Three up-and-comers face off in a competition for their dream job. Each episode will feature a different creative profession and expert judges. Young professionals compete in a pressure-filled challenge in their field, the ultimate test of their talent and professionalism. Series premiers Sunday April 24th, at 8pm/7c on Oxygen.

Reality Reel Media
04.08.05

THE CHEFS: Aires April 24th

Nicole Emery (29): From a very young age Nicole set her sights on becoming a chef. Before she had even started elementary school Nicole was working in the kitchen with her mother, asking lots of questions, making what she considered helpful suggestions and memorizing recipes. Nicole’s first job in the culinary industry was as a dishwasher, and over the next ten years she worked her way up to junior sous chef. In 2000 she took her chef training at Toronto’s George Brown College and is now happily cooking at one of the most popular bistros in Vancouver, British Columbia. As far as Nicole is concerned everything seems on track to one day run her own small funky restaurant.

Zephyr Paquette (33): Being self-taught and gaining her culinary training on the job is the route Zephyr is proud to have taken. That journey started when she was twelve years old working with her grandparents in their catering business. Zephyr takes pride in the pleasure her food provides and hopes that one day she’ll be offering that kind of cuisine and pleasure in her own restaurant. In the meantime she’s happy to gain more experience and create beautiful food working as a sous chef in Seattle. With her life motto of ‘Next,’ Zephyr is always ready to take on new challenges.

Michael Williams (26): It took a life-threatening car accident for Michael to realize how precious life is. That understanding helped him come out of his shell and pursue his dream of becoming a chef. In 2002 he graduated from a three-year professional cooking program in just six months, and then traveled to Switzerland to work as a Demi-chef de partie for a year and a half. He returned home to British Columbia’s Vancouver Island in 2004 and worked as a Chef de partie. He was then offered his first Head Chef position at a British Columbia ski resort, quite an achievement since his first restaurant job at McDonalds ten years ago. Today Miichael measures success in every artfully prepared plate he creates using simple and fresh ingredients.