Get To Know Chef Darryl Fletcher
Chef Profile
Name: Darryl Fletcher (ChefD)
Age: 57
City: Kitchener
Current Restaurant: FiredUp, Deer Ridge Golf Club, ChefD Catering
Favorite Cookbook: Joy of Cooking
Favorite Food to Eat: Anything Italian. Okay, real good pizza!
Chef Bio
Chef Darryl Fletcher’s (ChefD) inspiration to pursue a culinary career began while watching Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) and trying some recipes at home.
Fast forward 35 years later and ChefD has appeared as a guest on CTV News at Noon in Kitchener, Vancouver, and Edmonton, as well as City TV’s Breakfast Television, CHCH Morning Live, Kitchener’s Rogers Daytime, and Inside Guelph on Rogers TV.
ChefD is filming his eighth season of his popular cooking show, ‘At Home with ChefD’ on Rogers TV, and is in the process of filming his 4th Season of At the Cottage with ChefD.
He is an author, speaker and radio host.
While ChefD gives all of his guest’s star treatment, he’s also cooked for some celebrities! ChefD has prepared meals for Blue Rodeo, Michael Bublé, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Diana Krall, Melissa Etheridge, the late BB King, and the incomparable Stuart McLean.
Aligned with quality, ChefD is the corporate chef for Nutrafarms Inc., Piller’s Fine Food and Bothwell Cheese where he creates new recipes and flavour profiles. Partnered in those edible creations ChefD uses Waterloo Brewing, and tools from Home Hardware only to cook over a delicious union with Crown Verity.
ChefD created FiredUp, a summer pop-up featuring Wood Fired Pizza and Wood Fired Burgers. You can also find him at Deer Ridge Golf Club where he and his team run the food and beverage operation for Challenger Motor Freight or catering various events with ChefD Catering.
ChefD is an avid community supporter and believes in sharing his passion for food with others, and keeping recipes simple, easy, and incredibly tasty!
As a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, ChefD and his team have created meals that are pay as you go. Anyone can call or text 519-954-8854 and have a delivery of food right to your door on Tuesdays. The meal menus are posted only to FB on Monday mornings. With food insecurity posing a serious area of concern for many peoples’ livelihoods, ChefD wanted to be part of the solution and to feed our brothers and sisters.
Inspired to help, other people brought forward additional ideas that ChefD and his team could help with. Carla Johnson came up with a great idea to feed our frontline workers at Cambridge Memorial Hospital. These are our doctors, nurses, technicians, and hospital cleaning staff. Within the first week, ChefD and his team had fed 600 people at the hospital. In the second week, they fed 800. Over the next four months, ChefD and his team made 12,000 sandwiches and 24,000 cookies for hospital staff and frontline workers.
Chef Q & A
1. What is your earliest food memory?
My Grandmother’s Cinnamon Buns (sticky buns) and her soups!
2. Did anyone inspire you to become a chef? If not, what inspired you to start cooking?
It would be a toss-up between my Grandmother, or Graham Kerr at the Galloping Gourmet. I was always in awe while watching him create amazing dishes.
3. What are your favourite ingredients to cook with? What are your favourite ingredients to pick up at Wholesale Club?
Fresh basil, dry pasta, Italian canned tomatoes, butter.
4. How often do you change your menu?
4-5 times a season. We also cater our menu items to specific customers’ needs/wants.
5. How would you describe the food at your restaurant? What are some of your signature dishes?
Local Pub Fare: Nashville Club, Schnitzel, Shrimp Fritto Misto.
6. What are some tips you would have for someone who inspires to open up their own restaurant?
Get ready for a lot of sleepless nights. It can the best time of your life. Never sacrifice quality.
