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Meet the Culinary Team
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Chef Dylan James
EXECUTIVE CHEF OF FIRE & FEAST ELORA & EXECUTIVE CHEF OF THE METCALFE SMOKEHOUSE, ELORA
Raised in northern Manitoba by an Icelandic father and Métis mother, James grew up hunting, fishing and harvesting wild foods. That upbringing continues to shape his cooking today. Long before foraging became fashionable, seasonality and self-sufficiency were simply part of everyday life.
After refining his technique in Toronto with Steven Salm of Chase Hospitality Group and Janet Zuccarini of Gusto 54 Restaurant Group, James returned to a style of cooking rooted in the outdoors. His menus combine classical technique with ingredients gathered from forests, fields, rivers and nearby farms, always guided by the rhythms of the seasons.
At The Metcalfe Smokehouse, he applies that philosophy to live-fire cooking and barbecue, with an emphasis on careful sourcing, craftsmanship and Canadian ingredients.
James is currently completing his first cookbook, The Rugged Apprentice, which explores the relationship between cooking, hunting and the landscapes that continue to influence his work.
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Chefs Hannah Harradine and Joel Gray
GUEST CHEF TEAM, DOWN HOME, GREY HIGHLANDS, ONTARIO
MICHELIN Recommended
Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, 2026, No. 44
As one of Canada’s most distinctive restaurants, the 16-seat farmhouse restaurant, led by Joel Gray and Hannah Harradine, has earned Michelin Guide recommendations in 2024 and 2025 and was ranked No. 39 on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list for 2026.Operating from the century farmhouse the couple call home, Down Home serves a seasonal tasting menu shaped almost entirely by nearby farms and the restaurant’s own permaculture gardens. Guests begin their evening by walking through the gardens before sitting down to a menu that changes constantly with the harvest.
Open-fire cooking is central to the restaurant’s identity. Whole fish, heritage pork, vegetables, preserved ingredients and wild plants appear throughout the menu, each prepared with restraint and an unwavering respect for the ingredients.
The beverage program focuses on small Canadian wineries, cider makers and seasonal cocktails, while the dining room reflects the landscape around it through handcrafted ceramics, regional artisans and an atmosphere that feels more like an invitation into someone’s home than a traditional restaurant.
For Gray and Harradine, hospitality begins long before the first course arrives.
“The stories behind the ingredients are just as important to us as the ingredients themselves. The restaurant is our everything, it’s a welcome into our lives.”
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Mark Curtis
MERROIR SEAFOOD, CREEMORE ONTARIO
Merroir Seafood is a Georgian Bay-based seafood company bringing the story of the water directly to the table. Guided by a deep respect for Canada’s coastal harvesters, they curate exceptional seafood experiences that celebrate seasonality, provenance and the unique character of the water.
Their work is rooted in the idea of merroir, the marine expression of terroir. Every oyster, shellfish and catch carries the imprint of where it comes from. Based in Creemore, Merroir connects guests with thoughtfully sourced seafood through immersive tastings and memorable dining experiences.
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Natalie Goldenberg-Fife
CURATOR & OWNER, GOLD & FIFE
Fire & Feast Elora is thoughtfully curated in partnership with Gold & Fife. Gold & Fife is an experiential hospitality agency specializing in destination dining, strategic partnerships, and immersive culinary events. Working at the intersection of food, wellness, travel, and storytelling, the agency collaborates with chefs, destinations, brands, and private clients to create experiences that celebrate place, cultivate meaningful human connection, and create moments attendees remember long after the table is cleared.
The Fieldstone Barn
After more than three decades as creative directors and entrepreneurs, Tim and Melinda Croft set out to create something that reflected what they had come to value most: experiences that bring people together. Tim was raised in the city; Melinda in the countryside. Different beginnings, united by a shared belief that the moments we remember most are rarely about spectacle—they're about connection.
When they discovered this farm along the Grand River just outside Elora, they saw more than a beautiful property. They saw a place where people could slow down, gather around a table, and reconnect with nature, with one another, and with the simple pleasure of sharing a meal.
Today, The Fieldstone Barn is surrounded by farmland, forests, flower fields, and the quiet beauty of Wellington County. For generations, this land has nourished both people and community. That legacy continues through Fire & Feast Elora, an immersive dining experience rooted in the region's extraordinary agricultural landscape.
Each gathering brings together acclaimed chefs alongside local farmers, growers, artisans, and producers to create a live-fire cooking menu inspired by the ingredients of the season. This dinner begins around an authentic Argentinian-style wood-fired grill, where smoke, flame and time become ingredients. Wherever possible, the menu draws from Wellington County and the surrounding region, connecting guests directly to the people who grow, raise, forage and produce the food.
As the sun begins to set, guests gather at a single communal table beneath an open sky, surrounded by thousands of blooming sunflowers. The setting is intentionally understated, allowing the landscape, the cooking and the conversation to take centre stage.
At its heart, Fire & Feast Elora is an expression of place. It celebrates the belief that the most memorable meals are shaped as much by where they are shared, and who they are shared with, as by what is served on the plate.
Limited Release:
Glamping at Fieldstone Barn
Extend your Fire Feast experience with a night at The Fieldstone Barn, a private countryside retreat just minutes from Elora and directly across from the Elora Gorge.
Set on a working flower farm, each luxury tent comes with its own hot tub, plush linens, and boutique-level amenities, all surrounded by trees, gardens, and resident alpacas. Explore the property's beautifully restored 170-year-old stone barn, wander the grounds at your own pace, or simply unwind before or after the Fire Feast celebration. Downtown Elora's shops and restaurants are just a short drive away.
Featured by National Geographic as one of Canada's unique places to stay, The Fieldstone Barn is the perfect complement to a Fire Feast weekend: relaxed, memorable, and completely its own.
Limited availability. Glamping is $555 CAD / night based on double occupancy. For more information, reach out to community@getdinr.com and/or select your interest during the check-out process.
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