Chef Anthony Sedlak
Host, The Main, Food Network Canada Author, The Main - Recipes
| To say that Chef Anthony Sedlak is a precocious talent is an understatement. At just 13 he traded a shift in a café atop Grouse Mountain ski resort in Vancouver, Canada for a snow boarding pass, and discovered a love of food and the restaurant experience that would rapidly shape his future. By 19 he completed both a Culinary Arts Program and his four-year apprenticeship and quickly emerged a leader in The Observatory, Grouse Mountain’s flagship dining room. Knowing European kitchen experience would be critical to his development as a star Chef; the teenager spent almost two years at La Trompette, a southern French, and Michelin Star restaurant in London, England. As Sedlak worked up the line from his entry level role to, eventually executive Sous chef, he learned how a hardcore professional kitchen team works, refined his French culinary techniques and adopted La Trompette’s hard-bitten, uncompromising commitment to excellence. At 23, Sedlak represented Canada at the Hans Bueschken World Junior Chef Challenge in Auckland, New Zealand, returning home with silver. Later that year Anthony competed in, and won Food Network’s Superstar Chef Challenge. He has since hosted four seasons of his own show on Food Network Canada called The Main. The Main is a stylish half-hour of mouth-watering, visually appetizing dishes. In each episode Anthony prepares a main course featuring one main ingredient. The food is rustic, the ingredients readily available and the recipes simple to follow – leaving the viewer inspired to recreate each main at home. Anthony went onto write a cookbook based on the series and within nine months the book has become a National Best Seller. Today Anthony resides in North Vancouver, BC spending time on his bicycle and working with his long-time friend turned business partner Bryan Kelly. BASK is their latest venture into the food and lifestyle industry. They are collaborating on projects ranging from restaurant consulting, catering and developing their own product line. Anthony prides himself on health these days and is also working as the brand ambassador for Stonyfield Organic yogurt. “I am devoted to simple classics and top-shelf ingredients,” says Sedlak. “I’m passionate about simple flavors and flawless technique and want to wow the connoisseurs looking for a whole story behind the dishes I present. Trends come and go, classics are forever”
The Main is seen weekdays on Food Network Canada. Check out Anthony's Host Site on Food Network Canada. |
Chef Duncan Ly 
Duncan Ly, Executive Chef, Hotel Arts Group
Chef Fabio Centini Executive Chef,
Centini Restaurant | Duncan Ly, Executive Chef with the Hotel Arts Group, is one of a growing list of talented young chefs in Western Canada making some great advances in Calgary’s culinary scene. Duncan has some solid Alberta roots with a childhood spent in Lethbridge, AB but he embarked on his culinary career after he make the trek to the West Coast in search of new adventures. Duncan picked a notable venue to kick off his career by joining the team at the Wickaninnish Inn, a Relais Chateau property located in Tofino. After a three year stint at the Wickaninnish Inn morphing from a Prairie boy into a West Coast Chef, Duncan moved to Vancouver to continue his craft at the highly acclaimed restaurant Diva. While at Diva, Duncan honed his skills under the mentorship of Chef Michael Noble, completing a three-year apprenticeship while pursuing his culinary studies at Vancouver College where he finished with top honors. The opening of Catch Restaurant in Calgary in May of 2002 provided Duncan with the perfect opportunity to rejoin his family in Alberta and continue working with Chef Noble. Duncan worked as a senior line cook for a year in Catch’s Dining Room before being promoted to Restaurant Chef, which he held for over two years. During the time at Catch, he helped Chef Noble’s team earn the praises of enRoute Magazine which heralded Catch as Canada’s Best New Restaurant. Feeling the need to round out his skills to handle larger banquet operations, Duncan accepted the Executive Chef position for the opening of the new Elbow River Casino. Duncan was directly involved with the concept and the design of the kitchen operations and successfully led a brigade of 25 cooks. With hard work and determination Duncan took the cuisine to new levels. With the wisdom of another successful opening under his belt, Duncan took on the role of Executive Chef of Hotel Arts, spearheading its transformation into Calgary’s first boutique property and a notable venue in Calgary’s emerging culinary scene. He overhauled the banquet kitchen and built a state-of-the-art facility to accommodate large groups in the new 9,500 sq ft Spectrum Ballroom. He also opened Raw Bar at Hotel Arts, a contemporary restaurant with Pacific-Rim influenced cuisine, an award-winning cocktail program and the only poolside patio dining in Calgary during the summer months. Raw Bar showcases Chef Ly’s dynamism with weekend four-course tasting menus with wine pairings which change weekly. In 2008, Duncan Ly opened Chef’s Table at Kensington Riverside Inn and Olives Restaurant in the arriVa Tower near the Stampede. Chef’s Table is an intimate 40-seat restaurant specializing in multi-course tasting menus and fine dining. Olives is a large 200 seat restaurant, lounge and deli showcasing innovative Italian Cuisine in a bustling contemporary environment. With his recruits, Theo Yeaman and Johnathan Canning running the kitchens at these venues, Chef’s Table and Olives quickly won their share of accolades and admirers….Chef’s Table was named “Canada’s Fourth Best New Restaurant for 2008” by enRoute Magazine and Olives Restaurant was named “Calgary’s Best New Restaurant for 2008” by the editorial team of Where Magazine. During his career, Duncan has competed in many competitions always finishing on top. The most notable for winning the prestigious Karl Shier award for being the top apprentice of 2000 in Vancouver. Duncan’s next accomplishment was competing with the highly talented Chef Andrew Springett as an apprentice, where they won the Canadian national selection earning them the right to represent Canada at the Bocuse d’Or, a prestigious culinary competition with the globe’s top chefs held in France. Duncan has also competed with Team Alberta at the World Culinary Championships where the team medaled. Clean, uncomplicated and flavourful food encompasses Duncan’s philosophy, which he carries out each day with the Hotel Arts Group. Fabio was born near the Adriatic sea in the Marche region of Italy. His family immigrated to Canada when he was 6 years old, settling in Montreal, Quebec.
Fabio grew up loving food and learning to cook from his mother, a outstanding home cook.Fabio entered into fine dining at an early age. After attending culinary school in Bologna, he traveled and cooked extensively, gaining valuable insight into both the creative and technical aspects of Italian cuisine. In Montreal, he worked at some of the finest kitchens, finally joining Le Latini as Executive Chef, a position he held for 18 years.
While in Montreal, he was invited as the guest chef of Italy's famous wine fair VinItaly where he was the first North American chef invited to cook for the Italians. Other memorable career moments include 8 years taking care of Equipe Ferrari during Grand Prix and several guest chef stints, including at the Ritz Carlton and the Montreal Museum.
Centini was conceived as a restaurant that would echo the energy and spirit of the west. The restaurant aims to create food that is respectful of culinary tradition but innovative in style. Fabio's philosophy is to use the finest ingredients available, skillfully prepared with influences of Italy, France and the New World, resulting in an intensity of natural flavor while maintaining lightness and elegance. |
Chef Johnathan Canning 
Executive Chef,
Olives Restaurant
| Johnathan Canning Chef for Olives Restaurant. Olives is the third restaurant to be opened by the Hotel Arts Group, (joining Raw Bar at Hotel Arts and Chefʼs Table at Kensington Riverside Inn). Duncan Ly, Executive Chef for the Hotel Arts Group, has chosen Chef Canning to open up this innovative Italian restaurant. Chef Ly recruited Johnathan as Executive Chef for Raw Bar when it opened in April 2006. Since that time, Chef Canning has delighted Raw Bar diners with his brand of contemporary cuisine and his specialized Tasting Menus. Chef Canning received his formal training at the Culinary Institute of Canada (CIC) in Charlottetown, PEI where he received a graduate diploma. Between terms, John interned at the Keltic Lodge in Cape Breton, then later ventured south of the border to work at the historic Sagamore Resort in the Adirondacks in New York State. Six busy restaurants with different themes kept Johnathanʼs learning cure on a steep climb as he thrived in the fast pace of busy kitchens. Johnathan traveled to Calgary in 2002 to complete his Red Seal certification at the Southern Alberta Institute for Technology. Upon graduation, Chef Michael Noble recruited Johnathan to join his team at the nationally acclaimed Catch Restaurant. John then joined Vancouverʼs Lumière as their Chef de Partie. His stay in this Rob Feenie landmark restaurant provided John several opportunities to work alongside some of the worldʼs finest chefs, including Charlie Trotter. Johnʼs passion for the challenges of creating distinctive menus for new restaurants brings him to his current kitchen in the Arts Hospitality Group. |