school
in Jamaica, Christie took Home Economics despite being one of only
two boys in the class and when he moved to Toronto at 17, he focused
on food and nutrition at Central Tech.
Read more about D'Oyen Christie |
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Michael Olson
Culinary Management
Graduated 1987
When Chef Michael Olson applied for the Culinary Management program
at George Brown College in 1985, he was disappointed to hear the
program was full for that school year.
"I called admissions and spoke to a woman named Maria
Parks," he recalls. "I said to her, 'you have
to understand how important this is. I'm not going to take
no for an answer.' Somehow, I talked her into letting me
in."
It was a very fortunate thing that Olson was convincing
enough and Parks was understanding enough to accept the young aspiring
chef into the popular cooking program.
Since graduating from George Brown in 1987, Olson has
worked in quality restaurants like Toronto's Cocco Lezonne
and the Liberty, Oakville's Navy Blues, Jordan's Inn
on the Twenty (where he met his wife Anna, host of Food Network's
Sugar) and Niagara Fall's 17 Noir. Olson is considered a
pioneer in the use of fresh local ingredients and the harmonious
marriage of food and wine. He is now passing his experience and
passion on to a new generation of cooks at Niagara College.
Read more about Michael Olson |
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Leanne Pepper
General Manager the Faculty Club at the University of Toronto.
Leanne Pepper has been working in the hospitality industry ever
since she was old enough to get a job. From scooping ice cream
to housekeeping to waitressing, Pepper did it all.
While some teenagers took service jobs out of necessity,
she took them out of interest. "People loved to be taken care
of and I had a passion for that," she recalls.
Pepper, who
grew up in London, Ontario, worked for three years
at Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta where she got her first
taste of working in the kitchen. She was hooked and
wanted to learn more but the chefs were too busy to
teach her their tricks of the
trade.
"I had been working in the industry for all my life
so I really felt I wanted to bring it all together. The only way
to get training was to go back to school," she says.
Read more about Leanne Pepper |
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James Stewart
Cook Apprentice
Graduated 1987
At one time, Chef James Stewart was learning how to draft blue
prints and design buildings. Then one day, he decided he would
rather cook instead.
Stewart's parents owned several coffee shops where he first
got a taste of the chef's life. Stewart wanted more so he
left the architecture program he was enrolled in and started on
his way to becoming the executive chef he is today.
"I met a really good chef and he saw some potential
in me so he set up an apprenticeship for me at the Regal Constellation," recalls
Stewart.
Like all apprentices at that time, Stewart went to
George Brown College for the in-class portion of the program.
Read more about James Stewart |
 Bonnie
Stern wants everyone to
have fun cooking. For almost 35 years, that's been her number one goal and the secret to her success as one of Canada's best-known and
most-loved food experts. Owner of the Bonnie Stern School of Cooking and Cookware Shop in Toronto since 1973, she has taught countless people
that cooking can be easy, fun and delicious through her cooking classes, her 12 best-selling cookbooks, her two national television
shows, Bonnie Stern Cooks and Bonnie Stern Entertains, her countless appearances on other television and radio shows, as well as
her weekly column in the National Post and the many articles she has contributed to magazines and newspapers throughout U.S. and Canada. [More...]
January 26, 2005
by Jennifer Bain
Torrance was 15 when he started dishwashing at the Schoolhouse Country
Inn in Belwood. He quickly moved into salad making and
banquet cooking before studying chef pre-employment and
Italian culinary arts at George
Brown College. [Read the
whole article...]
"Working at Mistura with Massimo is really satisfying," says
Sonya. "It's not only because he has such a high level of skill,
but I also like how involved he is with the community through
charity work. "
[Read the whole story...]
SONYA FRANCESCHINI
Italian Culinary Arts Program - H411
Graduated 2003
Competition calls for too many cooks in the kitchen (By
ELIZABETH BAIRD)
Ontario Junior Culinary Stars: Knorr, of soup, seasonings,
marinades and sauce fame and the organization of professional
chefs and cooks, Canadian Culinary Federation (CCF),
are launching the 2004 Knorr/CCF Junior Culinary Competition
with an invitation for young culinarians to check out
the Web site: www.knorr.ca/jcc.
That's where these budding chefs will obtain competition rules and regulations
for the upcoming competitions. Starting next spring, 10
junior chef competitors per province will put their culinary
skills to the test at each Knorr/CCF
Provincial Junior Culinary Competition. This year's winner,
David Bakker, a recent graduate of George Brown College's
culinary management program
... says, "Competitions
are a great way to set yourself apart, practicing skills
and using equipment you don't have the opportunity to use
on a regular basis."
We encourage you to visit the Alumni Association.
Read more stories from George Brown
Graduates...
To learn more, visit the George
Brown College Alumni page.
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