No chef in Canada is more respected for his devotion to local, seasonal, sustainable gastronomy, and his relentless pursuit to define and celebrate Canada’s unique regional culinary character, than Jamie Kennedy.

Jamie Kennedy has been at the forefront of Canada’s farm-to-table, slow food, and local food movements. In this journey, he has helped to nurture and strengthen the community of like-minded producers, chefs, and consumers, and moreover he has inspired others to join him in following this traditional, yet revolutionary, philosophy.

From the Palmerston, through his Church Street, ROM and Gardiner museum restaurants, JK has always held the same truths to be fundamental to his cooking. But beyond his fine dining clientele, he has reached out to people who, in his view, understand and deserve good, local, seasonal, delicious food; people who may have known those tastes in their youth but who have been swept up in convenience and whatever might be economically viable.

This cookbook, designed to have a similar feel to Joe Beef and other food books that focus on narrative as much as on recipes, will feature stories, photography and great recipes. Written with culinary author and foodie insider Ivy Knight, the cookbook will be as entertaining as it is informative. This one has modern classic written all over it.

Jamie Kennedy is one of Canada's most outstanding chefs. He is the owner and Executive Chef at the ROM in Toronto. In high school he created a culinary club and discovered the significance of food and wine.

Cooking became Jamie's vocation when he apprenticed at the Windsor Arms Hotel after finishing the Advanced Cook course at George Brown College in Toronto at age 17. He went on to become a cook in Switzerland before returning to Canada to partner with Michael Stadtlander in Scaramouche, a Toronto restaurant modeled on the French three-star system that was heralded as a new phase in Canadian culinary history. This year, he was named Chef of the Year by the Ontario Hostelry Institute.

Born in Toronto, he lived in New Haven, Connecticut as a teenager before returning to Ontario, where he has lived ever since. When hes not at the restaurant, Jamie enjoys travelling and reading about, collecting and drinking wine. Despite his busy schedule, family is important to Jamie, and he strives to spend as much time as possible with his four children.

Jamie Kennedy's profile page