TOP CHEF CANADA RETURNS FOR SEASON 13, SERVING UP THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THE CANADIAN CULINARY DREAM BEGINNING OCTOBER 20 ON FLAVOUR NETWORK
An Unprecedented Twist Brings Back Three Past Competitors Hungry for Redemption, Going Head-to-Head with Nine Rising Culinary Talents
An All-Star Roster of Guests Join this Season Including: Canadian Icon Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Toronto Tempo Stars Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey, and Acclaimed Chefs Daniel Boulud, May Chow, François-Emmanuel Nicol, Masaki Saito, and More
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Top Chef Canada's Season 13 key cast. Image courtesy of Flavour Network.
L to R: Mijune Pak, Eden Grinshpan, Mark McEwan, and Janet Zuccarini
Get an exclusive first look at Season 13 here
Additional photography can be downloaded here
TORONTO, Sept. 23, 2026 /CNW/ -- Top Chef Canada returns for a landmark 13th season, celebrating the Canadian culinary dream as 12 of the country's most talented professional chefs, including three returning alumni hungry for redemption, vie for the prestigious title of Canada's Top Chef. With a revered panel of returning judges joined by esteemed guests, this season takes the competition to new heights as the chefs showcase their skills while celebrating what it means to be uniquely Canadian. Season 13 of Top Chef Canada, last fall's #1 Lifestyle specialty program*, premieres Tuesday, October 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Flavour Network and streaming exclusively on STACKTV.
Top Chef Canada welcomes back chef, cookbook author, and longtime series host, Eden Grinshpan, along with a revered panel of returning judges: powerhouse restaurateur Janet Zuccarini, chef and owner of The McEwan Group, Mark McEwan, and content creator and global food expert Mijune Pak, along with chef, fermenter and author David Zilber who returns for the finale.
For 12 seasons, Top Chef Canada has given fans a front-row seat to the country's world class food scene as its winners have become Canadian culinary superstars including Season 12 winner Chef Coulson Armstrong, who appears as a guest judge in the premiere episode. This season the chefs will collaborate and celebrate their diverse culinary backgrounds while drawing inspiration from the extraordinary landscapes, ingredients and stories from across the true north. In each episode, the chefs must elevate their skills and creativity with dishes that captivate the judges.
In a franchise first, the premiere episode will reveal three standout Top Chef Canada alumni returning to the kitchen for another shot at glory. Though each emerged as a standout contender in their original season, the title of Canada's Top Chef remained just out of reach. Now, armed with experience and a renewed hunger to win, they'll compete against nine exceptional new competitors who are rising stars in Canada's culinary scene. The new competitors are:
- Stephanie Baryluk – 36, Tsawwassen, B.C. (Nihkhah Inc.)
- Samuel Chastenay-Joseph – 35, Montréal, Que. (Head Chef)
- Kathryn Ferries – 33, Ottawa, Ont. (Around the Block Butcher and Market)
- Lifini "Lif" Kalikutty – 30, Markham, Ont. (Contrada)
- Abigail Lopez – 36, Edmonton, Alta. (Private Chef, Don Emiliano Hospitality Inc.)
- Giovanni Meyer – 34, Milton, Ont. (Private Chef, Pinch of Black Salt)
- Sara Raspa – 33, Montréal, Que. (Le Violon)
- Hilarie Vatcher – 37, St. John's, N.L. (No.4 Restaurant and Bar & Bite Me Catering)
- Sebouh "Seb" Yacoubian – 32, Toronto, Ont. (Taline)
Click here for full biographies.
This season will also feature many other Top Chef Canada firsts, including elimination challenges celebrating Lunar New Year and the historic inaugural season of Toronto Tempo, a challenge tackling the cost of living, and a trip to Charlevoix and Quebec City, including filming at Restaurant Tanière³ – one of only two restaurants in Canada with two Michelin stars. There will also be a challenge inspired by the recently announced Top Chef Canada: The Dessert Table, as well as the return of Restaurant Wars as the season's final elimination challenge.
Joining this season's judging panel as guest judges and tasters include notable Canadians and esteemed culinary greats including:
- Coulson Armstrong (Culinary Director of Our House Hospitality Company & Top Chef Canada, Season 12 winner)
- Daniel Boulud (Michelin Star restaurant DANIEL and Café Boulud)
- May Chow (Founder & CEO of Little Bao, Happy Paradise, and Chow Industries; Asia's Best Female Chef in 2017)
- Gregory Gourdet (Three-time James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef, two-time Top Chef finalist, and chef/owner of Kann and Sousòl)
- Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (Best-selling author, speaker, and mental health advocate)
- Marina Mabrey (Toronto Tempo player)
- François-Emmanuel Nicol (Chef/Co-Owner of Two Star Michelin restaurant Tanière³)
- Rob Rossi (Chef/Partner at Michelin Star restaurant Osteria Giulia and Giulietta)
- Jessica Rosval (Michelin Star and Michelin Green Star restaurant Al Gatto Verde)
- Masaki Saito (Chef/Co-Owner of Michelin Star restaurant Sushi Masaki Saito)
- Brittney Sykes (Toronto Tempo player)
Top Chef Canada is the homegrown version of the hit Emmy® Award-winning NBCUniversal Series Top Chef and is produced by Insight Productions (A Blue Ant Studios Company) in association with Flavour Network. Eric Abboud is Executive Producer and Showrunner along with Insight's CEO & Executive Producer John Brunton and Executive Producer Mark Lysakowski. Co-Executive Producers for Insight Productions are Jessica Brunton and Daniel Klimitz. For Flavour Network, Lynne Carter is Director of Original Programming and Rachel Nelson is Vice President of Original Programming and Head of Corus Studios.
Source: Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, FL'25 (9/1/2025 to 1/4/2026) - confirmed data, A25-54, Mo-Su 2a-2a, min 3+ airings, AMA(000), CDN SPECIALTY COM ENG, excludes sports networks. |
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About Corus Entertainment Inc.
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that develops, delivers and distributes high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. Engaging audiences since 1999, the company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompass 25 specialty television services, 36 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, digital and streaming platforms, and social digital agency and media services. Corus' roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, Flavour Network, Home Network, The HISTORY® Channel, Showcase, Slice, Adult Swim, National Geographic and Global News, along with streaming platforms STACKTV, TELETOON+, Vivéo, and Curiouscast. For more information visit www.corusent.com.
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STACKTV is Corus Entertainment's premium multi-channel television streaming service that offers thousands of hours of exclusive hit content from Canada's top TV networks, all on one platform. Stream series, movies and specials from Global Television, Flavour Network, Home Network, W Network, The HISTORY® Channel, Adult Swim, Slice, Showcase, National Geographic, DTOUR, Lifetime, Cartoon Network, Treehouse, YTV, and Disney Channel, with new content added daily. STACKTV is available via Amazon Prime Video Channels, Bell Fibe TV app, Fubo, Rogers Xfinity TV and Rogers Xfinity Streaming. For more information, visit stacktv.ca.
About Insight Productions (A Blue Ant Studios Company)
Insight Productions, known for its award-winning ratings juggernauts, is Canada's most established content producer and an industry leader in the development, financing, and production of hit programming. Led by CEO & Chair John Brunton, the company has produced some of the most dynamic and top-rated programs including Top Chef Canada; The Amazing Race Canada (the most watched Canadian series on record); original formats Battle of the Blades and The Launch; Big Brother Canada; Canada Shore for Paramount+; The JUNO Awards; and The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration, a live concert special on CBC watched by one in three Canadians. Insight recently announced its partnership with Netflix on the Canadian iteration of Love is Blind. Insight Productions was founded in 1979 and has since created thousands of hours of ground-breaking content.
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For media inquiries, please contact: Devon Cavanagh, Publicity Manager, Lifestyle Content, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6712, [email protected]; Ashley Holder, Publicist, Lifestyle Content, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.5273, [email protected]; Ali Seller, Top Chef Canada Unit Publicist, 647.825.8819, [email protected]
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