Celebrate IWD all month long with a powerful and inspiring lineup of events featuring chefs, filmmakers, business owners + friends. 

Join us on International Women’s Day for a one-day event featuring some of your favourite PEC chefs behind some of beloved PEC spots – all cooking for a cause. Sample a bowl of chilly, converse over complimentary cocktails, and connect with some of the incredible humans that make Prince Edward County a magical place to be.

Participating Chefs:

Amanda Ray (Drake Devonshire)
With over 20 years of kitchen experience cooking in some of the country’s most respected kitchens, Chef Ray began her career with Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality in 1999. Starting at Auberge du Pommier under Chef Jason Bangerter (currently Executive Chef at Langdon Hall), at Canoe under Corporate Executive Chef Anthony Walsh, then heading up Biff’s Bistro as Chef de Cuisine/Executive Chef, and most recently in Montreal as Chef de Cuisine of Le Mount Stephen Hotel one of the Leading Hotel’s of the World in downtown Montreal, Ray honed her culinary technique with an emphasis on classic French cuisine. In addition to having spent over two decades honing her craft, Amanda has been actively involved in dozens of industry events and charity fundraisers, including Toronto Taste, Gold Medal Plates (Ontario Regional Champion, 2016), Canadian Chef’s Congress, What’s on the Table in support of The Stop Community Food Centre, and the Brickworks Picnic in support of Slow Food. She has also appeared as a guest chef at the Mission Hill Winery Epicurean dinner and at Michael Stadtlander’s globally renowned Eigensinn Farm located in Grey County. 

Alexandra Feswick (Fawn Over Market)
Opening Fawn Over Market is a new food and beverage path for Alexandra Feswick, a professional chef who has led the kitchens of notable restaurants in Toronto and PEC. At Fawn Over Market, Alexandra's focus is largely on developing the prepared food program, curating grocery offerings, interacting with customers and creating a unique experience for guests. A chef for 15 years prior to opening Fawn Over Market, Alexandra began her training at George Brown Chef School in 2005. After gaining an apprenticeship at the Ancaster Mill, she developed a passion for fresh, local produce served in unique and elegant ways. After relocating to Toronto, Alexandra began to impact the city’s culinary community at notable restaurants including Wine Bar, Brockton General, Samuel J. Moore and Executive Chef of the Drake Hotel and Drake Devonshire.

Rachel Bies (Rachel Bies Nutrition / County Cooks)
No stranger to the kitchen Rachel is a seasoned chef, nutritionist, food stylist and photographer whose main goal is to cook, showcase, teach and inspire you to get you back into the kitchen and in love with real food.  She has taught at Centennial College, written for numerous publications, is a brand spokesperson for Blue Goose Pure Foods, Genuine Health and more. Her latest project is taking her out of her kitchen and into others with what will definitely be a page turner – a cookbook ft. County Cooks.

Leah Marshall Hannon (Stella's Eatery)
Leah Marshall Hannon was born in Parry Sound, ON to Ojibwe and British parents. Raised between Toronto and Parry Sound, she gained a deep appreciation for nature and was introduced to indigenous flora and fauna. Her father would take Leah and her twin brother on adventures along the shores of Georgian Bay and Pickerel River where they would gather berries, wild camomile, junipers, sweetgrass, wild leeks, lake fish and much more. In Toronto, she was exposed to culinary diversity, and developed her passion for cooking through her early twenties working as a prep/line cook. Having found her calling, she enrolled in George Brown culinary program, but preferred a much more hands on approach. Collecting cook books, using the internet and observing her mentors, she moved up the kitchen ranks to Chef de Cuisine at Deluxe, La Cubana, and Midfield Winebar. Having grown up close to nature, she began to dream of relocating to the countryside. With its vivid culinary community, organic farms, and multiple producers of cheese, wine, beer, cider, and more, Prince Edward County became the location of her first restaurant, Stella’s Eatery. Since 2018. Stella’s has focused on casual farm to table dining, friends and families gathered round the table sharing dishes that are comforting and flavourful. Taking notes from the indigenous wisdom she learned as a child and applying the culinary techniques she cultivated in some of Toronto’s memorable kitchens, the menu adapts daily as local produce and ingredients become available, and is an ode to the seasons.

Kirstyn Mayer (Bean Counter Cafe)
Kirstyn Mayers has been cooking and drinking around the County since 2007, from outdoor kitchens to private catering and everything in between. She started Outlet Food Co. in 2016, a pop-up food company that featured flavours inspired by her Chinese-Malaysian background and her husband's Guyanese influence. She's now the third owner of the 20-year old Bean Counter Café in Picton, where she fuses a little bit of Outlet into the country kitchen menu.

Samantha Valdivia (La Condesa Restaurant)
Originally from Mexico, Samantha left her country to immerse herself in an incredible adventure. She has since been on a mission to promote the beautiful cuisine and culture of her home country.  After having the amazing opportunity to live and work in Prince Edward County, she has now opened La Condesa in the heart of Wellington.  Her focus is hand made tortillas pressed to order with traditional Mexican flavours with ingredients that are grown here in the county.

Charlotte Langley (Scout Canning)
Hailing from Canada’s famed seafood East Coast island of PEI, Celebrity Chef Charlotte Langley infuses her passion for seafood and warm culinary experiences into the vision of Scout. With over 15 years of celebrated expertise in the seafood culinary scene including being a Chef at some of Canada’s most recognized restaurants as well as frequent media appearances sharing her seafood recipes, Charlotte is responsible for bringing big flavor to Scout by leading recipe and product development. She continues to advocate for  sustainable seafood practices as the official Canadian Chef Ambassador for the Marine Stewardship Council. Chef Charlotte brings big energy, joy and creativity to everyone and sees Scout’s crafted tinned fish as her opportunity to share her love for ocean and watersway stewardship alongside uniquely delicious flavors of seafood that has everyone hooked.

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