JOSHNA MAHARAJ
CHEF | FOOD ACTIVIST
Joshna Maharaj possesses a unique ability to inspire people from both sides of the dining table. She is equally talented a chef as she is an activist with the goal of improving everyone’s relationship with food. Joshna is unapologetic in her strong belief in chefs’ and social gastronomy’s ability to bring values of hospitality, sustainability and social justice to every dining table.
A powerful and engaging teacher, Joshna is a two-time TEDx speaker and oft sought-after voice for business spectrums of all genres. As an educator, Joshna is deeply invested in nurturing students and considering the future of the hospitality industry. She is the former host of “Kitchen Helpdesk”, a weekly food advice segment on CBC Radio and is prominent in a variety of media including print, radio and television.
Joshna was on the shortlist for the inaugural Basque Culinary World Prize in 2016 and received the Restaurants Canada Award for Culinary Excellence in 2018. She is the author of Take Back the Tray (ECW Press, May 2020), about her work building new models for institutional food procurement, production and service. The book was recognized on the longlist of the Toronto Book awards and as winner of the World Gourmand Cookbook Award in 2020.
Currently, Joshna is pursuing an MA in Gastronomy & Food Studies at the Technological University of Dublin.
"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
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.
From sweet and raw to crispy pickled, chef Joshna Maharaj cooks with the whole carrot
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.