JOSHNA MAHARAJ
CHEF | FOOD ACTIVIST
Joshna is a celebrated chef, award‑winning author, educator, and outspoken food activist whose work has reshaped how institutions, communities, and audiences think about food. Equally at home in professional kitchens, classrooms, boardrooms, and on global stages, Joshna bridges inspiration and action, connecting the lived experience of dining with the systems that shape how food is grown, prepared, served, and valued.
Grounded in a deep belief that food is both nourishment and social responsibility, Joshna is unapologetic in her advocacy for chefs as agents of change. Through the lens of social gastronomy, she champions hospitality rooted in dignity, sustainability, and justice, and challenges industries to move beyond intention toward meaningful, measurable impact.
A powerful and captivating speaker, Joshna is a two‑time TEDx speaker and a sought‑after voice across sectors, engaging audiences from corporate leadership and education to healthcare, hospitality, and public institutions. Her ideas are practical, human‑centred, and deeply resonant—inviting audiences to rethink their relationship with food and their role within the systems that sustain us.
Joshna is the former host of Kitchen Helpdesk, a nationally broadcast food advice segment on CBC Radio, and co‑host of the food podcast Hot Plate, where she translated complex food issues into accessible, compelling conversations. She is the author of Take Back the Tray (ECW Press), a seminal work exploring innovative, value‑driven models for institutional food procurement, production, and service.
Blending lived experience with rigorous scholarship, Joshna recently completed a Master’s degree in Gastronomy & Food Studies at Technological University Dublin, further deepening her ability to connect policy, culture, and practice. Whether leading a keynote, facilitating education, or delivering a chef‑driven culinary experience, Joshna Maharaj inspires audiences to see food not just as fuel—but as a powerful catalyst for connection, care, and lasting change
"Hospitality allows us to see each other's humanity. Our relationship with food is about staying alive. For me, the honour of being a cook is connecting people to this life force. " - Joshna Maharaj
Chef Joshna participated as a speaker at the Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Annual Conference in Bowling Green, Kentucky!
Catch Joshna’s latest feature on Humble Beginning Stories, where she shares her journey as a chef, author, and food activist.
Chef Eva and Chef Joshna share their insights in an interview with Flavour network on “Why Are So Few Head Chefs Women?”
Joshna joined the AnthroDish Podcast to talk about building a strong food policy!
Chef Eva and Chef Joshna share deep insights on anti-racism and the role of food in Canada at Queens University panel discussion.
Can you tell the difference between local produce and a grocery store import? Test your food knowledge with Samira Mohyeddin, host of CBC Radio series Unforked, and Toronto chef and author Joshna Maharaj.
Chef Rich Francis, Chef Joshna Maharaj and Chef Simon Wiseman to show audiences with three ambitious dishes that embody the future of what hospital food could look and taste like.
The CBC's Nav Nanwa and chef and food-based activist Joshna Maharaj head to Brampton, Ont., for Indian-style slices topped with garlic, coriander, ginger and green chilis.
Our global food system is in crisis. Currently, the ‘Four Cs’ (COVID, Climate emergency, conflict, and rising costs) are converging, and the world is at a turning point. We must come together to identify possibilities for food systems transformation, action plans, and policy change. From international conferences to communities in the most remote areas of the world, stakeholders are uniting to find solutions to the urgent threats to food systems on global and local levels.
Students and advocates of student food security from across Canada joined a virtual Cook-Along to work towards creating a better campus food culture! They used local and seasonal ingredients to cook either a Root Vegetable Soup or a Warm Winter Salad, under guidance from Chef Joshna Maharaj. It was such a fun and impactful event!
Satisfy and your sweet tooth and your travel bug with these baked goods from Columbia, Greece, and more! To get the recipes, visit: https://more.ctv.ca/the-social/food/f...
A talk with Joshna Maharaj, Chef and Activist
The chef, activist and author fights for Canadians' right to healthy food in public institutions
A new surge in the pandemic, a snarled supply chain, rising inflation, and the growing impacts of climate change have influenced our eating habits
CANADIAN TASTEMAKER: CHEF JOSHNA MAHARAJ, PARABERE FORUM CANADIAN CORRESPONDENT
Joshna Maharaj on Tackling Food Security, Inclusion in Canada’s Hospitality Industry + More
Access through our industrial food and agriculture systems, and tracing to the very ground in which the food is grown.
Joshna speaks at Concordia University presents The Walrus Talks at Home
The value of food, the challenges with the food system and about her newest book "Take Back the Tray"
“When you taste it, it is so rich and delicious you don’t imagine that this is something that was ultimately going to head to the garbage"
How can better institutional food be part of the solution for other problems? Joshna explores her latest book, “Take Back the Tray
Joshna sits down with Paul Taylor to discuss her new book.
Joshna discusses Ontario's local food chain and the largest industry within which it operates.
Joshna speaks in Ireland at the 2018 Food on the Edge conference on rethinking institutionalized food.
Craft beer and Sensory expert Mirella Amato and Chef-activist Joshna Maharaj turn over current trends, news, controversies, tastes, and tactics of the food and beverage world.
Chatelaine takes a peek into Joshna's kitchen in their Kitchen Crashers series
Chef and food activist Joshna Maharaj is passionate about using food to combat climate change and get us more connected to the world around us. Joshna joined the Ontario climate action movement because she believes that together we can build a cleaner future
Chefs Shane Chartrand and Joshna Maharaj are pitted against each other to cater to a shopaholic father's need for flavour and some world champion cravings.
Connect with food in a wholesome, sustainable raw manner and have a personal relationship with food that benefits you and the community.
For a chef, smell is the second-most important sense. Losing mine led to loneliness and burned muffins, but I’m trying to get it back.
Chef Joshna Maharaj serves her twists on simple and tasty turkey dishes to elevate your long weekend feast.
TVO's The Agenda focuses on all things culinary with a roundtable of food writers and chefs: Marie Fitrion, Ann Hui, Joshna Maharaj, and Joseph Shawana.
Chef Joshna Maharaj shares her tips for keeping menu costs down while you’re away for the weekend!
In this NOW with Dave Brown Highlight, chef and activist Joshna Maharaj reflects on issues of food insecurity across the country.
Join Chef Joshna Maharaj on a culinary journey to recreate her mom's cherished Chicken Curry recipe, a true family legacy
To avoid malnutrition in seniors, ‘tiny little interventions’ can go a long way
Joshna speaks in this CityNews piece about rising campus food prices.
As part of the inaugural Foodism 40, Foodism magazine recognized the food and beverage leaders who are using their platforms to create positive, impactful change in their communities.
Joshna is featured on the cover of the Summer 2023 issue, telling her story of being a chef who can’t smell.