Courtney Pitchford
FEARLESS LEADER
Courtney's passion for food and hospitality began at a very young age. Her earliest memories are centered around food, surrounded by the food obsessed side of her family at the cottage, who live to eat. With almost 25 years of experience as a bartender, line cook and General Manager she found her way to Dish in 2017. While Courtney still occasionally makes an appearance as a class assistant or host, you will usually find her behind the scenes, booking and organizing events, working closely with the Chef Instructors, Kitchen Manager and Owner to make the magic happen.
On her off time, you can find Courtney tending to her garden, watching football, or in her kitchen testing new or perfecting old family recipes. She still considers her family her greatest inspiration and best recipe testers. “If we always think of food preparation as an act of friendship or love, it never becomes a chore, but always a pleasure and a delight”. – Caroline Gilfillan
If you would like to book an event, inquire about our scheduled classes, or want to find a recipe you tried here 5 years ago, Courtney is your gal!
Contact Courtney at: info@dishcookingstudio.com or 416-920-5559
Alexandra Rosiek
COOKING CLASS ASSISTANT
When Ally was a kid, she’d always be in the kitchen helping her mom make dinners or eating any bits of food that she could. This is when she knew she wanted to be in the kitchen.
Throughout Ally’s career she has worked in various kitchens as a prep, line cook and cooking instructor. After she attended George Brown College for Culinary Management Nutrition, she completed the postgraduate program, Food and Nutrition Management. Searching for a new passion, she then found Dish in 2020 working as a cooking class assistant. She knew it was her calling!
Two of Ally’s favorite classes are South American Street Food, all thanks to those fried tapioca cheese cubes. Who can resist fried cheese balls? Ally loves all the classes; however, she absolutely loves carbs. So naturally, next in line must be the Pasta Skills class. It’s literally three courses of homemade pasta, which is kind of a dream come true. The Rigatoni with Vodka sauce is her absolute favorite. Also, yes, she did take the nutrition classes too, moderation is key!
On Ally’s time off, she will be attending to her veggie garden, the little things in life can really be the best. Ally’s parents live in Spain, so she calls them often, especially her mom. Ally and her mom can talk forever about Mediterranean cuisine till they lose track of time. Lastly, Ally had to mention her baby, Tasha. She is Ally’s cat and is always being cuddled. You always find Ally eating Sour Skittles, which happens to be Ally’s all-time favorite candy, no exceptions.
Catharina Mostazo
CHEF INSTRUCTOR
Growing up Cat was always in the kitchen with her family or at her grandparent’s bakery. Playing with pizza dough was the best way to keep her busy!
Before cooking professionally, teaching was already a part of Cat’s life. She worked as an ESL teacher for many years until she decided it was time to change careers and follow her dream of going to Culinary School. Shortly after graduating the Culinary Arts and Management Program in São Paulo, Cat moved to Canada. In the almost 10 years she’s been in Toronto, she worked at Brick Street Bakery and Prairie Boy Bread, following the family’s baking roots but also trying her hand at catering at The Drake and managing customer operations at Bobbette & Belle. Cat arrived at Dish in 2018 thanks to Kelly and they worked together in the Dish Kitchen, cooking up a storm every day.
Cat was quickly interested in the school and started assisting that same year. Cooking and teaching is the perfect combo to keep her hands and mind sharp! Her favourite classes to teach are the ones that showcase her heritage and family recipes like South American Street Food and Brazilian Tapas Party.
You’ll be sure to find many snacks on Cat’s classes as that is her favourite way of trying food.
When she’s not at Dish, you can find Cat exploring Toronto neighbourhoods and going for long walks on the Don Valley trail or binge-watching Law and Order.
Erin Ross
CHEF INSTRUCTOR
Who knew that moving to a small town to teach in rural Japan would start Chef Erin on her culinary journey? Within a year of returning to Canada, inspired by all of her food adventures throughout Japan, Chef Erin followed her heart, and left her teaching career to apply to culinary school.
Chef Erin graduated from the Culinary Arts Program at Niagara College in 2007, and began her career studying the art of bread making for 4 years, before moving on to focus on pastry while working in Niagara wine country. Armed with bread, pastry, and wine knowledge, she found her way to Dish in 2014. Exploring the savoury side of the arts, Chef Erin began working in the Dish Kitchen, catering, assisting, and teaching in the cooking school.
You can usually find Chef Erin in the Dish kitchen setting up for classes and special events. She loves to cook with beer + bourbon, and one of her favourite classes to teach is “Ramen from Scratch” - a tribute to her culinary beginnings.
When she isn't leading a class in the cooking studio, Chef Erin works as a private chef creating custom “at home” culinary experiences, and teaching private cooking classes.
In her spare time you can be sure to find her globetrotting with her husband searching for the best beaches and all things delicious, playing in her backyard vegetable garden, smoking brisket, or plotting her fantasy football moves.
Gabby Bevilacqua
CHEF INSTRUCTOR
Matilda’s Roman Villa. That’s what started it all. A tiny restaurant in a tiny town, owned and operated by a tiny woman- Gabby’s nonna. Although the restaurant closed when Gabby was just a baby, this love for cooking and food trickled down through all generations. From baking desserts with her mom at each holiday to sous- cheffing her dad in his pizza and pasta ventures, for Gabby, food equals family.
After studying film production and pursuing a career in installation art, Gabby spun her creative flair into her calling in the culinary world. She kicked off her new adventure at Dish in 2019 working as a kitchen assistant while simultaneously whisking her way through George Brown College. After graduating with a certificate in Baking & Pastry Arts, Gabby continued her love for all things pastry at Barbershop Patisserie where she continues to share her pastry prowess with the hungry people of Toronto.
When not in the kitchen, Gabby can be found out and about on her bike zipping through Toronto’s coolest spots. Whether she’s on a quest for the city’s best craft beer, hunting for treasures in vintage shops or exploring the latest and greatest of Toronto’s food scene. She cherishes her downtime at home expanding her impressive cookbook collection, nurturing her balcony garden, and hanging with her feline BFF Ms.P.
Kelly Lannin
KITCHEN MANAGER
Butchery, baking, catering, fine dining, Kelly has done it all.
Her 20-year career as a chef began at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver. There she trained in French culinary techniques and spent spare time at Granville Island food market. The travel bug sent her to the UK where she ended up in Edinburgh Scotland. There she landed a position at a boutique hotel and remained for 3 years, learning all she could and working her way through the kitchen brigade. Spoiled by the freshest seafood, wild game and European delights, the things she learned from this job stayed with her throughout her career.
After returning to Toronto, Kelly worked in a variety of rolls in fine dining including a stint as a pastry chef at Canoe. She baked at Bobette and Belle and even dabbled in butchery. Kelly wanted a taste of everything.
Her first stop on any trip is to shop for local food. When she isn’t helping set up the cooking classes and sourcing the best ingredients she still enjoys cooking at home with her little Family and planning her next food adventure!
Laura Van Puymbroeck
JANE OF ALL TRADES
With a world of endless possibilities what’s a girl to do? Shaking martinis, no problem. Assisting in the kitchen, yes chef. Curating social media posts, been there, done that! There isn’t much that if you ask, she won’t do. Laura has learned the ropes and foraged for knowledge in every nook and cranny of Dish. Starting as a cook at a pizza hut at the ripe age of 14, later moving to Toronto from her hometown to study Illustration & Design at OCAD University. Laura values creativity, laughter, family & friendship. Creating a positive experience for guests and gushing over the chef’s recipes is her favourite part of the job. “I Love the people I work with.”- Direct quote.
When she’s not at Dish you can find Laura, cooking for her friends, playing dress up, watching 80’s movies with Madonna the cat and her partner Kostya, or cycling around the city. Laura always finds a way to weasel into trying her hand at any job possible. So next time you’re by say hi to our “Jane of All Trades”
Gord Pridham
CHIEF TASTING OFFICER
Gord’s favourite meal starts with a plate of heirloom tomatoes from his organic garden finished with volcanic salt and a drizzle of olive oil, then moves on to fresh porcini mushrooms sautéed in a light cream sauce to pair with black cod. And yes, he still has room for dessert.
The consummate globetrotter, Gord looks for inspiration from cutting edge chefs, whose food he seeks out in his regular travels. While not always onsite, Gord brings culinary inspiration to the Dish team from his frequent trips abroad and excels in his role as chief tasting officer.