Fire Masters Season 3 – Meet the New Competitors

Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Occupation: Executive Chef, Eat Urban Fresh

Though he learned to cook from his father and now works as a chef with his sister, Adisa is excited to take them both on in Fire Masters kitchen. He plans to win with his bold flavours, incomparable grilling skills, and some friendly trash-talking – because if he loses, his family will never let him hear the end of it.

Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Occupation: Executive Chef/Owner, Eat Urban Fresh

Devika learned to grill from her dad and used the old-school techniques he taught her as the foundation for her own unique culinary style. Since opening her own commercial kitchen, she has created more than 500 dishes and prides herself on her ability to incorporate healthy alternatives into her meals without compromising the final results. Devika wants to beat her brother and father at Fire Masters for the ultimate bragging rights.

Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Occupation: Food Service Manager, Douglass County School System

Timothy has been cooking professionally since he was 16 and has worked around the globe, from the Caribbean to Europe. With a focus on heritage cuisine and its influences, he loves using various cultural cooking methods with his own combinations of spices, herbs and seasonings to create unique flavour profiles. While Timothy loves his children, he would love to beat them in Fire Masters even more.

Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Occupation: Owner, FitChef Toronto

Born in Zimbabwe, Amanda grew up in Tennessee and started cooking as soon as she was tall enough to reach the stove. She later moved to Toronto to further her culinary education. After working in multiple restaurants and hotels, Amanda opened her own business at 22, a meal prep company that specializes in creating healthy alternatives to classic southern comfort food.

Hometown: Calgary, Alta
Occupation: Pitmaster, Health and Safety Officer

Andrew is a self-taught pitmaster who loves cooking over an open flame in his backyard BBQ shack. His specialty is blending southern and midwestern flavours alongside unconventional herbs and spices. While Andrew is currently a full-time Health and Safety Officer, he dreams of opening his own BBQ joint someday.

Hometown: St. Louis, Mis.
Occupation: Pitmaster/Owner, Big J Soul BBQ

James is a self-taught pitmaster who’s been cooking over an open fire for more than 25 years. He learned to cook alongside his grandmother, aka “Big Mama,” and his signature style is a mix of his mother and father’s Louisiana and Mississippi backgrounds. James says that fire is his passion – he loves the sound and smell – and truly believes there is no better flavour profile than char.

Hometown: Santa Clarita, Calif.
Occupation: Recipe Developer, Competitive Chef

Known as the “Grilling Grandma,” Merry is no stranger to competitive cooking. As part of a culinary team called #SocialFeasts, she frequently travels to cook-offs and competes using live fire. With a style she describes as California Fresh, Merry loves creating eye-catching dishes with tantalizing, flavourful ingredients.

Hometown: Lancaster, Calif.
Occupation: Private Chef

Before becoming a private chef, Robert worked in the restaurant industry for 14 years, cooking for between 20-4,000 people each day. Robert is passionate about cooking over an open flame and using the right kind of wood to manipulate the flavour of his meals.

Hometown: Camrose, Alta.
Occupation: Executive Chef/Managing Partner, Hart House Wine & Tapa

Tyson-James has worked in the restaurant industry for 18 years, starting as a dishwasher and quickly moving onto the line. He enjoys creating deep southern home-style dishes using French and Italian techniques, a culinary style he describes as Grandma’s Kitchen with a modern twist. Tyson-James finds inspiration for his dishes everywhere, including books he’s reading or during walks around his garden.

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Occupation: Private Chef/Caterer

Before becoming a private chef for many acclaimed athletes, actors and rappers, Andeshia worked for as a social worker for 11 years. After being diagnosed with cancer, she decided to follow her true passion, cooking. Andeshia is now a two-time cancer survivor and skilled in many different cooking styles, including Japanese, Moroccan and Qatari cuisine.

Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Occupation: Head Chef, Bannock

Dwight has been cooking professionally for more than 15 years. While no stranger to open fire – having once worked at a restaurant fuelled purely by charcoal and wood flame – Dwight prides himself on his classic dishes that incorporate unique and interesting twists. He especially loves making globally inspired dishes using local Canadian ingredients.

Hometown: Bloomfield, Ont.
Occupation: Chef/Owner, Flame + Smith

Originally from the Netherlands, Hidde moved to Canada in 2006. He spent 12 years working as a chef at some of Toronto’s most renowned restaurants before opening his own in Prince Edward County, Ont. This farm-to-fire establishment specializes in contemporary Canadian cuisine with European influences, and everything is cooked over fire.

Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Occupation: Chef, Research and Recipe Development

Elisa developed a love for food at a young age, beginning her culinary journey as her mother’s sous chef. With no formal training, she jumped headfirst into the restaurant industry, starting as a pastry chef and eventually working her way up to executive chef.

Hometown: Cambridge, Ont.
Occupation: Head Chef, Ernie’s Roadhouse; Owner, The Fried Chicken Coop

Rick’s love for cooking started at a young age, as he watched and learned from his grandmother cooking over her wood-fueled stove. He describes his style as elevated comfort food and is known for taking traditional Irish and Catholic dishes and elevating them for fine dining.

Hometown: Medicine Hat, Alta.
Occupation: Chef/Owner, Rosewood Bistro

Born in Dhanbad, India, Sourav’s love for open-fire cooking started at a young age while watching his family cook all their meals over fire and coal. He has worked as a chef at several renowned hotels in Canada and recently opened his own restaurant in the midst of the pandemic, serving dishes inspired by India, China and the Middle East.

Hometown: Winnipeg, Man.
Occupation: Executive Chef, Pine Ridge Golf Club

Aaron is a classically trained chef who strives to push his creative boundaries. He loves foraging for products like chanterelles, fiddleheads and Saskatoon berries to add an extra level of detail to his meals, which tend to be colourful and finessed with a rustic quality.

Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Occupation: Chef de Cuisine

An aspiring musician, Jeff has worked at many of Toronto’s top restaurants. His culinary style reflects his Chinese upbringing, and he describes it as an eclectic mix of Asian, North American and European cuisines. Jeff prides himself in thinking outside the box and often uses Japanese staples, such as miso and bonito, in the preparation of Italian dishes.

Hometown: Fort Washington, Md.
Occupation: Executive Chef, Blagden

Jonathan is a third-generation chef who started learning how to cook at age four. Jonathan is certified in foraging, which contributes to his strong appreciation for, and focus on, sustainability and using nature while cooking over fire.

Hometown: Everett, Mass.
Occupation: Chef/Butcher

Christopher has known since he was 10 that he wanted to be a chef. In fact, he gave up a full scholarship to law school to study to become a chef instead. Christopher loves working with fire, and his self-described cooking style is global comfort food with influences from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Mexico.

Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Occupation: Culinary Director

Joey has spent most of his career around fire – he’s been a BBQ salesman and the head chef at a prominent BBQ restaurant. Joey takes pride in understanding the intricacies of how different proteins and vegetables react with varying levels of heat, and how to get the best flavours from all of them.

Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Occupation: Executive Chef

Kaede approaches cooking with fire by using all five senses, such as the sound of the wood crackling or the sight of the coals burning to indicate when it’s the prime cooking time. In his current role, he cooks over open coals, combining the Izakaya style with local seasonal ingredients. One of his proudest moments was having his red miso bacon distributed in grocery stores.

Hometown: Kelowna, B.C.
Occupation: Chef/Owner, CrAsian Food Truck, Provision Kitchen & Catering, BoxcAr Kitchen

Growing up in a Japanese and German household, Courtney draws her culinary inspiration predominantly from her Asian heritage. Described by friends and colleagues as “Grace Under Fire,” Courtney is a creative chef who loves using traditional ingredients in new and exciting ways while exploring unexpected techniques.

Hometown: Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.
Occupation: Private Chef, Jim Le Cook Catering Services

Hailing from a small town in rural Quebec, Jim developed a passion for food at a very young age and is incredibly passionate about open-fire cooking. Inspired by his international travels, Jim describes his culinary style as a blend of Mexican- and Southern-style cooking.

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Occupation: Chef/Pitmaster, The Beast Las Vegas

Orelle is a pitmaster who loves playing with fire for a living, a passion inspired by his parents who were both southern cooks. But this chef doesn’t just stop at BBQ. For the past 10+ years, he has worked at fine dining restaurants across the globe, most recently at a smokehouse in Dubai.

Hometown: New Dundee, Ont.
Occupation: Chef

Born and raised in Ireland, Brian’s passion for food was inspired by his grandmother, whose cooking brought his entire family together. Brian has worked at some of the top restaurants in Dublin, New York City and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., and describes his style as culturally influenced and approachable.

Hometown: Phoenix, Ariz.
Occupation: Executive Chef, The Breadfruit & Rum Bar

Growing up in an Italian household, most of Danielle’s early memories are of cooking alongside her mother and grandmother. Danielle took a rather unconventional path to become a chef – she was previously a yoga teacher who made the switch to cooking when her friend needed help opening a restaurant.

Hometown: Moncton, NB
Occupation: Executive Chef, Clos Restaurant

While Rahil grew up watching his family cook over an open flame in India, it was during an internship that he learned the art of cooking with fire. With a passion for competitive cooking, one of his most memorable career moments was captaining the National Canadian Culinary team at the Culinary Olympics in Germany, where they placed eighth in the world.

Hometown: Miami, Fla
Occupation: Owner, Sensory Delights

Hailing from Haiti, Alain is incredibly passionate about Caribbean cuisine and has extensive experience cooking over fire. He has previously cooked for diplomats, presidents, prime ministers and professional athletes. Alain thrives under pressure and is known for his creativity and ability to execute beautiful dishes in a short time.

Hometown: Calgary, Alta
Occupation: Chef / Twitch channel host 

Originally from Hong Kong, John’s cooking style is influenced by his Cantonese background and a childhood where he learned to cook using a brick pit on glowing red charcoal. He has many years of restaurant experience and pulls inspiration from Japanese, Korean, Thai and Singaporean grilled delights when hosting his Twitch cooking livestream.

Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Occupation: Chef/Owner, Twist Catering

Born in Canada of Jamaican descent, La-toya grew up cooking what she calls “Island-inspired food” and describes her style as Jamaican-Italian. She loves grilling any protein over an open fire, which she complements with a fresh side or charred vegetable. La-toya has extensive experience in the culinary industry, with previous roles that include executive chef at the Sundance Film Festival and personal chef to the Toronto Raptors.