Season 4

Join Michael as he helps judge Canada’s best and brightest young chefs as they compete for the title of National Junior Culinary Champion. Each competitor must cook a three-course menu consisting of an appetizer, entrée and dessert. Michael is a kitchen judge and takes us behind the scenes for a look at this high stakes, high intensity competition.

The Edible Schoolyard, created by legendary Chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, is a unique program that helps kids understand their relationship with food by planting, harvesting and cooking food they grow themselves. Michael attends a summer session at the Martin Luther King Jr. High School and meets some of the inner city youth that are invited to attend this inspiring program.

Thomas Haas, one of North America’s finest pastry chefs, has been commissioned to create the biggest wedding cake he has ever made. The cake features seven tiers, each with 11 layers. It stands over six feet high, weighs more than three hundred pounds and has 22 hand made oversized sugar flowers. Michael lends a hand as Haas creates this $5000 masterpiece in less than 24 hours.

Michael is invited to a traditional East Indian Wedding. He joins 600 guests for a ceremony steeped in ritual and exotic flavours. Michael jumps in to help out at a family dinner for 75, and a vegetarian reception for 600. Along the way he learns all about the art of curries, and gets an inside look at the role food plays in the celebration.

Michael explores the world of menus when he is asked to create a new menu item for Cactus Club Café, a casual fine dining restaurant chain. Michael reveals the incredible effort that goes into developing menus and how important they are to the success of any restaurant. He creates three new fish dishes. Will one of them make the cut? What will the guests think?

Thousands of Acadian descendants from all over the world descend on Nova Scotia for one of the largest cultural events ever held there. Michael joins James Surette of Nebraska and his family as they rediscover their Acadian roots and the authentic food of their ancestors. Along the way the Surettes’ meet their family for the first time and Michael jumps in to help prepare an Acadian fest for 800 guests…

It is the 100th Anniversary of the Bell Canadian Open, one of Canada’s largest single sporting events, and Michael is in the middle of it all. 65,000 spectators and 157 pro golfers a day eat up everything from burgers and fries to gourmet meals. Michael takes us behind the scenes to the busy kitchens, and introduces us to the various characters that it takes to make an event of this magnitude a success.

Michael visits Toronto’s Mt. Sinai Hospital where there are close to 5000 staff and students, 2000 auxiliary members and volunteers, 25,000 admissions a year, 35,000 emergency treatments, and 600,000 ambulatory care visits. Feeding people and taking care of everyone’s nutritional needs is a major challenge; patient satisfaction with meals is very important. Michael learns how a team of dieticians, clinical technicians, food service supervisors, the executive chef, and nursing staff plan, prepare and serve nutritional hospital food.

The Bellagio Casino Hotel in Las Vegas is a city within a city with over 5.4 million square feet, 5000 guest rooms, and over 5 million guests each month. Michael spends a day with Executive Chef Wolfgang von Wieser, and takes us behind the scenes for a look at the fast paced world of Vegas casino hotel where anything can – and does – happen!

Michael travels to Alert Bay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia to join the Whonnock family for a traditional Potlatch. He joins in the fun as an entire community celebrates with family memorials, passing of rights and privileges and two weddings. As he helps feed 1000 guests, Michael learns how to cook usa, ooligans, deer stew, butter clam chowder, and other native dishes. He also joins a fishing expedition as he learns about this vibrant community.

D. C. Central Food Kitchen in Washington DC feeds the homeless and needy and is the largest community outreach program in North America. Michael joins founder, Robert Egger, and his team in their quest to fight hunger through meaningful training and work. With thousands of pounds of food arriving daily and a kitchen full of trainees and volunteers, this program is an award-winning model of success.

What defines great restaurant service? Michael visits Toronto’s Canoe restaurant to find out what makes their dining room world class. From their perch on the 54th floor of the TD Bank Tower, Canoe is known for their legendary hospitality and flawless service. Michael discovers a few trade secrets and we learn a new respect for waiters.

Join Chef Michael Smith and his neighbours as they band together for an ambitious charity fundraising dinner. The community finds resources they didn’t know they had and deal with some major culinary hurdles on their way to pulling off a wildly successful dinner.