A look at what 21 of Toronto’s top chefs served at this year’s Chefs for Change event

With mini-pancake cereal, hot dog towers and ramen lasagna filling up TikTok feeds, it’s sometimes hard to take food seriously. But initiatives like Chefs for Change, a sold-out event that took place on April 1 at Evergreen Brick Works, help remind us how important access to healthy food is. In support of the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, 21 of the city’s top chefs came together under one roof to reimagine their favourite childhood dishes. The evening, which was emceed by the city’s cheese king, Afrim Pristine, saw Olivia Chow and Doug Ford get their hands dirty during a competitive pasta cook-off, an auction for prizes including dinner at Nobu with Toronto’s chief of police, a fire-breathing saxophonist, and $1 million in funds raised for a very good cause.

Here, some photos from the night and a rundown of all the dishes attendees had the chance to enjoy.

Masaki Saito, Sushi Masaki Saito

By deep-frying traditional Japanese nanbanzuke (chicken or fish—in this case, chicken—marinated in vinegar), the iconic sushi chef elevated the classic combo of chicken fingers and fries.

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Daniele Corona, DaNico

Corona stuffed a smooshy bao bun with comforting Neapolitan ragù. The rich bite was complemented by crisp kohlrabi and a drizzle of spicy kimchi mayo.

Forrest Liu, Subscribe Catering

For his contribution, Liu served thinly sliced beef—and the curry sauce it simmered in—over a pile of chewy noodles garnished with green onion and house chili oil.

David Schwartz and Braden Chong, Mimis and Sunnys Chinese

The chefs gave shrimp spring rolls a glow-up by adding water chestnuts and chives to the mix. They were served with a malt-vinegar mayo on the side for dunking.

Related: Inside the culinary empire of Chinese-food king David Schwartz

Alex Tzatzos, Nobu

For his take on yellowtail jalapeño sushi, Tzatzos dotted the firm yet buttery fish with garlic purée, crowned it with thinly sliced jalapeño, garnished it with cilantro and drizzled it with a bright Japanese citrus soy.

Davide Ciavattella, Don Alfonso

Move over, Chef Boyardee! Ciavattella served paccheri pasta stuffed with bufala ricotta and mozzarella, then topped it with Neapolitan-style ragù, creamy parmesan fondue and basil sauce.

David Schwartz and Ethan Rogers, Linny’s

The steakhouse chefs served thick-cut slices of tender house-made pastrami with honey mustard on the side (no one missed the bread).

Didier Leroy, LSL

Leroy brightened up a classic French protein, lamb, with deft use of jalapeño for his gently piquant plate.

Related: Inside the making of LSL, Toronto’s wildly ambitious new fine-dining powerhouse

Eric Chong, Akin

Chong’s take on xiao long bao swapped out the traditional minced-pork filling for coconut tom yum soup, lobster and compressed enoki mushroom.

Eric Roberston, Pearl Morisette

With his rice cream puff, Robertson presented a dessert that included three of the four food groups. He filled Fraser Valley rice with a cream of pressed sake solids (lees), lavender rice pudding and tangy plum jam.

Jackie Lin, Shoushin

Chef Lin had fun with contrasting textures for his nigiri stuffed with grilled salmon, salmon roe, crispy fried tofu, seaweed and buckwheat.

Jason Bangerter, Langdon Hotel

Chef Bangerter didn’t even try to hide the vegetables in his dish. Taste the Garden was a salad of fresh herbs, quinoa, baby vegetables and vibrant green goddess dressing.

Marvin Palomo, Vela

For his dairy-free take on a yogurt cup, Palomo topped coconut yogurt with liquid-nitrogen-poached strawberries, crispy meringue and fresh berries.

Luke Donato, Occhiolino

Donato filled al dente agnolotti with treasures from Ontario’s Greenbelt: leeks, ramps and morels. A little taleggio added some welcome funk.

Michael Hunter, Antler

For Hunter, the seminal childhood sandwich is not a sloppy joe—it’s a sloppy doe: a bun stuffed with venison ragù.

Patrick Kriss, Alo

For his made-over meat-and-potatoes, Kriss served braised beef short rib with buttery potatoes, cremini mushrooms and pickled onions.

Related: Inside the mind-bending business of keeping a restaurant alive during a pandemic

Rafa Covarrubias, Hexagon

Covarrubias’s dish was a colourful Fruit-Roll-Up-inspired ceviche concocted with a tiger’s milk of winter citrus, daikon radish, fermented Fresno chili, yuzu kosho and fresh cilantro.

Ryusuke Nakagawa, Aburi Hana

Chef Nakagawa built a beautiful flavour-packed, omega-rich salmon shinjo (or fish cake), then employed one of the most nutritious cooking methods: steam. He garnished it with fresh daikon and chives and served it with dashi soy sauce.

Steven Molnar, Quetzal

For Molnar’s Mexican take on shrimp cocktail, Heinz ketchup need not apply. It was a fresh blend of Nordic shrimp, jicama, cucumber avocado and crispy tortilla.

Takeshi Sato, Kappo Sato

Instead of scrambled eggs, Sato served a layered Japanese omelette in an earthy dashi of kombu, katsuobushi, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, green onion and ground chicken.