Photo: Stephen Chu
2026 Taste Canada Cooks the Books Presented by Canada Beef
This year's kitchen battle will take place in the beautiful professional kitchen at Cirillo's Academy in Toronto. Student chefs will prepare their dishes, start to finish, live in front of the crowd while two expert Kitchen Judges assess their technique. Competitors will then present their dishes to the esteemed judges' panel for tasting. The winners will be announced on Sunday, October 25, 2026, during the Taste Canada Awards Soirée, with the Gold Winning team taking home a $3,000 bursary, some amazing kitchen swag and the title of Taste Canada’s Best New Student Chefs!
Meet the Competition
Taste Canada is proud to support the next generation of culinary talent through Cooks the Books, our annual student cooking competition presented by Canada Beef! This high-energy event brings together culinary students from across the country to compete for the title of Canada’s Best New Student Chefs. We’re excited to announce the Canadian culinary schools selected for this year’s competition. We can’t wait to see what they’ll cook up!
Meet the 2026 Cooks The Book Host
We are thrilled to have Chef Dwight Smith as host of the 2026 Taste Canada Cooks the Books student cooking competition presented by Canada Beef!
Red Seal chef, CBC Life contributor, guest judge on Top Chef Canada and permanent judge on Food Network Canada’s Bake Master Battle, every recipe he shares is infused with passion and artistry and makes gourmet cooking accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Explore. Inspire. Cook.
Each competing Cooks the Books team has been challenged to develop a unique recipe with this year’s theme of “Global Flavours Grow in Canada” to explore the rich tapestry of global cuisines and cultural influences that have shaped their culinary journeys.
All recipes will include a cut of AAA Canadian Beef as centre-of-plate, a variety of Lactalis Canada Foodservice dairy products, as well as Dainty Rice. To ensure that the majority of the ingredients in each recipe are grown, produced and/or raised in Canada, the students were invited to use the What’s in Season section of the Canadian Food Focus website as their helpful resource. Thank you to Prince Edward Island Certified Beef for generously providing the Cooks the Books teams with high-quality Canadian beef to develop, practice and present their recipes.
Educational Resource Hub
The Taste Canada Cooks the Books Educational Resource Hub for Canadian Culinary Students and Food Professionals is loaded with valuable information. Learn about food trends, agricultural practices, food writing, nutrition and more from Taste Canada’s partners and notable industry experts.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
