Jamie Kennedy

One of Canada’s most celebrated chefs, Jamie Kennedy is known for his legendary commitment to environmental issues and his support for organic agriculture, local producers and traditional methods. This translates into choices about the fish we buy, the meat and vegetables we serve and increasingly the wines we choose to offer. Jamie makes every effort to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment and we are continuously on the look out for like-minded suppliers and better methods of work.

His respect for traditional practices exerted its influence early on in Jamie Kennedy’s culinary endeavors, precipitating his decision to pursue an apprenticeship. Having graduated from the apprenticeship program at George Brown in 1977, Jamie finessed his training and experience as Journeyman Cook in Europe from 1977 to 1979. Returning to Toronto, Jamie opened what is now one of Toronto’s most renowned and respected restaurants, Scaramouche. Modeled on the French three-star system, Scaramouche was heralded as a new phase in Canadian culinary history and solidified Jamie’s reputation as a pioneer of contemporary Canadian cuisine. However, it was not until 1985 when he opened Palmerston Restaurant and established relationships with a number of local artisan producers that Jamie began to identify and develop what would become his own definitive style. From 1994 to 2003, this style became the distinguishing feature of J.K. ROM at The Royal Ontario Museum.

Jamie owns and operates Gilead Café and Bistro. The Café opened first in June, 2008 and the bistro in January, 2010. In addition to the restaurants at Gilead, the building is also home to Jamie Kennedy event Catering. A full service enterprise that caters to corporate and social affairs across the city.