Yes Chef! Campaign

A Message from our campaign co-chairs, Donna Dooher and Michael Beckley

Watch this video to learn more about the $20 million investment in our growth and facilities renewal project.

“Not many buildings look as good as they smell, but the new George Brown cooking school is an exception—a very tasty exception.”
Christopher Hume, The Toronto Star, February 16, 2009

“It was time for a facelift, and I’m really excited they got one. The whole city is going to benefit from it. The program will produce better quality students, and therefore, better cooks. In the end, that means a healthier industry.” —
Ted Corrado, Executive Chef, c5 Restaurant, as quoted in Foodservice and Hospitality, November 2008

Thanks to the Yes Chef! Campaign—still underway with a fund-raising goal of $5 million and coupled with $15 million from the Ontario Government and George Brown College itself—our Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts has two newly renovated buildings at 300 Adelaide Street East and 215 King Street East.

The work is not quite complete, but the award-winning Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts already sports:

• A concierge station
• A hotel-style front desk at Student Services
• Nine interactive culinary labs
• Three baking labs
• A chocolatier lab
• A culinary demo theatre
• Mixology and sommelier labs
• A student resource centre with 45 computer stations and electronic access to George Brown’s library system and databases

The renovation also included the development of The Chefs’ House, George Brown’s student-operated restaurant. The Chefs’ House boasts beautiful vaulted windows and an open-concept kitchen where students prepare delectable food, and patrons—with the help of strategically placed plasma TV screens—can see exactly how it’s done.

Both buildings merge old and new architecture and offer industry-standard facilities that, combined with the Centre’s industry-relevant programs, produce career-ready graduates the hospitality industry wants to hire.

Campaign Co-Chairs
Michael Beckley Senior Vice President – Lodging Development Marriott Hotels & Resorts Canada & Ritz Carlton Hotels and Resorts Co-chair, Yes Chef! campaign				Donna Dooher Chef/Owner, The Cookworks & Mildred Pierce Restaurant Co-chair, Yes Chef! campaign

Campaign Background and Update

Campaign leaders

Why Donate

Return to Yes Chef! main page