Celebrating 15 Years of Devour! The Food Film Fest: Community & What’s Next! – Part 3
We’ve heard how Devour! began (Part 1) and celebrated its biggest milestones (Part 2). Now, in Part 3 of our anniversary Q&A, Michael and Lia reflect on the chefs, partners, and volunteers whose loyalty and friendship have shaped the festival and what’s next.
Q1: Which local restaurants, suppliers, and chefs have been with Devour! over the years?
Lia: So many, but a few standout partners include Taste of Nova Scotia, Noggins & Tap Toot Farms, Sober Island Oysters, and NSCC. Some chefs have been with us almost from day one, like Renée Lavallée, Jason Lynch, Martin Ruiz Salvador, Craig Flinn, Dennis Johnston, Mark Gray, Chris Velden, Matt Krizan, Peter Dewar, and Peter Jackson.
Michael: And we’ve had remarkable alumni chefs like John Higgins and Dario Tomaselli from George Brown College, who have supported us for years. Of course, our friends Jacques Pépin, Peter Jackson, and Peter Dewar have been instrumental, both personally and professionally.
Peter Jackson first walked into my restaurant, Tempest, around 2008 or 2009, and from that first conversation, we struck up a friendship. He had run an exceptional restaurant in Edmonton for many years before returning home to retire, and he has been a steadfast supporter of Devour! ever since. Peter Dewar, who taught at Kings Tech for many years, has also been remarkable in his support—always going out of his way to help and giving his students the chance to meet the incredible chefs we bring in each year. Both Peters have played an invaluable role in shaping Devour!, and I’m deeply grateful for their friendship and support.
Q2: Devour! Has a strong volunteer support – can you name a few memorable volunteers and their contributions?
I am also really proud of how the community has come out to support the Festival and the launch of Devour! Studios. Our volunteer ops team is a perfect example. A group of a dozen festival volunteers who came together in the fest off-season to volunteer for Devour! Studios, supporting our dreams, as we fundraised and brought the overall project to fruition. This group of people, who hardly knew each other at the start, began working on the demolition of the interior. However, as their friendship grew, so did their volunteer spirit, and they have now volunteered thousands of hours, saving the overall project hundreds of thousands of dollars. They now prepare and stage events, taking great pride in the space, which was brought back to the festival in spades, uniting the larger festival team. Their spirit is unbreakable, amicable, and contagious… we simply would not be where we are with this project without them on many, many fronts.
Q3. Favourite dishes you experienced over the years?
Lia: It’s an embarrassment of riches… I’ve tasted so many things over the years. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not particularly a desserts person. At one one of our events this past year, Chocolatier & Chef Julien Rousseau, ROUSSEAU CHOCOLATIÉR made this delectable Grand Marnier Crème Brûlée – it was so velvety. The cream was infused with the citrus warmth of Grand Marnier and crowned with a perfectly caramelized smoked sugar layer.
Michael: I have to think that when Chef Gabriel Kreuther from New York came two years ago, he served chicken as the main course. It was a deboned chicken thigh. Ultimately, it was pretty humble, but holy crap, it was delicious.
Q4. What’s a film that made everyone cry in the best way?
Lia: The film “Good Things Await”– we screened this film about a Danish biodynamic farmer, Niels Stokholm, who supplied the world’s top restaurant, Noma. He had wonderful relationships with all of his animals, and we flew him to the fest. Not a dry eye in the house, and when he came onto the stage post-film, the audience was floored. I have never seen a farmer treated with so much reverence… he was in his 80s at the time. It was spectacular to see throughout the festival, chefs clamouring to talk to him.
Michael: We showed this extraordinary film a number of years ago called Maxima about a Peruvian potato farmer fighting a gold mine in South America. It was an exceptionally moving movie that Lia and I had discovered at the Berlinale, which was brought to our festival. I love that movie.
Q5: What are the themes or chefs you would love to join us next?
Lia: I’d love to explore Mexican cuisine, Asian cuisine, or a Chef’s Table / Netflix All-Stars theme.
Michael: I’d love to have Stanley Tucci attend one year—been trying for a decade! And more collaborations with Ben Proudfoot, who is doing incredible work in food films.
Thank you for joining us on this walk down memory lane. Cheers to the next 15 years!
