2023

This year's event took place at The Machine Shop on Wednesday, October 18th. 

   

 

Congratulations to our TOP TWO contestants moving onto the final Pitch-Off!

      

The TOP FIVE businesses moving onto the next round are:

Arrows In Motion
CORE.
Kid-O-Kid Family Entertainment Inc.
Thrive Tours
Zoli's Kleaners

Keynote Speaker: Chef Matt Basile | Co-Founder, Alchemy Grills

Chef Matt Basile spent over a decade disrupting the food industry as the founder of Toronto’s most recognizable food truck brand, Fidel Gastro’s, and popular gastropub, Lisa Marie. Today, as the co-founder of Alchemy Grills, he’s taking on a new frontier —disrupting the barbecue and live-fire cooking landscape. In an industry steeped in tradition, Basile is always striving to do things differently.

In just under four years, Basile transformed the Fidel Gastro’s brand from an underground sandwich pop-up to an internationally recognized food brand. He also ran the Queen West gastropub and brunch hotspot, Lisa Marie, for six phenomenal years. It was featured on various TV series, including You Gotta Eat Here! and Chef in the City, and was also ranked as the ninth best brunch spot in Canada by OpenTable magazine.

Today, Basile has partnered with two seasoned entrepreneurs to launch Alchemy Grills. The Alchemy is the first barbecue to allow home cooks the option to smoke and grill food at the exact same time with one appliance. In addition to developing prototypes, Basile is developing recipes for an accompanying line of rubs and sauces and designing stylish merchandise. 

In addition, Basile hosted the reality television show Rebel Without a Kitchen, which aired on Netflix, Travel and Escape Channel, the Cooking Channel, and the Asian Food Channel. As a content creator, he also creates original content, including delicious recipes and grilling tips, on his YouTube channel.

Basile and his partner, Kyla Zanardi, are the bestselling authors of two cookbooks: Street Food Diaries and Brunch Life. He has also contributed to both HuffPost and Vice as a food writer and is a regular guest on programs such as Global Morning and Breakfast Television. In 2015, Basile was nominated for a coveted Canadian Screen Award for Best Host of a Canadian Reality Series.

And the winner is...

Arrows In Motion! Arrows In Motion is owned by Jacob McEachern and Lana Perry and offers private archery lessons, group lessons, and birthday parties. Lessons are offered in Compound, Recurve, or Longbow styles. Their range boasts up to a full 20 yard distance, and lanes for up to 12 archers. Archery is proven to improve health & well-being, builds confidence & self esteem, increases focus and patience, and reduces stress. It’s a fun and accessible sport, available to all ages, and all levels of physical fitness and ability.

We would also like to congratulate Daniella Pastore of CORE. on delivering an amazing pitch and winning this year's runner-up prize. CORE. believes self-care is the foundation of holistic well-being. As the city’s exclusive one-stop destination for massage, yoga, cosmetic injections, microblading, and facials, CORE. offers a curated blend of services that nurture both inner balance and outer beauty. Committed to Canadian-made, eco-friendly and sustainable products and choices, CORE. invites you to join the self-care club, where self-care starts at the center.

A special thank you to this year's sponsors:

 

 

 

 

 

And thank you to our organizing partners: