Image 1 of 11
Image 2 of 11
Image 3 of 11
Image 4 of 11
Image 5 of 11
Image 6 of 11
Image 7 of 11
Image 8 of 11
Image 9 of 11
Image 10 of 11
Image 11 of 11
Meet the Culinary Team
-
![]()
Chef Joël Watanabe - Vancouver
KISSA TANTO, BAO BEI, MEO
Chef-Partner of Vancouver's Michelin-starred Kissa Tanto and genre-defying Bao Bei, known for a refined perspective on Japanese-Italian and modern Chinese cooking that speaks to culinary fearlessness and innovation.
-
![]()
Chef Nuit Regular and Jeff Regular - Toronto
KIIN, PAI, SUKHOTHAI, MAKILALA
Chef Nuit Regular is the chef and co-owner behind some of Canada’s defining modern Thai restaurants, celebrated for bringing the bold flavours and warm hospitality of Northern Thailand into contemporary focus. Alongside her husband and business partner, Jeff Regular, she has built one of Toronto’s most acclaimed restaurant groups, where Thai tradition, personal heritage and modern technique come together in food that is bold, generous and unmistakably her own.
-
![]()
Chef Nick Liu - Toronto
Chef Nick Liu is the chef and owner of DaiLo, the acclaimed Toronto restaurant known for its distinctive approach to New Asian cuisine. A first-generation Canadian raised in Scarborough and Markham, Liu draws on his family’s Hakka Chinese heritage, combining the flavours and dishes he grew up with with classical French cooking techniques.
Liu began his culinary career working under Chef Brad Long at the CN Tower’s 360 Restaurant before training at Toronto’s Scaramouche and spending several years working abroad. He returned to Toronto and opened DaiLo in 2014, where his cooking celebrates Chinese culinary traditions through a contemporary Canadian lens, with a strong focus on local and seasonal ingredients. DaiLo has been a longstanding fixture on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list and was named one of Air Canada enRoute’s Best New Restaurants in 2015.
-
![]()
Judy Ning
PAPER KITE FARM
Co-Founder cultivating regenerative produce and rare Southeast Asian vegetables from family seeds carried from Laos to Canada, preserving Hmong food traditions and bringing ancestral ingredients to contemporary fire-cooking.
-
![]()
Jennifer Commins
TEA SOMMELIER, PLUCK
Founder of Pluck Tea and one of Canada's leading tea entrepreneurs, hosting a dedicated oolong tea bar and bringing exceptional knowledge of fermented tea traditions to the table.
-
![]()
Yi Yang - Toronto
MIMI CHINESE
Head Chef at Michelin Guide–recommended Mimi Chinese, bringing refined technique and a distinct perspective on regional Chinese cuisine to contemporary dining.
-
![]()
Michael Tremblay - Toronto
SAKE SAMURAI, KI
James Beard Award–winning author, one of North America's foremost sake authorities, and Beverage Director at Ki Modern Japanese, bringing unparalleled expertise to sake selection and storytelling.
-
![]()
Robin Goodfellow
THE DIRTY LAUNDRY, CAFE GIGI
Legendary beverage leader and designer of Bar Raval (#1 Canada's Best Bar three times, #96 World's Best Bar), Vela (Michelin Recommended), and influential Toronto bar concepts across Paradise Theatre, Animl, Beso, Sara, Campechano, and El Mocambo.
-
![]()
Lesley Chesterman
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Acclaimed food writer, critic, cookbook author, and World's 50 Best Eastern Canada Chair, guiding this event's food storytelling with three decades of culinary authority and warmth.
-
![]()
Mark Oliver - Napanee
OLIVER FARMS FOUNDER & HOST
Mark Oliver is the founder and host of Oliver Farms, his family’s historic 90-acre farm in Napanee, Ontario, with roots dating back to a Loyalist land grant in 1792. The son of Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame inductee John Oliver, Mark is part of a family with a longstanding connection to Canadian agriculture.
From 2021 to 2023, Mark spearheaded an extensive restoration of the family farm, transforming its historic farmhouse and grounds into a gathering place for culinary experiences, events and community. Today, alongside his siblings Paul and Karen, he is carrying forward the Oliver family’s agricultural legacy while opening the farm to a new generation through farm-to-fork dinners, live-fire cooking and collaborations with Canadian chefs and local producers.
-
![]()
Natalie Goldenberg-Fife
CURATOR & OWNER, GOLD & FIFE
Known for bringing together Canada's leading culinary talent to create immersive dining experiences where storytelling, unforgettable hospitality, and human connection take centre stage.
Oliver Farms
Set across more than 90 acres in Napanee, Ontario, Oliver Farms is a historic, multi-generational working farm whose family roots stretch back to 1792, when Loyalist Frederick Oliver received a land grant along the Napanee River. The original farmhouse and barn date to the 1830s, and the property remains in the Oliver family more than two centuries later.
Agriculture has remained central to the farm’s story. John Oliver, who was born and raised on the property, became an influential figure in Canadian agriculture, helping champion Canadian crops including canola and flaxseed internationally. He was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2013. Today, his children continue that legacy, with the farm maintaining approximately 50 acres of rotational crops.
Following an extensive restoration completed between 2021 and 2023, Oliver Farms has entered a new chapter as an intimate culinary and gathering destination. The historic farmhouse, outdoor kitchen and gardens are joined by a remarkable live-fire cooking site built within the stone foundation of the property’s original early-1800s settler homestead. Here, chefs cook over wood and flame, including whole-animal roasting, while the farm’s Supper Club and signature culinary events bring together guest chefs, local producers, seasonal ingredients and wines in a setting where the connection between land and table is tangible.
Located between Kingston, Belleville and Prince Edward County, Oliver Farms feels both deeply rooted in the agricultural history of Eastern Ontario and distinctly contemporary: a working farm reimagined as a place for food, fire, hospitality and gathering.
Get First Access to Reservations, Culinary Event Tickets, Editorial Content and More.
Become a DINR Premium Member.