Bio
Michael Smith is a Canadian chef and writer best known as the host of the cooking television series Chef at Home, Chef at Large and The Inn Chef.
Smith, a 1991 honours graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, has been cooking professionally for over 15 years.
His career has included stints in a Michelin three-star restaurant in London, some of Manhattan's finest kitchens, South America, the Caribbean and North America.
He is an award-winning cookbook author, newspaper columnist, roving Canadian cuisine ambassador, restaurant chef and home cook.
Smith joined the staff of a country inn on Prince Edward Island in 1992. The Inn at Bay Fortune soon became one of Canada's top 10 restaurants with the Chef noted for his fresh, contemporary approach.
Smith’s first cookbook, Open Kitchen: A Chef's Day at The Inn At Bay Fortune, was published in 1998 and was awarded that year’s bronze medal at Cuisine Canada’s Cookbook Awards.
His second book, The Inn Chef, followed in 1999.
In 1999 Smith opened his own restaurant, Maple, in Halifax. It became recognized as one the top venues in the country for Canadian Cuisine. In the fall of 2001 Smith left Maple to focus on other culinary projects.
In Chef at Home, Michael invites viewers into his home where he cooks for family and friends — without a recipe. Instead Smith shows how to chose ingredients that fire your imagination then let your instincts and appetite guide you to simple flavourful meals.
In his spare time, Smith is an avid map collector and extreme windsurfer. He currently lives on Prince Edward Island with his partner Rachel Leslie, and their son Gabriel, and is a true chef at home.