Daniel Calabrese
Daniel Calabrese is currently a member of the Junior Culinary Team Canada. He was born and raised in Brampton Ontario where he started his career in the culinary industry.
It was in grade 11 Daniel realized he wanted to pursue cooking professionally after taking a dual credit culinary course while attending high school at Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School. Daniel grew up surrounded by Italian cuisine and is well versed in numerous classic Italian traditions some of which include; making tomato sauce and sausages, along with wine production and learning to make many different types of bread. But we can’t forget the countless hours of making pasta from scratch.
Near the end of high school, Daniel took a 4-credit co-op course to begin to establish himself in the industry as he was ready to start learning beyond the classroom. Daniel obtained a co-op position at Aria Bistro & Lounge, one of his hometown’s staple, fine dining restaurants. After completing his co-op program and graduating high school, Daniel was hired at Aria where he would continue to work and learn for the next four years. While working at Aria Daniel went on to continue his education in the Culinary Arts by attending the Culinary Management Program at Humber College in 2016. After two years of hard work and dedication Daniel graduated with honors and was the recipient of an award from the association of Italian chefs of Canada. During his two years at Humber College Daniel also interned with the Woodbine Entertainment Group in Etobicoke working in a fast paced, large scale production kitchen. During this time Daniel further diversified his culinary skills and was able to appreciate the many different sides of the culinary world. After graduation in 2018, Daniel quickly rose through the ranks to Sous Chef at Aria where he honed his skills in fine dining French cuisine. Working at Aria until late 2020 Daniel continued to gain extensive knowledge in not only culinary production but also culinary management. Being a Sous Chef Daniel learned to manage a fast-paced, high pressure kitchen while continuing to advance his skills and network within the industry.
In late 2020 Daniel decided to explore a different culinary environment and joined the team at Amica Senior Lifestyles at the Peel Village location in Brampton. It is here that Daniel is currently focusing on continuing to develop his culinary skills and talent under Chef Ryan Collie and former culinary team Canada member and Sous Chef Ian Fletcher. Daniel is excited to advance his knowledge and become a well-rounded and well-versed Chef.