Four great chefs will thrill visitors at CRFA Show 2011

TORONTO, Dec. 2 /CNW/ - Four of Canada's top chefs are on the menu at the CRFA Show, March 6 - 8, 2011, held at the Direct Energy Centre in downtown Toronto. Chefs Vikram Vij, Mark McEwan, Michael Stadtländer and Ezra Title will thrill show visitors with exciting demonstrations.

Chef Vikram Vij is the chef/owner of Vij's Restaurant and Rangoli, both located in Vancouver. He is the author of two cookbooks and has started a new venture creating packaged gourmet curries, available throughout Canada in 2011. Vij is past president and an active member of the Chefs' Table Society of British Columbia, which is dedicated to supporting innovative and sustainable food programs involving chefs, producers and others working in the local food industry. Vij is a certified Sommelier and is passionate about encouraging people to enjoy wine as they do food.

Chef Mark McEwan is the chef/owner of four restaurants in Toronto - North 44, Bymark, ONE and Fabbrica - and opened gourmet food store McEwan in 2010. His TV show "The Heat" highlights the challenges of his catering company and has aired for three seasons. McEwan's first cookbook Great Food at Home was published in 2010 and he also has a line of cookware available at Sears. In 2011, McEwan will be the head judge of the new TV show "Top Chef Canada."

Chef Michael Stadtländer is the chef/owner of Eigensinn Farm, an internationally celebrated destination for gourmets located two hours north of Toronto. Formerly chef at Scaramouche, Sooke Harbour House, Stadtländer's and Nekah, Stadtländer's latest venture is Haisai, a restaurant and bakery in Singhampton, Ontario that features locally raised and foraged ingredients. Haisai was named the best new restaurant in Canada by En Route magazine in October 2010.

Chef Ezra Title is the chef/owner of Chezvous Dining in Toronto. Formerly a chef at Jardiniere in San Francisco and Restaurant Daniel and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, Title returned to Toronto to apply his style of cooking with the finest seasonal ingredients from local producers using time-honoured French techniques in unique ways at his own restaurant. Title is also the host of "Healthy Gourmet" which highlights the ongoing battle between taste and nutrition and helps people make the right food choices for both taste buds and body.

With over 1,200 exhibit booths and ongoing chef demos, seminars and events, the CRFA Show offers restaurant and hospitality owners, managers, chefs and executives a host of fresh ideas to help promote, grow and manage their business.

Registration is now open at www.crfashow.ca and those who register before Jan. 15 are entered into a draw to win a professional espresso machine worth $1,500.

The CRFA Show is a trade-only event, and admittance is restricted to those 19 years of age or older.

The CRFA Show is owned and operated by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, one of the country's leading business associations with more than 30,000 members. Through its trade shows, member savings and advocacy, CRFA works to create an environment that allows foodservice operators to prosper and grow. For more information on the CRFA Show, go to www.crfashow.ca.

For further information:

Prasanthi Vasanthakumar, Communications Specialist, 1-800-387-5649 ext. 4254 or [email protected]