What Toronto’s top chefs are serving at this year’s Chefs for Change
The dishes are inspired by their favourite childhood meals
Last year’s edition of Chefs for Change, which took place at Evergreen Brick Works, raised more than $1 million to fund nutritious meals for over 50,000 students in Toronto.
This year, on April 14, the party will move to St. Lawrence Market North, the city’s newest locavore hotspot, where 20 of Toronto’s top chefs will come together in support of Toronto Foundation for Student Success. While the evening will be an impressive showcase of local talent, it’s less about spectacle and more about sustenance—a reminder that, when it comes to children’s nutrition, what matters isn’t Michelin stars or food trends on TikTok; it’s what shows up every day on lunchroom trays.
Below, a sneak peek at the night, including some of the dishes attendees will have the chance to enjoy.
Davide Ciavattella, Don Alfonso
Ciavattella’s Il Tonno alla Scapece will is an elevated tuna salad with juicy seared fish marinated in bright citrus, served with mint couscous, punchy apple-cider-vinegar-marinated zucchini and chilled tomato soup.
David Schwartz, Linny’s, Linny’s Luncheonette, Mimi Chinese and Sunnys Chinese
Schwartz will improve on the humble hot dog with his take on the childhood favourite: a pastrami sausage roll with zesty pickles and dill sauce.
Steven Molnar, Quetzal
This one is for the more mature palates: smoky and silky sikil pak verde made from toasted pumpkin seeds and green chilies, served alongside a fresh salad of gem lettuce, prickly pear and pumpkin seeds.
Craig Harding, Bar Prima and La Palma
Sure, orange segments could be served for lunch in a Ziploc bag—but they’re be way more interesting in Harding’s tuna tartare featuring blood orange and basil. Guaranteed to not end up neglected at the bottom of a backpack.
Daniele Corona, Danico
Corona is dry-aging rich saba mackerel, then curing it, lightly torching it and pairing it with briny zucchine alla scapece and a cloud of smoked provolone foam. Find us a kid who can’t get behind what are essentially cheesy bubbles.
Patrick Kriss, Alo
Kriss is playing it allergy-safe with a nut-free vegetarian ricotta tortellini sprinkled with herbed breadcrumbs and a flurry of parmigiano-reggiano.
Related: Alo is temporarily closed—but its test kitchen is open
Alex Tzatzos, Nobu
Tzatzos will take on Captain High Liner to prove that fish can be finger food even without a dense coat of breadcrumbs. His skewers of thinly sliced yellowtail will be layered with minced garlic, fresh jalapeño and cilantro, then threaded and served with a tangy yuzu-soy ponzu on the side—because dipping is fun for all ages.
Coulson Armstrong, Our House Hospitality Company
This proud father of two is giving mac-and-cheese a glow-up. Armstrong will fold chunks of lobster into the mix, then turn it all into deep-fried nuggets served with an airy, buttery tomato béarnaise for dunking.
Rebekah Bruce, Bar Eugenie
Sam I Am would love Bruce’s green sausage and bean dish, featuring a handsome skewer of vibrant herb-laced chorizo verde and charred cabbage alongside an earthy, silken bean purée.
Zach Keeshig, Naagan
Anishinaabe chef Zach Keeshig is reimagining the carnival corn dog by swaddling a hot dog in bannock dough, then skewering and deep-frying it. On the side: house-made ketchup and mustard.
Kevin Shawcross and Danvee Kwok, Ayla
This husband-and-wife team is pairing Cantonese pineapple buns with spring onion relish and roast duck liver butter, because it’s never too early to introduce kids to offal.
Jeremy Austin, The Pine
Austin will stuff tender jiaozi with sweet carrot, lightly pan-fry them until crisp, then finish them with brown butter and chives. Think crunchy carrot sticks and onion dip—only far more sophisticated.
Related: Ten Michelin-approved restaurants a short road trip from Toronto
Jason Bangerter, Langdon Hall
Here’s a sure-fire way to get kids eating fungus: savoury roast chicken served with an umami-rich purée of foraged mushrooms, all topped with truffle bubbles.
Devan Rajkumar, private chef
Rajkumar will reimagine Guyana’s national dish, pepperpot, as a sandwich. Tender slow-cooked leg of lamb, stewed in a rich cassareep-spiced sauce, will get piled into a soft milk bun.
Marvin Palomo, Liliana
Think it’s not possible to improve on the classic PB&J? Palomo begs to differ. His take on the childhood classic will pair flaky puff pastry with wild blueberry compote, peanut butter and dreamy vanilla whipped cream.
Shauna Godfrey, Maven
With her goodie-two-shoes sandwich, the Mensch, Godfrey riffs on a classic beef slider. A patty of ground beef is folded with sautéed onions, mustard, cooked rice, chopped dill and parsley—landing somewhere between a slice of meatloaf and the inside of a cabbage roll—then topped with pickles and stuffed into a house-made challah bun slathered in dill-cumin mayo.
Zach Kolomeir, Dreyfus, Vilda’s, Taverne Bernhardt’s and NL Ginzburg
Kolomeir’s strawberry shortcake is pure nostalgia: pillowy white cake, a pile of mascarpone, fresh strawberries and a dusting of poppy seeds.
Salvatore Mele, Oretta
Mele will ruin run-of-the-mill ice cream for everyone with his luscious hazelnut gelato sprinkled with rich gianduja chocolate.
Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
