Reality TV program starring National Arts Centre Executive Chef Michael Blackie nominated for a Gemini Award
Ottawa (Canada) – The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television today announced that CheF* OFF! – the television show starring Michael Blackie, Executive Chef of the National Arts Centre – was nominated for a Gemini in the category of Best Reality Program or Series category.
Chef Blackie describes CheF* OFF! (produced by Food Network Canada and Shaw) as a cross between “good cooking, hilarity, and sabotage.” In each episode he competes against Michael Lyon, the Executive Chef at the boutique Eldorado Hotel in Kelowna, British Columbia. Each week the two chefs are presented with a new challenge: how to pluck the feathers off a chicken, or how to cook a meal when your opponent has turned off the gas line? At the end of the show their culinary creations are judged.
Other shows nominated in this category are All for Nothing? on the W Network (Corus), Best Trip Ever on the Discovery Channel (Bell Media), Conviction Kitchen on CityTV (Rogers), and Dragons' Den on CBC. The full list of nominees can be found here.
Celebrations for 26th Annual Gemini Awards will take place over three nights in Toronto beginning Tuesday Aug. 30 and continuing Wednesday Aug. 31 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, culminating September 7 at the CBC with a live broadcast on CBC Television.
Born in Leicestershire, England and raised in Montreal, QC, Chef Blackie has been cooking for almost 25 years on three continents. Having Over the past decade, Chef Blackie has worked at some of the world’s finest hotels including the Fairmont Pierre Marques (Mexico) and the Oberoi (Bali)—an exclusive five-star facility voted the world’s best boutique resort by Leading Hotels of the World (2002) and listed on Condé Nast’s “hot list” during his tenure. Among his many career highlights, Chef Blackie held Executive Sous Chef and Acting Chef positions at the prestigious and world-renowned Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong). Most recently, Chef Blackie held the Executive Chef position at Brookstreet in Ottawa where, after just three months under his leadership, the hotel’s flagship restaurant Perspectives was awarded the prestigious four diamond rating from CAA.
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Carl Martin |