The Eat North Podcast

With 'Top Chef Canada' Season 11 casting currently underway until mid-April, many Canadian chefs from coast to coast to coast are crossing their fingers to end up on the popular reality competition series. On this special one-off podcast episode (co-hosted by Dan Clapson, Carmen Cheng and Phil Wilson), we chat with one of the show's judges Mijune Pak, as well as and Season 10 runner-up Dez Lo about everything from what attributes a successful TCC competitor needs to possess, tips and tricks for the application process and more. While not every chef who appears on a season of 'Top Chef Canada' achieves celebrity chef status afterwards, there are many that do. Mijune Pak dubs one chef the "Jennifer Hudson" of the TCC franchise and Dez Lo explains how she is still making the most of her time in the limelight.

On the latest episode of Melodies and Menus, Dan Clapson and Hailey Benedict chat with country music icon Carolyn Dawn Johnson as well as Melissa B from Traitors Canada. First, Carolyn Dawn Johnson talks about her approach to supporting independent artists, watching Nashville grow over the past three decades and her new single "Road Blocks". Hailey and Dan discuss the third episode of Traitors Canada before its first eliminated Traitor, Melissa B, joins the co-hosts to chat. Hailing from St. John's, Melissa loves her local live music scene and shares some of her favourite local artists in addition to chatting about iconic Newfoundland foods, and her experience filming Traitors Canada.

Hailey Benedict and Dan Clapson are back with another episode of Melodies and Menus, and they kick things off chatting with Survivor 41 winner Erika Casupanan about her experience filming Traitors Canada. Erika shares plenty of tips for reality TV competition hopefuls, her favourite spots in Toronto and a ton more. Next up, Clapson chats with chart-topping act MacKenzie Porter. With her latest single "Chasing Tornados" hitting No. 1 on the Canadian country charts recently, MacKenzie Porter is the first female artist this century to achieve six No. 1 hits. The award-winning singer has even more to be excited about too thanks to her first-ever headlining tour which kicks off in early November. She chats about favourite comfort foods when she's back home for a visit in Medicine Hat, Nashville hot spots, and much more.

We've got a special guest co-host for our fall episodes of 'Melodies and Menus' and it's none other than CCMA Award-winning country singer Hailey Benedict! Hailey joins Dan Clapson, who shares her love of reality television and especially 'The Traitors Canada' and 'The Great Canadian Baking Show'. Both shows premiered recently, so the co-hosts chat with the series' respective hosts, actor Karine Vanasse and comedian Ann Pornel. While 'The Traitors Canada' is chock full of lies, deceit and drama (in the best way possible), most Canadians know that 'GCBS' is all about those heartfelt moments and friendly competition. Make sure to check up on our past episodes of 'Melodies and Menus' wherever you download or stream your favourite podcasts!

On the latest episode of Melodies and Menus, co-hosts Dan Clapson and Madison Olds chat with Candian country music stars Madeline Merlo and Andrew Hyatt. The CCMA Award-winning artists (separately) discuss everything from their lives in Nashville, how the American city's food scene has evolved, what Canadian treats they miss from back home and much more.

It's an especially exciting episode of Melodies and Menus this week as co-hosts Dan Clapson and Madison Olds get to chat with musical icon Paul Langlois of The Tragically Hip and the ever-talented pop singer Ralph. Both musical acts separately discuss their latest albums, touring, favourite eats and more.

We're back with a mini season of Melodies and Menus with co-hosts Dan Clapson and Madison Olds. The duo discuss Dan's debut cookbook Prairie and shifting from summer eats to warming fall food (and drinks) before award-winning country singer Tim Hicks joins for a lively interview. The chart-topping singer talks about his 2023 CCMA Award nominations, upcoming fall tour, pie irons, and more.

Acclaimed author Lesley Chesterman and the hilarious Andrew Phung, creator and star of CBC's Run The Burbs, join us for our final podcast episode of the year.Chesterman dishes on her latest French cookbook Un Week-end Chez Lesley (and her recent English book Make Every Dish Delicious), why people need to think out of the box when it comes to fruitcake (don't hate!), the perfect chips for a chocolate chip cookie and more. The vibrant author also gives some love to one of her favourite bread bakers in Montreal and lets us know what Quebecois singer she enjoys listening to during the holidays. With Vietnamese and Chinese family roots, the Calgary-born Andrew Phung makes the most of his holiday season with his family by celebrating Christmas and Lunar New Year in the early winter. The comedian extraordinaire discusses making history with Run The Burbs earlier this year as the first primetime show to ever feature Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) back in Season 1, and he tells us what we can look forward to when Season 2 of Run The Burbs premieres on January 4, 2023 on CBC and CBC Gem. Before we bid our listeners adieu for 2022, Mariya Stokes joins Madison Olds and Dan Clapson for a quick holiday-music-making chat and we spin Olds' tune "Christmas Wish" from her holiday EP Tinseltown.

On the latest episode of Melodies and Menus, co-hosts Madison Olds and Dan Clapson talk with Clifton Murray, one quarter of the chart-topping act The Tenors, as well as drag queen superstar Anita Wigl'it. With The Tenors having an upcoming holiday tour across Canada and a current holiday single "Christmas Miracle", there's plenty to chat with Clifton about from family food traditions, creating four-part harmonies and more. Ms. Wigl'it dishes on her time on RuPaul's Drag Race Canada Vs. The World (the international franchise of the population competition series), living in Vancouver, being an expert trumpet player and what it's like to own the long-standing Auckland venue Caluzzi Cabaret with fellow queen Kita Mean.

Our podcast miniseries Melodies and Menus is back for a special three-week holiday edition. Co-hosts Madison Olds and Dan Clapson will be chatting with a fun mix of recognizable Canadians who love this time of year as much as we do, and our first episode of the holiday season features Juno Award-winning singer Celeigh Cardinal and Great Canadian Baking Show Season 6 champ Lauren Tjoe. Celeigh talks about her new holiday single as well as her favourite holiday bevvies that help keep her cozy. Lauren dishes on her experience filming GCBS Season 6 and shares tips for novice bakers looking to make tasty holiday treats.

We just couldn't bid adieu to our Top Chef Roundtable podcast miniseries for the year without having a little bonus episode with this season's breakout star, Deseree ("Dez") Lo. The Vancouver-based chef quickly became a favourite of our podcast co-hosts and viewers alike. First, for her vibrant personality, followed swiftly by her creative approach to many of the Top Chef Canada Season X challenges. In this bonus episode, Dan Clapson chats with Dez about how humour keeps her balanced in the kitchen, her approach to authenticity, what it feels like to be Top Chef Canada's eldest runner-up in the history of the show, and much more. Before the episode wraps, we tease our upcoming holiday-themed podcast series with a surprise guest!

And just like that, our Top Chef Canada coverage comes to a close for 2022. In addition to dissecting the final episode of Season X, two of our podcast co-hosts, Carmen Cheng and Phil Wilson, get to have an exclusive chat with this year's winning chef Tre Sanderson. Sanderson discusses how he managed to find the balance between having fun during production while maintaining focus in challenges, his plans for the future, how it feels to be the first black chef to win a season of Top Chef Canada, and so much more.

Season 9 winner Erica Karbelnik and husband Josh Karbelnik are the only couple to have ever competed on a Top Chef franchise. Currently in Spain to compete in the sixth annual International Tapas Competition, Erica chats about her amazingly creative tapa inspired by Tim Hortons (don't worry, it made us wary at first too!) before the couple discuss their approach to cooking private dinners, life with their adorable one year old daughter and much more. Of course, Phil Wilson, Dan Clapson and Carmen Cheng also go through Top Chef Canada Season X Episode 7 with an energetic fine tooth comb!

This week, we've got a condensed episode of our Top Chef Roundtable podcast miniseries with two of the co-hosts, Phil Wilson and Dan Clapson, discussing all things Top Chef Canada Season X Episode 6. With only two episodes left in the season, the production is also heading to Cayman Islands with the Top 4 chefs! This is the first time the show has ever filmed outside of Canada.

This episode, we are chatting with two of East Coast Canada's most recognizable chefs, Lucy Morrow and Stephanie Ogilvie. Both Top Chef Canada Season 8 finalists, the two had a strong showing on the series and still remain great pals after it all. The chefs discuss regional ingredients of the Maritimes and also offer up some advice for Canadian chefs hoping to compete on the popular competition series. After that, co-hosts Carmen Cheng, Phil Wilson and Dan Clapson dissect Top Chef Canada Season X Episode 5, special guest judge Alvin Leung and the "vegan feast" themed Elimination Challenge.

Chef Jo Notkin and Top Chef Canada alum calls Montreal home and is working hard at growing her baking mix company Maison Zoe Ford to national success. Notkin discusses her growing brand recognition in the food product sector before giving co-hosts Phil Wilson, Carmen Cheng and Dan Clapson a crash course in the history of Betty Crocker (very interesting!) and dishing on the most delicious eggs a person can buy in this world. discovering that she's also pals with one and only Gail Simmons, we try to probe Notkin for details on the impending 20th season of Top Chef that is going international (competitor-wise) and just wrapped filming in London...but to no avail. Of course, the co-hosts also dissect the most recent episode of Top Chef Canada Season X and throw out a few conspiracy theories about the show too. Who doesn't love speculation?

When it comes to fun culinary collaborations, few Top Chef Canada alum do it better than Season 9 runner-up Billy Nguyen. We've been following Billy's journey since their appearance on the series and they've cooked up some amazing feasts with pals like Andrea Alridge, Galasa Aden and Emily Butcher, and they've got upcoming collabs with Steph Ogilvie and Dominique Dufour too. On our newest episode of Top Chef Roundtable, Dan Clapson gets to chat with Nguyen and Butcher while the two are in Winnipeg getting ready for their three-night dinner series at Emily's popular eatery Nola. Once the conversation wraps, Carmen Cheng and Phil Wilson hop on to dissect Top Chef Canada Season X Episode 3 (i.e. Restaurant Wars).

Before we delve into the ups and downs of Top Chef Canada Season X Episode 2, the co-hosts discuss the early departure of Edmonton chef Lindsay Porter and how sometimes even chefs that are celebrated in their own region, end up having a bad first day in the TCC Kitchen. The co-hosts also take inspiration from Season X Episode 2's musical theme and shout out some of their favourite independent Canadian musicians like Nice Horse and The Free Label. Clapson also gets to chat with TCC Season 4 alum Lauren Marshall of Halifax about her wildly popular eatery Real Fake Meats, cooking at the upcoming Devour! The Food Film Fest in Wolfville, NS and how she's seen the country's restaurant scene evolve as it pertains to vegan (or primarily plant-forward) diners.

With Top Chef Canada officially back for another season, so too is our Top Chef-themed podcast miniseries. On this week's episode of Top Chef Canada Roundtable, co-hosts Phil Wilson, Carmen Cheng and Dan Clapson share their first impressions of the milestone season in terms of its competitors and unique "X" twist. Top Chef Canada judge Mijune Pak also joins the trio to talk about what she's excited for Canadians to see as this season unfolds, her thoughts on this year's new judge David Zilber and she shares a bit of behind-the-scenes intel from the show's premiere episode too. The Eat North Podcast stream can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and more.

It's our final Melodies and Menus podcast episode of the summer, and what better way to wrap things up than with some dynamic conversations of Pride season and being queer in the entertainment industry? First, co-hosts Dan Clapson and Madison Olds chat with iconic Canadian drag queen Kendall Gender. As a fixture of the Vancouver drag scene, Kendall has long been a must-see queen on the West Coast, but after her runner-up finish on Canada's Drag Race Season 2, she is now a household name. Kendall discusses her work as a Pride ambassador for Fairmont Hotels as well as why she loves giving back to the queer community in general and, of course, her undying love of performing for crowds around the globe. Next, Amy Hef joins the co-hosts to talk about her genre fluid approach to creating music and how being queer filters into her day-to-day work as a musician. She also discusses how Pride season is an exciting and business time for her as a performer.