Restaurant Takeover
Restaurant Takeover challenges two restaurant industry top guns to help rescue a failing restaurant. They’ve got 6 days to overhaul and re-launch a local eatery for review by the toughest critics.. their customers.
Charming, creative, and tough, Chef Corbin is a credited Executive Chef and host of DINNER PARTY WARS who is currently working on his own cookbook, three new restaurants, and a full-service catering business.
A regular on RESTAURANT MAKEOVER (HGTV/Food Network), Chef Corbin made his TV debut in CRASH MY KITCHEN (Food Network) and has since won over a huge following of fans who want to cook like him, viewers who want to emulate his culinary style, and legions of up-and-coming chefs who want to train under him.
Honing his expert skills in the kitchen under his mother’s tutelage, Chef Corbin is known to right culinary wrongs on DINNER PARTY WARS with charismatic honesty and educational know-how. He is always ready to applaud a delicious meal or rebuild lackluster menus with his signature flair and attention to detail.
Chef Corbin is also an active member of the Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks and volunteers in the community for charitable organizations including CANFAR, Canadian Heart and Stroke Association, Osteoporosis Canada, Diabetes Canada, and United Way Canada. He works with Chef Net Work Inc., where he travels throughout Canada, the U.S.A., and Mexico to showcase his talents and provide superior presentations, food demonstrations, and product endorsements.
Italian expatriate Massimo Capra is the chef and co-owner of Mistura and Sopra Upper Lounge, two well-known restaurants in Toronto offering fine contemporary Italian cuisine and live music respectively.
Born near Cremona, Italy, Massimo studied at the National Culinary Institute in Salsomaggiore, Parma. He began his career by working in some of Italy’s finest restaurants and hotels, including Trattoria dell’ Amelia in Venice, widely considered one of the best restaurants in Italy at the time. He also spent several years in various hotels, such as Hotel Royal, Val d’Aosta, Hotel Savoy, and Drei Tannen. Finally, Massimo worked for Gallia Hotels, owners of the famous Excelsior Gallia Hotel, Cavour Hotel, and Rio Envers Hotel.
Yearning to work overseas, Massimo boarded a plane for Toronto in 1982. He began working at Archer’s, a restaurant owned by one of his relatives. Massimo used his time at Archer’s to master the English language and improve his culinary skills.
In 1989, Massimo met Michael Carlevale of the famed Prego della Piazza. He and was offered the chef position and “Prego” became one of the most well known restaurants in Toronto during his nine-years there. While working with Michael Carlevale, Maassimo developed the concept for Carlevale’s Black & Blue Restaurant and Byzantium.
In 1997, Massimo merged forces with Paolo Paolini, formerly of Splendido. Mistura was opened shortly thereafter in October, 1997. The exclusive SOPRA UPPER LOUNGE is the latest addition to Massimo’s long list of restaurants list. Since 2006, Sopra has been a favorite among Toronto’s live music lovers.
Author of “One Pot Italian” and the newly released, “Three Chefs, The Kitchen Men”, Massimo also writes regularly for “The Globe & Mail.” Currently, Massimo is the brand ambassador for Samsung Home Appliances. He recently completed the opening of “Fraticelli Italian Grill” and is re-branding of the famed “Rainbow Room” in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Niagara Falls.
Massimo’s television experience is extensive, appearing on “The Beer Buddies,” “The Movable Feast,” “Buddies of the Vine,” “Christine Cushing Live,” “Three Takes” and many others. He makes regular appearances on City TV’s “Cityline” and is a celebrity chef on the hit series Restaurant Takeover. Finally, he is developing a new series, “Gourmet Escape.”
Andrea Nicholson has always been obsessed with food: as a creator, teacher and connoisseur. She is a Red Seal certified chef who received her culinary training at George Brown College in Toronto. Her professional experience includes positions at respected Toronto restaurants and culinary institutes such as Great Cooks, Via Allegro, The Fifth, Humber College, George Brown College, 35 Elm, Trattoria Nervosa. Moreover, Andrea has travelled the culinary globe, working with internationally acclaimed chefs and the world renowned 6 star cruise line, Regent Seven Seas.
Andrea also trained in New York City under Roberto Caporuscio and now holds a diploma from the A.P.N. of Naples, Italy, distinguishing her as a certified Pizzaiuoli.
Andrea’s passion for food is evident in her masterful creations, which celebrate local and seasonal produce and support Canadian farmers.
Andrea was a contestant on Season One of the Food Network program, Top Chef Canada. She is currently an expert chef on the Marilyn Denis Show and owner and creator of Killer Condiments, an artisan condiment line.
Born and raised in southern Ontario, Derek is a self- trained Chef who began his culinary journey in a backwoods of western New York. Here he spent his childhood summers hunting, fishing, growing vegetables and preparing food with his grandparents as they imparted upon him their back to the land philosophies. He carries these ideals with him in all that he cooks, understanding that the best dishes come from an intimate knowledge of ones ingredients, where they originate and how they are traditionally prepared. Having worked in some of the top restaurants in Toronto Derek now combines his respect for simple time-honored food preparation with influences from South America, Asia, Western Europe and North Africa. For Derek, cooking began as an expression of love and respect for his family and the land in which he grew up. He remembers this even when cooking for a dining room of over a hundred guests or revamping restaurants with the Food Network.
Adam Hynam-Smith is Chef and Co-owner of El Gastrónomo Vagabundo, Ontario’s first gourmet street food truck. Nicknamed “El Gastró” by those that eat there, Adam’s truck was recently featured on the Food Network’s Eat St., and his menu has been dubbed the best street food in Ontario. Hynam-Smith’s pioneering chef techniques has garnered him a reputation for reshaping the standard street food cuisine in Ontario. According to Acquired Taste Magazine, “what Momofuku master chef David Chang is to New York, El Gastrónomo Vagabundo is to Toronto’s food truck culture”.
Hynam-Smith was raised in the historic gold mining regions of Central Victoria, Australia. Childhood lessons on the importance of community, friends, and food, stayed with Adam when he moved to Melbourne to train under some of the best chefs in Australia, including Cath Claringbold and Jacques Reymond. Since 2006, Adam has been traveling the globe, cooking in Morocco, France, England, Thailand, and now, Canada.
Adam is a passionate believer in knowing where his food comes from and the people that supply it. His cuisine draws on his global experiences, with flavours from Southeast Asia, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and of course, Australia.
Ultimately, Adam’s inspiration comes from what he was taught as a boy: food should be shared and enjoyed in an inspired setting with good company.
As an executive chef for over twenty years, Richard Andino has created many sophisticated, bold flavored dishes. He was born in the Phillippines and moved to Canada with his family in the 1970’s. Richard's cuisine is rooted in his ancestral heritage that has been passed down from grandmother, to mother, and finally, to Richard. He pays homage to his Filipino background through spices and flavours that give local Canadian ingredients an added element.
Richard studied Culinary Management at George Brown College in Toronto. Upon graduating he began working for a number of well-established restaurants, and was eventually offered the position of Executive Chef at North 44.
Richard is continually upgrading his menu, educating guests about the multi-faceted ingredients and earning the diner’s trust. He loves creating a wonderful setting through beautiful food. His attitude is evident in his dishes, which retain a sense of fun and a bit of spice!