Kayla Dhaliwall

In the Season 12 premiere, 10 new Chefs are introduced at Toronto’s historic St. Lawrence Market. Right away, they’re tasked with working together for a collaborative dinner, each dish inspired by their unique culinary origin story. The winning Chef earns the chance to pull one of three immunity knives - including the coveted Golden Knife.

Chefs race through a high-speed pasta Quickfire before catering a special event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the imagineNATIVE Film Festival. Drawing inspiration from Indigenous ingredients and culinary traditions, the Chefs must honour the stories behind an ingredient in each dish they serve.

In the Quickfire, Chefs are challenged to spotlight iconic Canadian ingredients while creating elevated dishes using McCain fries. Then the chefs pair up for a Bocuse d’Or-inspired Elimination Challenge, where teamwork, technique, and presentation are pushed to the limit in a grand culinary showcase.

Inspired by Eden’s cookbook Tahini Baby, the Chefs craft dishes for their own fantasy cookbook cover. Then, they channel the spirit of celebration and self-expression at a Top Chef Canada Pride party at The 519 community centre, serving head-to-head hors d’oeuvres to a vibrant crowd.

In a playful Quickfire Challenge, Chefs flip expectations by transforming sweet ingredients into savoury dishes. For the Elimination Challenge, they must create a fully immersive dining experience - serving dishes inspired by elemental worlds like a lava flow, glacier cave, outer space, rainforest, and the deep sea.

In the season premiere, host Eden Grinshpan and head judge Mark McEwan welcome 11 chefs from across Canada to compete in the most prestigious cooking competition in the country. In the season's first Quickfire Challenge, the chefs must create a dish that highlights their brand and the style of food they are bringing to the table. Later, the chefs channel the energy of a phoenix rising from the ashes to create a dish inspired by an element found in fire.