MEET A GRADUATE - PROFILES
DANA SPEERS ('95)
Dana Speers, class of 1995, grew up in Manhattan, exploring the cultural cornucopia that surrounded her childhood apartment. A few blocks in each direction she could savourcultures of India, Italy, Mexico, Japan and Turkey. “I was eating sushi in the 1980s before sushi even existed in Toronto,” Dana recalls.
She began by cooking behind the scenes for The Food Network and the likes of Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay, over time Dana grew intrigued with the control the director had over the flow and organization of the broadcast. The fact that the director’s word could control every action Emeril made appealed as remarkable and exciting. Soon she realized she wanted to have that unique command over the talent, and so began working her way from cooking to production, drawn towards a documentary style of food programming. “As a director, you follow what’s really going on and you have to spin a compelling story from that reality,” she explains. “It's a lot of fun, but challenging even when you have the best characters in the world.”
Currently, Dana works with Red Apple Entertainment, a Toronto-based television production firm. The company artfully creates such shows as Chef School and Opening Soon which is a recipient of the Gemini award for best lifestyle series.
HEIDI NOBLE ('98)
Heidi is a professionally trained chef and sommelier, winemaker, farmer and author. After graduating at the top of her class with a B.A. in Philosophy and Western Literature from the University of Western Ontario, she embarked on a culinary career attending the esteemed Stratford Chef's School. Her restaurant career was spent at some of Canada's best restaurants including Montreal's Tôqué and Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario. In 2000, Heidi moved out of the kitchen and trained with the Canadian Sommelier Guild in Vancouver. She then worked in Vancouver's wine trade with a small, niche wine importer, The Seacove Group. Heidi's winemaking skills have been self-taught, and guided by mentors including Paul Gardner and Dwight Sick at Pentâge Winery, the sage advice of Oregon's Jean-Paul Cameron and countless hours of research, reading, travel and endless (and most importantly) wine drinking.
In the fall of 2002 Heidi, with her husband Michael, purchased a beautiful 5 acre farm on the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley and they named it “Joie”. Joie has been a constantly evolving concept that began as a guesthouse and critically acclaimed cooking school, located outdoors, formerly in their orchard. In 2007 the orchard was planted over to grape vines and a new winery building was built on the property. The story and of the cooking school and guesthouse have been captured in Heidi's book Menus from an Orchard Table (Whitecap, 2007) which was recently nominated for a 2008 Gourmand World Cookbook Award.
ROCCO AGOSTINO ('98) at right with Trevor Virre ('04)
"I've been working in kitchens for over 14 years now; first in small Italian kitchens, then moving on to Ferro Bar and Grill in Toronto, before attending the Stratford Chefs School in 1998, Following my time in Stratford, I travelled to italy where I completed two different stages.
Upon returning to Canada, I decided to open my own restaurant, The Silver Spoon, in the west end of Toronto in August 2000. The Silver Spoon has proven to be a constant challenge, albeit a positive one - I constantly seek to challenge myself with new styles and flavours, and I search out conscientious and responsible suppliers for the finest ingredients possible. The Stratford Chefs School has been an integral part of my experience, not only because it provided me with the skills necessary to acheive my own culinary vision, but also because by staying in contact with the school I have access to a network of cooks who are capable and visionary enough to help me achieve my dreams.
DAN DONOVAN ('00)
After graduating from the University of Toronto, Dan accepted a position with the Toronto investment firm Midland Doherty (now CIBC Wood Gundy) where he progressed from money market trading to National Manager of Mutual Funds.
In 1994, after a highly successful career in the world of finance, Dan boldly decided to pursue a love of cooking and an apprenticeship with Chef Jamie Kennedy, who at that time operated the renowned Palmerston Restaurant in Toronto. Following that stint, Dan completed his formal culinary education at the Stratford Chefs School as well as an apprenticeship at the highly regarded Rundles Restaurant. He has since been a chef on a private motor yacht and conducted cooking classes in both Canada and the U.S. Recently he was executive sous chef to Jamie Kennedy at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Dan is currently a partner and managing director of Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, directly responsible for all units of the business and business development.
CHRIS PINNEY ('00)
Originally from Bath, Ontario (outside Kingston), Chris became interested in cooking while attending the University of Waterloo. After completing a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996, he decided to pursue a career in the culinary arts.
After graduating from the Stratford Chef School, Chris worked at Rundles Restaurant from 1998 to 2005 and taught at the Chef School from 2003 to 2005. Chris has also worked at Jamie Kennedy at the ROM as well as in Stratford at Bijou restaurant. He has furthered his culinary training working as a stagiaire at both Le Bernardin and Café Boulud in New York City, as well as Scaramouche, in Toronto. Chris has recently completed a Bachelors of Education in Technological Studies (Hospitality) at Queen's University and is now teaching in Brampton, Ontario.
“I found the program at the Stratford Chef School to be both very challenging and rewarding. What make the school so appealing is that the curriculum focuses on modern cuisine; as well as the highly competitive small restaurant market. I feel also that learning from instructors that are actively employed in the restaurant industry made my training much more relevant”.