Exploring Food Writing With a Pro
Stratford Chefs School is a not-for-profit Apprenticeship School focused on the innovative, hands-on training of high-quality aspiring chefs and culinary entrepreneurs. The School prides itself on its broad, intensive curriculum that provides a solid foundation for a variety of career paths in the Hospitality sector. One unique aspect of this innovative curriculum is the annual Joseph Hoare Gastronomic Writer-In-Residence (JHGWIR) program, which offers students the opportunity to learn first-hand from an experienced food writing professional about food writing, food criticism, recipe development and writing, and much more.
Year 18 of Innovative Program
Launched in 2007, this program honours the widely loved Joseph Hoare, former food editor of Toronto Life magazine, who was immensely supportive of young writers interested in food and gastronomy, writers such as James Chatto (JHGWIR 2007), Lucy Waverman(JHGWIR 2014) and John Allemang. His family chose to honour Mr. Hoare's lifelong passion for food and food writing by means of an endowment to the Program at Stratford Chefs School after his death in 1997.
The Role of the Writer-in-Residence
During their annual two-week residence in Stratford, the JHGWIR leads workshops about food writing, provides one-on-one consultations with students who are interested in food writing, and presents readings and discussions of their work to both students and the public, with the overall goal of contributing to a well-rounded education for students, a primary objective of the School.
The JHGWIR advances food writing as an important source of knowledge about food culture, and helps engage students and the public in experiencing, enjoying and understanding the gastronomy of our time.
Past Writers-in-Residence
The list of past Joseph Hoare Gastronomic Writers-in-Residence is a who's who of acclaimed culinary and literary luminaries from diverse backgrounds.
'Stratford Bound' by James Chatto
James Chatto, renowned Toronto food and wine writer and critic, was the School's first JHGWIR. Here are a few words he wrote about his experience in Stratford in 2007:
"Last Sunday, I was very honoured to be named the first Joseph Hoare Writer-in-Residence at the Stratford Chefs School. Joseph was my great friend and mentor, the long-time food editor of Toronto Life who gave me my first job reviewing restaurants and writing about food and wine 20 years ago, and who set ethical and grammatical standards by which I still try to live. He died 10 years ago but not before learning that the writer-in-residence program would be set up in his name, allowing students at the Chefs School to develop their food writing skills and knowledge, should they so wish. Life skips by. It has taken 10 years to get the program funded and off the ground, its ultimate success largely due to Joseph’s nephews and the rest of his remarkable family.
As I said, I am incredibly honoured to have been chosen, and I look forward to being of some use to the students with writing tutorials and workshops, public readings or simply talking about food writing with anyone who is interested. I’ll be there for 12 days scattered throughout the coming term, and I started on Tuesday and Wednesday, sitting in on classes, introducing myself to the students and being a customer at a couple of dinner labs held at The Old Prune. The second-year students are divided into groups and each person has the chance to serve as chef at several dinner labs during the term while the other members of the group fill other roles in the kitchen and dining room. It was Richard Francis’s turn on Wednesday. He had been assigned an interesting menu that began with a dish of sliced lamb’s tongue, fingerling potato, golden beets and lamb’s lettuce. It was followed by a salad of frisée, sliced raw artichoke and fennel and crisp prosciutto. Then came the duck confit—so divine—served over a little ragout of cabbage. Dessert was a delicious crème caramel—not too sweet, thank goodness, dressed with orange. The dinner lab concept is challenging for the students—the 'chef' assumes full responsibility in the kitchen and the customers are real members of the public."
Source: Toronto Life Food & Drink, November 12, 2007
Learning with Lucy Waverman
Food is also a life-long passion for Lucy Waverman, longtime food columnist for The Globe and Mail, Cordon Bleu trained chef, cooking school teacher, successful food writer and author, and our Writer-in-Residence in 2014.
"I come from a long line of people for whom food is a passion. My grandmother owned a superb restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland. My mother had a cooking school and then a successful kitchen shop in Toronto.
My first career had nothing to do with food. I trained and worked as a journalist. Later I became a grade school teacher. But my underlying passion for food was always there. I loved to cook and entertain but I had no formal training.
However when I had my own family, we moved to London, England and I was fortunate enough to attend the famed Cordon Bleu Cookery School. With my newfound skills I became a cooking teacher with my own school and over the years have used my journalism background to become a successful food writer and author.
I love food. I love to eat, to cook, and to teach through my articles and books. I believe in simplicity in food but taste is always paramount. Recipes do not need to be complicated or time consuming to give you great pleasure."
Montreal's Lesley Chesterman, JHGWIR 2024
We're thrilled to have Montreal's Lesley Chesterman as our Joseph Hoare Gastronomic Writer-in Residence for 2024. While she is here in Stratford, Ontario this month, this multi-talented chef, food writer, cookbook author, educator, and former restaurant critic, will work with our students, present culinary events for the public (Visit our Events page for more info), and dine at the School and in other local restaurants.
Says Lesley in her most recent Substack newsletter: "As the Writer in Residence, I've been engaging with students about the multifaceted world of food writing, with particular focus on recipe development, menu composition, and restaurant criticism. Working with these aspiring chefs has been deeply rewarding, and highlights how much the industry has evolved since my own culinary training. While writing wasn't considered an essential skill for cooks in the past, today's chefs need a comprehensive understanding of recipe standardization, clear culinary communication, and the mechanics of restaurant reviewing – both to write effectively and to understand the critic's perspective."
About Lesley Chesterman
Lesley Chesterman attended the Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie du Québec, before working as a professional pastry chef and cooking teacher in Montreal and France. In 1998, she began her career as a food writer, primarily at the Montreal Gazette as a food columnist and restaurant critic from 1999 to 2019. Her work has also appeared in Gourmet Magazine, The Art of Eating, Saveur, Nuvo, Food Arts, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Wine Tidings, The National Post, Fool Magazine, New York Post, Eater.com, Le Devoir, and Caribou Magazine.
Since 2012, Lesley has been a food columnist for Radio-Canada and CHOM FM. In 2018, she also contributed to the production of the documentary 100 Ans à Table, focused on the history of Quebec cuisine televised on Télé-Quebec, on which she acted as host as well. Chesterman has also held several judging positions, including Gold Medal Plates, EnRoute Magazine’s best new restaurants, Cacao Barry’s World Chocolate Masters, and the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best list. She has also written several books, including Boulangerie et Pâtisserie: Techniques de Base and Flavourville: Lesley Chesterman’s Guide to Dining out in Montreal. Her latest, Chez Lesley, was awarded a Taste Canada 2021 gold medal and was published in 2022 in English as Make Every Dish Delicious.
Learn More
Learn more about our Enriched Cook Apprenticeship 32 week program.
Learn more about Student Chef Dinners, Events and more.
Do you have questions about our Program?
Contact us by email admin@stratfordchef.com or call 519.271.1414