For leading the local food revolution

“I’m in search of a great local barbeque,” says Michael Smith on the phone, on his way home from a vacation in North Carolina. “I just can’t bring myself to stop for fast food.”

That’s because fast food is the polar opposite of what Smith stands for: fresh, local, sustainable, and healthy fare. “I’m not against fast food per se,” he says. “I do think there should be a major tax on it, though, to supplement the strain it puts on our health care system.”

This winter the Prince Edward Island-based chef was in Whistler, B.C., where over 40 days he led the team of 100 chefs who prepared 12,000 meals a day for the 2010 Winter Olympics athletes. He has been named the food ambassador for Tourism Prince Edward Island, spearheads the province’s Fall Flavours Festival, is the author of four cookbooks, and hosts two Food Network Television shows (Chef at Home and Chef Abroad).

When Smith isn’t filming he’s spreading his message, either by promoting Atlantic Canada’s food culture or mentoring others. Over his career he has helped hundreds of chefs, mostly in Atlantic Canada but also throughout Canada and the United States. “I feel that part of being a good chef is to share what I know, to keep the sector moving and growing,” he says.

Like his British counterpart, Jamie Oliver, Smith believes Atlantic Canadians must take control of their health. “We spend double what other countries do on health care because we insist on buying the cheapest-quality foods,” he says with passion. “In so doing, we’ve lost track of what’s important—our health.”

Smith insists there’s hope, and that Atlantic Canada can lead the way. “Here we have a strong sense of where our food comes from. The proof is that new farm markets open each year around the region, and more and more restaurants are educating us about the importance of local healthy food.” More restaurants, and one influential and inspirational chef.