There’s still a chance to be yelled at by Gordon Ramsay when he comes to T.O.

Ramsay appeared via a pre-taped video message—he was probably still in London or preoccupied with news that yet another man who appeared on Kitchen Nightmares killed himself. Crawford was also a no-show, but had Joel Hock of Solutions With Impact (the firm handling the event) literally throw down a metal spoon to kick off the fundraising part of the competition.

Afterward, the chefs mingled with the media and offered hors d’oeuvres to everyone. While sampling crostini from McEwan, The Heat host confided, “I hope [Ramsay] doesn’t yell at me. I don’t know how he’ll react.” He also quipped about how old he felt as a George Brown alumni (Kennedy is also a fellow graduate, having been an alumni since 1977). Rocco, the non-chef in the bunch, said that his mother-in-law was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, so he immediately jumped at the opportunity to do Chef’s Challenge.

The top fundraiser so far raised $7,000, and considering there are 49 other open spots, there are still good chances of scoring a place among the chefs without having to take out a second mortgage.