Chef Michael Smith Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the James Beard Award for "Cooking Show Excellence" in 2002
• Along with being an activist for nutritional foods, he is Prince Edward Island's food ambassador
• A 1984 undergraduate at Rochester, N․Y․'s Rochester Institute of Technology and graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America in N․Y․ in 1991
• After working in restaurants in London, South America and the Caribbean, he returned to North America to work in Manhattan restaurants before joining The Inn at Bay Fortune in Fortune Bridge, Prince Edward Island, in 1992, making it one of Canada's top 10 restaurants and leading to the debut of TV's "The Inn Chef" six years later
• Quote: "I’m hoping to help people understand that the kitchen can be a place to get rid of stress, that it is a place to relax and enjoy yourself, a place of fun․"
• Originally wanted to be a graphic designer
• Led the team of chefs that cooked for the world's Olympians in the Whistler Athletes Village in 2010