In Good Company

Popular Canadian chef Corbin Tomaszeski shares with us his love of food and what it means to be a chef

- Alex Brown

Best known for his appearances on popular Food Network shows like Restaurant Makeover, Restaurant Takeover, Dinner Party Wars and The Incredible Food Race, chef Corbin Tomaszeski is a cornerstone of the Toronto hospitality community. Having trained at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Chef Corbin (as he is most widely known) has held executive chef positions at Holt Renfrew Toronto and the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel. His unmatched passion for food and dedication to bringing the joy back into the kitchen has earned Chef Corbin a seat at the table of Toronto’s top restaurant experiences.

Growing up on a farm outside of Edmonton, Tomaszeski first learned of the magic of food through sharing time with his mother in their home kitchen. And he credits his family and his upbringing for his love of food. As a child, he witnessed that family togetherness and bonding usually occurred over the preparation and eating of meals, either for celebrations or regular visits with loved ones. It’s the reason his career is so dedicated to the pleasure of cooking, not just the rules or techniques involved. “We’re so removed from where our food comes from and how to make it properly, because we’ve stopped making time to make food and spend that time with our families,” says the chef. He wants to change that.

Now, Tomaszeski is looking beyond his career of preparing expert menus for well-known restaurants in Toronto and has decided to bring his knowledge of food into the kitchens of all Canadians. His new book, In Good Company, shares a series of treasured tales interwoven with restaurant-quality recipes and the chef ’s personal inspirations for each. Recently, City Life sat with the master chef to find out how he infuses meaning into his cooking, what he’s aced throughout the years and what he thinks it takes to become a chef in 2018.