This April, more than 20 of the best chefs in Toronto and its surrounding area are combining their creative talents for a good cause, and you can experience it for yourself — if the $1000 price tag isn’t too much to swallow.
After an impressively successful inaugural year in 2025, wherein over $1 million was raised to provide meals to students in Toronto, Chefs for Change is gearing up for its second instalment on Tuesday, April 14: one that promises to be bigger and better than the last.
Taking place at St. Lawrence Market’s recently-completed North Building, the event is a culinary showcase of epic proportions, all in support of the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, which aims to provide nutritious, quality meals to students across the city.
In 2025, with an enviable, sold-out event at Evergreen Brick Works and over 600 attendees, Chefs for Change supplied more than 50,000 meals to local students. Judging by the roster for 2026, that number is more than likely to be exceeded.
To say that the roster of chefs participating in this year’s event is impressive isn’t an exaggeration by any stretch of the imagination, and each participant will be serving up their own distinct dish to be savoured by the event’s attendees.
Among culinary heavyweights, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are expected to attend.
Members of the 2026 lineup include Toronto legends like David Schwartz (Linny’s), Patrick Kriss (Alo), Steven Molnar (Quetzal) and Rob Rossi (Sammarco), as well as buzzy up-and-comers including Rebekah Bruce (Bar Eugenie), Shauna Godfrey (Maven) and Marvin Palomo (Liliana).
Equally-established chefs from outside of the city will be putting their spatulas in the ring at the event, as well.
Restaurant Pearl Morissette‘s Daniel Hadida and Eric Robertson are both slated to participate, alongside Jason Bangerter (Langdon Hall), Jeremy Austin (The Pine) and Zach Keeshig (Naagan). And, if you can believe it, that’s not even all of the chefs confirmed.
At the event, each featured chef will have their own station, where they’ll serve a specially-crafted dish, specifically inspired by the event, and this year, the team from Civil Liberties will also be shaking up beverages behind the bar.
The event is supported by some of Canada’s most promising culinary talent.
Attendees will have the chance to eat anything and everything on offer, but all that culinary starpower comes along with an inarguably hefty price tag.
A single ticket will set you back $1000: not a cheap eat by any stretch of the imagination, but when you consider that this is the most Canadian culinary starpower you’ll find under one roof in a single night (save, perhaps, the actual Michelin ceremony), the price feels a little more palatable.
That, and the fact that the ticket price all goes towards feeding kids in your community, of course. Sure, you may be living on canned beans and tuna for weeks afterward, but the residual high from some of the best bites of your life, on top of making a positive change, will make it taste all the better.
Tickets for Chefs for Change are available for purchase online now. You can learn more about Chefs for Change on the event’s website.
Lead photo by
Leydon Photography, courtesy of Chefs for Change