Gratitude Galore: Celebrating Another Phenomenal Top Home Chef Event!
2026 Top Home Chef raised $55,000 for Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council.
Top Home Chefs
Support Mental Health
An evening of fun and fellowship in support of the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council!
So what happens when 50 “home chefs” volunteer to prepare samples of their signature dishes for 450 gala attendees?
Guests can sample and judge food created by our Home Chefs along with a panel of celebrity judges including Chef D, Dana Shortt, Scott Yates, and Nick Benninger. Awards are given out in categories such as appetizers, mains, and desserts. Live and online auction items are up for grabs, a keynote speaker will deliver an inspiring message, and the evening will end with live Duelling Pianos and dance.
The 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 Galas were sell-out events that raised a combined $300,000 for the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention council.
Celebrity Judges
Chef Darryl Fletcher’s (ChefD) inspiration to pursue a culinary career began while watching Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) and trying some recipes at home.
Fast forward 35 years later and ChefD has appeared as a guest on CTV News at Noon in Kitchener, Vancouver, and Edmonton, as well as City TV’s Breakfast Television, CHCH Morning Live, Shopping Channel
ChefD is filming his Ninth season of his popular cooking show, ‘At Home with ChefD’ on Rogers TV. In the process of Filming his 5th Season of At the Cottage with ChefD
He is an author, speaker and Podcast host. (At the Kitchen table with ChefD).
It’s no wonder ChefD cooks for you like you are a star, it’s because he has cooked for them! ChefD has prepared meals for Blue Rodeo, Michael Bublé, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Diana Krall, Melissa Etheridge, Vance Joy and the late BB King, and the incomparable Stuart McLean.
Aligned with quality, ChefD is the corporate chef for Hormel Inc. and Bothwell Cheese where he creates new recipes and flavour profiles. Partnered in those edible creations ChefD uses Waterloo Brewing, only to cook over a delicious union with Crown Verity.
ChefD Created FiredUp a Summer Long Pop-Up featuring Wood Fired Pizza, Wood Fired Burgers. You can also find him at Butterfly Conservatory and Schwaben club he and his team run the Food Operation or Challenger Motor Freight. Or maybe Catering thru ChefD Catering and Events
ChefD is an avid community supporter and believes in sharing his passion for food with others, and keeping recipes simple, easy, and incredibly tasty!
Dana Shortt is the founder of Dana Shortt Gourmet & Gifts, which she sold in 2024, and now operates Dana Shortt Consulting. Born and raised in Waterloo, she received her formal culinary training at George Brown College and holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Hotel and Food Administration from the University of Guelph.
Dana now offers cooking classes, entertaining workshops, and curated lifestyle experiences, helping others reconnect with beauty, creativity, and the art of everyday living.
She is an active member of WPO (Women Presidents’ Organization), RevolutionHer (formerly Mompreneurs), and IWF (International Women’s Forum).
Chef Nick Benninger is a seasoned professional in the hospitality industry, stretching beyond the kitchen and into advocacy and entertainment.
Nick found his calling early on, working in the kitchen at a summer camp in Northern Ontario. After attending George Brown College, Nick completed his culinary apprenticeship working throughout Ontario, settling back in his hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo to grow a family and his passion for a “taste of place.”
After opening Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21 in 2008, Nick and his wife Natalie would go on to found the Fat Sparrow Group, which, under their leadership, operated restaurants, a bakery, a butcher shop and catering operations from its headquarters in St. Jacobs Ontario, and serving communities from Waterloo to Killbear.
Today, Nick proudly hosts Bell Fibe’s Farm to Fork TV, highlighting the incredible farms and makers in Waterloo Region and beyond.
Chef Nick’s reputation as a local food and community-building champion includes time spent writing columns like 519 Schmecks for The Community Edition, creating videos like Nick and Taylor Make a Food Show on YouTube and serving on multiple volunteer boards, including Community Support Connections, Uptown Waterloo BIA, and the St. Jacobs BIA. Whatever he’s up to, Nick always shares his passionate opinions and great food!
Rob Brady grew up in the small town of Corby, Northamptonshire, England. He knew he wanted to be a butcher at age 14. He apprenticed for 3 years at Dewhurst, the largest butcher chain in the UK; and as a journeyman, he worked for various stores, from small, family-run butchers to large grocery chains, both in England and Waterloo Region.
After immigrating to Canada, Rob worked for The Veal Shoppe, a butcher shop that sold food at many of the local markets in Southern Ontario. Always dreaming of owning his own shop, Rob approached Herb Benkner, the retiring owner of Benkner’s Sausage and Meats, and worked closely with Herb to learn his techniques and the preferences of his customers.
In 1999, after owning the store for a year, Rob changed the name to Brady’s Meat & Deli, to give the new business it’s own identity. Brady’s continued to sell meat as The Veal Shoppe in the main building of the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market until the market building burned down in September 2013; while the retail location of Brady’s Meat & Deli, located at the corner of Phillip and Albert streets in Waterloo, remained open, and proud to be family owned and operated, Canadian, and committed to quality meats and good service.
Rob supports his community though charity work, and buying locally-farmed products whenever possible.
Tempo has proven to be a great platform for another of his passions, which is being involved in the community. Since 2014 Simon has been involved with numerous local foundations throughout KW and Woodstock, and continues to focus on assisting food to insecure children and families. If he’s not at the restaurant, you can catch Simon catering weddings, coaching one of his kid’s sports teams, or trying to find his golf ball!
Chef Scotty began his culinary aspirations by graduating from chef school in 2003, after almost twenty years in the automotive industry. Excited about this next chapter, he quickly established himself as a passionate chef with a love for local food. In 2013, he decided to launch his own business, ChefScottyYates, which includes catering and his “BistroTour” Food Truck. He can actually take passengers right on the truck to the Niagara area and visit craft breweries, wineries, cideries or distilleries, as well as doing local tours. They even come complete with a day of food pairings as well as a fully served dinner at the chef’s table inside the truck itself.
Chef Scotty has also been privileged in the past, to be a part-time culinary instructor through the Conestoga College program. The thought of helping young aspiring chefs start and continue their culinary careers is something that he is naturally drawn to. Chef Scotty collaborates with Guelph’s own Dixon’s Distilled Spirits to produce a bottled BBQ sauce as well as a whiskey mustard. Look for more products to come soon… When you get a chance to see Chef Scotty, always remember his tag line… “What Love Tastes Like”.
Find more at www.chefscottyates.com
Sponsors
Our sponsors receive no direct financial or non-financial benefits from KW Legacy, other than recognition here showing our appreciation.
Heartfelt Thank you to Our 2025 Top Home Chef Sponsors
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