Devour! Chefs & Short Gala Dinner

This is Devour!’s signature showpiece event that has been presented worldwide, from Fogo Island to The Bahamas, from Sonoma to New York. Each dish in this five-course dinner is inspired by a corresponding short film screened right in the hall with the diners created by chefs: Shane Robicheau, Gene Cormier, Stephen Stryjewski, Meg Bickford & Pierre Michael Martin. 

Film Program:
Pane directed by Odveig Klyve
Pomological directed by Sebastian Ko
The Castro Family Recipe: Pozole Rojo directed by Daniel Klein
Chef de Partie directed by Ágúst Þór Hafsteinsson
Oh Sirop directed by Marie Côté

Ticket Price: $195.00 per guest, includes wine pairings and admission to the Chefs & Shorts After-Party on-site
Sponsored by United States Consulate General – Halifax, BeamSuntory, Basil Hayden Bourbon, Bishop’s Cellar, Chef Works, J.R. Mahoney Ltd, Devour! Seafood Partnership- Victoria Co-operative Fisheries Ltd, Fathom Fish & Seafood Inc & Comeau Seafoods, The North Grove

Menu and wine pairings coming soon!

Shane Robicheau

Shane Robicheau was raised in small-town Clare, Nova Scotia, but has travelled the world as part of his culinary education. Shane began working in his family’s restaurant when he was 12 and immediately knew it was how he wanted to spend his life. He then attended the culinary arts program at the Kingstec Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College and trained under some of the province’s most accomplished and esteemed chefs. Upon graduation from the program, Shane was selected to be part of Canada’s U-25 Culinary Team, competing in the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

Today, Shane provides private chef services in his hometown and surrounding area. In fall of 2020, Shane opened his first food truck located in Saulnierville and has recently launched a new culinary experience, Searoots Oceanside Dining, in South West Nova Scotia. @shane_robicheau

Gene Cormier

Born and raised here in the Maritimes, Chef Gene Cormier has spent his career working abroad in five-star hotels and freestanding restaurants in such destinations as Toronto, Jasper, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, and Doha. 

Working with many Michelin star and Bocuse d’Or chefs, it inspired him to compete and make it into the Top 3 in the national finals for the Bocuse d’Or Canadian team in 2019. Shortly after, he opened Euston Park Social Beer Garden in Moncton, followed by a second location at Parlee Beach Provincial Park. In 2020, he launched Halo Donuts, and now has two locations in Moncton. Chef Cormier is currently on the Board of Directors for Restaurants Canada, and during the summers, he spends his time between Calgary and the East Coast with his wife Susan and son Dominic. @curiouscookca

Stephen Stryjewski

Winner of the 2011 James Beard Foundation “Best Chef South,” Stephen Stryjewski is Chef/Partner of New Orleans’ numerous award-winning restaurants including Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Pêche Seafood Grill, and Gianna. Both Cochon and Pêche Seafood Grill were named a “Best New Restaurant” finalist by the James Beard Foundation, and Gianna was honoured to be named a James Beard Award Nominee for Best New Restaurant in 2019. Additionally, Cochon consistently listed as a Top Ten New Orleans Restaurant in The Times-Picayune Dining Guide, and was recently named one of the 20 most important restaurants in America by Bon Appétit. In 2015, Stryjewski and his business partner Chef Donald Link created the Link Stryjewski Foundation to address violence, poverty, and the lack of quality education and job training opportunities for young people in New Orleans. Stryjewski currently resides in New Orleans’ Irish Channel with his wife and two daughters. @cracklinfat

Meg Bickford

Chef Megan “Meg” Bickford has called the Commander’s Palace kitchen her culinary home since June 2008, and took on the role of Executive Chef at the New Orleanians’ destination for leading-edge Haute Creole cuisine in October 2020. With both Cajun and Creole family influences that run in her blood, and over 12 years of experience with the Commander’s Family of Restaurants, Chef Meg previously served as the Executive Chef of Cafe Adelaide, the Commander’s playfully modern Creole restaurant. In her time at the helm of Café Adelaide, Meg was chosen as one of FSR Magazine’s “Rising Stars” and one of Louisiana Cookin’s “Chefs to Watch.” Chef Meg is a mother to Stella and on her days off can be found at large family gatherings with Stella and her husband Richard in tow in Cut Off, Louisiana where food is the center of life. @megbickford

Pierre Michael Martin

Pierre-Michael Martin is an award-winning chef and restaurant owner originally from Normandy, France, where he took his first steps in the kitchen in front of Mont-Saint-Michel. From this inspired start, he went on to culinary internships in Normandy and the French Alps, then began working in the remarkable kitchens of 33 cité, la Mère Brazier, Le Potager des Halles, and Bistrot du Potager. Today, Chef Martin is the executive chef and restaurant owner of Chez Pimousse in Lyon, France, in 2021. The restaurant was immediately awarded “two toques” by the highly esteemed Gault & Millau, which also awarded Chef Martin the Young Talent Auvergne Rhône-Alpes trophy and featured him in their 2023 edition of 109 – The New Blood of French Gastronomy. @pimoussemartin