Six of Toronto's top female chef's displayed their culinary talents at George Brown Chef School Wednesday for an Equality Day event organized by the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF). More than 200 guests attended the event, which is held annually to mark the enactment of the equality provisions in Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "It's a very important section for [us] so we celebrate it every year," Katherine Blake, the organization's director of fund development, said of the rights that took effect on April 17, 1985.
"This year we wanted to give it a twist," Blake said of the event, which has typically involved a presentation by an author or filmmaker. "We wanted to involve another industry where there are inequities, where we continue to have glass ceilings. The culinary industry is one example of that." According to Statistics Canada, 50 per cent of those who enroll in culinary schools are women, but they have a high dropout rate: Only 22 per cent of those women graduate and become chefs.
Organizers invited Amar Patel of the Indian Rice Factory, Heather Baker from the President’s Choice Test Kitchen, Donna Dooher of Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, Dinah Koo of Dinah's Soup Kitchen and Koo & Co. Catering, Susie Reading of the Calphalon Culinary Center, and the Art Gallery of Ontario's Anne Yarymowich to prepare hors d'oeuvres for guests. "They all chose their own recipes for the evening," Blake said.
George Brown students provided additional catering. Dooher and actress and winery proprietor Sonja Smits—co-chairs of Equality Day—conducted a cooking demonstration, and winemakers Deborah Paskus (Closson Chase Vineyards), Ann Sperling (Southbrook Vineyards), and Sue-Ann Staff (Megalomaniac Winery) gave talks throughout the evening.
"The focus really is on the chefs. We'll have a few flowers out, and we'll have a silent auction going, but when you're doing a food event you don't want to take away from the food. We're keeping things white, crisp, and simple," Blake said. "It's all about the food, and the chefs, and their journeys."
Event sponsors included Carranza Barristers & Solicitors, Capital G Consulting Inc., McCarthy Tétrault, and Lenczner Slaght.
