Published on January 31, 2019
Alumni Award of Distinction ’10
Corbin Tomaszeski is an ideal role model for students cooking up plans to become celebrity chefs – mostly because the host of Food Network TV shows Crash My Kitchen, Restaurant Makeover and Dinner Party Wars never expected his success.
A realist raised on a central Alberta farm, “I thought I would work at a few restaurants, be a chef at my own and that would be it,” says Tomaszeski.
By focusing on his craft – and on a philosophy that great food has the power to bring people together – he rose to the rank of executive chef at Toronto’s Holt’s Café. Only then did a producer notice his talent (and his congeniality and quick wit). Since then, life under the bright lights has galvanized his resolve to remain realistic – and authentic.
“The person you see on TV is the one I am in real life,” says Tomaszeski. “I want to be genuine. If I lose sight of that, I have to think about doing something else.”
— Scott Messenger