Lynn Crawford may be most recognized as the audacious star of Food Network Canada’s hit television show
Pitchin’ In, where the chef has traded in her finely pressed chef uniform for casual outdoor apparel
as she treks across North America on a journey to learn more about the types of food people consume.
But that’s not the only way the acclaimed chef is shaking up the food world. Her restaurant, Ruby Watchco, is
marking its one-year anniversary this year and from their location to their decor and fixed menu, Crawford
has heard it all. From rave reviews to cynical criticism, the chef isn’t letting anything (or anyone) bring
her down.
“Being a chef is all-consuming. It has a commitment of 150 per cent to your profession and wanting to be very
good at what you do. For me, it’s never, ever good enough. I’m constantly thinking it has to be better,” she
says in an interview with Lifestyle at Ruby Watchco.
In the pursuit of self-improvement, Crawford has used her role on Pitchin’ In, which takes her to
the other side of producing food as she follows in the footsteps of farmers and food producers to learn more
about the various sources of food. With her newfound role, some people may find it hard to believe that the
enthusiastic TV personality was once the former executive chef of the Four Seasons. But it’s true: For 24
years, Crawford ran the kitchens of the highly acclaimed hotel chain in Nevis in the Caribbean, Vancouver,
Toronto and New York, before resigning in 2009.
“Imagine being the executive chef at the Four Seasons hotel in New York and then just packing it all in to go
out on this journey to work with farmers, growers and fishermen across the country. My goodness, who would
have thought? To be leaving that prestigious role,” she says, with a hint of sarcasm, “it was really
important to think about what the next chapter for Lynn was. What would I do next? As any executive chef
knows, the further up the ranks you climb, the further away you are from the stoves. That was important; I
felt I was too far away from the stoves. I really just wanted to cook again and learn again.”
On Pitchin’ In, Crawford contributes to the food industry at a more concrete level, where she has
experienced sometimes tedious, yet always adventurous excursions involving raising pigs, going lobster
fishing and harvesting honey, just to name a few.
But it is working from the roots — literally speaking — that has allowed Crawford to gain a new appreciation
for farmers and food growers. Her vigorous efforts to promote local produce have earned her national
recognition, and not only in the competitive food industry. She has earned a nomination for a 2011 Gemini
Award for Best Host in a Lifestyle/Practical Information, or Performing Arts Program or Series. It was
Crawford’s work on the show’s “Shrimp” episode that earned the chef her first-time nod.
“Pitchin’ In has completely changed my life with this incredible journey that I’ve been on now for
the past couple of years,” she says. “There’s a lot of disconnect for not only chefs, but also consumers. We
do not know where our food comes from. We don’t ask those questions — we’re not informed enough.”
Being informed is an understatement, considering what the chef has accomplished in her lengthy career. From
breaking down gender barriers, to making her presence known in the food industry, Crawford’s resume has
expanded across the Canadian border.
Making a Name for Herself
Earning a high reputation as the only female executive chef (at the time) among the more than 70
Four Seasons hotel locations worldwide, she has credited the hotel chain with transforming her into a
seasoned professional. When deciding to leave the Four Seasons in New York, she says it helped her to become
a stronger person.
“In one’s life there are goals that you want to achieve and for the most part, I’ve grown up as much as I
possibly could there,” she says. “As much as that was a very difficult and hard decision for me to make, it
was one that was so supported by all of my peers. For me, it’s a natural progression in anybody’s life to
keep moving and keep growing and keep sharing and that’s what I’m doing.”
Throughout her illustrious career, Crawford has been considered by many as the most famous female chef to
originate from Canada. Her work includes competing against Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America in 2007,
where she was the first Canadian female to do so. She went on to lead the winning team in the Gordon Ramsay
Chef Challenge in Toronto last November, where, as the only female chef leader, she led her team to victory,
battling against teams led by fellow big-name Canadian chefs, Mark McEwan, Jamie Kennedy, Massimo Capra and
David Rocco for the silver whisk trophy, along with bragging rights.
Lora Kirk, chef for Ruby Watchco, participated on Crawford’s team in the Gordon Ramsay Chef Challenge. Since
working with the chef at the Four Seasons for four years, Kirk says Crawford has not let her success change
her.
“She is a classic foodie. She’s passionate about the great products. She’s such a team player. It’s never
about her; it’s about the team, it’s about what we’re doing,” she says. “As she moves up in the ranks, she
has never put herself on a pedestal. She works as much as she can, hands-on.”
In light of her accomplishments as a female in the previously male-dominated food industry, Crawford insists
on not simply being known as a female chef.
“Being a woman chef has never been something I’ve thought about. It’s always just been Chef Lynn,” she told
FoodNetworkCanada.ca in 2007. “But I am flattered and I am proud of breaking the glass ceiling like this. But
the reason I’m able to break the glass ceiling is that I’ve worked hard. I made a lot of sacrifices in my
life for my career to be the best. I’m driven by my passion and love for food. I’m never content with
second-best.”
It’s not the first time that Crawford has voiced her thoughts on gender issues. On Restaurant
Makeover, which Crawford appeared on from 2005 to 2008, there is an infamous episode in which the
vivacious chef verbally grilled one of two young chefs who referred to her as “babe” when responding to her
criticism of their local restaurant.
“I don’t know what came over me but as soon as I heard that, I was absolutely shocked and horrified that the
comment came out of that young kid, who called himself a chef and he didn’t have his jacket pressed and it
looked like he just rolled out of bed. He really didn’t have the passion and the integrity of being a really
good chef, he didn’t care,” she recalls. “In my heart of hearts, it’s about giving the restaurateur and
giving the chef as much positive and good change as I possibly can.”
Crawford’s no-nonsense attitude has helped her succeed in the kitchen, but she has not let it get to her
head. As a result of her laid-back personality, whether you meet her on the street or at her restaurant,
Crawford has remained down-to-earth.
Humble Beginnings
Crawford was born in Willowdale, Ont., where she, as the elder of two children, was raised in a
Scottish family.
Her younger brother, Allan, resides in Vancouver. Despite not sharing the interest of cooking professionally,
“he’s pretty good on the barbecue,” says Crawford, who often answers her brother’s emails regarding cooking
tips.
Her father, Jim, whose family came from a line of butchers, immigrated to Canada in the 1960s, and he briefly
worked as a butcher before becoming a beverage salesman. He passed away more than 20 years ago.
“Looking down on us right now, he would be like ‘Yes, I knew you could do it!’ I don’t think he knew exactly
what it was that I wanted to do or had any idea of what it could be. When he passed away, I just came back
from Nevis in the Caribbean. I still have letters that he wrote me, while I was down there,” she recalls,
nostalgically.
Her mother, June, worked at the Ontario College of Art for several years in the registrar’s office, working
with artists.
“A big smile comes to my face. I love my mother very, very much. One of the reasons why I did come back to
Toronto is to be closer to my mum,” says Crawford.
Crawford attended high school in Richmond Hill. With family heritage enriched in both cuisine and art, she
went on to study fine art at the University of Guelph.
One of her part-time jobs was at a local greasy spoon in Guelph. But she credits her friends enrolled in the
university’s hotel and food administration program with enlightening her about the culinary career options
available. Before graduating, she decided to pursue her passion for cooking and become a chef, going on to
attend George Brown College in Toronto.
After graduating, Crawford moved to California to apprentice at two local restaurants, working with Alice
Waters and Barbara Tropp, both of whom she considers as her mentors. It was this cross-country move that was
the start of Crawford’s true calling.
Getting to the Roots
Deciding where to move on to from the Four Seasons had Crawford taking a step back, and getting to
the root of where food comes from. Last year, Pitchin’ In premiered on Food Network Canada, with the
chef travelling across North America to spend time with a variety of different food producers. Going into its
second season, Pitchin’ In tackles 11 new ingredients, with Crawford exploring Canadian seafood,
travelling to Vancouver for crab and Prince Edward Island for mussels. She also goes into the complexities of
the production of wild boar, bison, chicken, catfish and squid, as well as cream, berries, avocados and
potatoes.
For the past two years, the documentary series has taken Crawford across North America in search of
sustainable ingredients. There is no doubt that Pitchin’ In has influenced the chef to work more
closely with farmers and food producers. As part of what Crawford calls a “collaborative effort” with her
team on the show to come up with the show’s premise and episodes, a researcher helps to select the
ingredients that fascinate the chef.
“For me, it was like I wanted to invite people on this journey with me,” she says. “It’s me, there’s no
acting. I like to have a good time. If you can laugh at me, just a little bit, as I laugh at myself sometimes
in the situations that I’m in, then ‘Yeah, absolutely!’ Have fun with it. You can’t be too serious.”
Keeping in contact with many of the different people she has met on her Pitchin’ In adventures,
Crawford has extended her knowledge from the show to her new endeavours, which have brought her closer to
home than ever.
Ruby Watchco is born
Coinciding with her work on Pitchin’ In, Crawford is proud to have a precious gem by the
name of Ruby Watchco, her chic and welcoming restaurant on Queen Street East, in Toronto’s Riverside
district. After its grand opening last March, Crawford reunited with chef Kirk from the Four Seasons,
business partner Cherie Stinson, an interior designer who worked with Crawford on Restaurant Makeover, and
Stinson’s husband and Ruby Watchco’s manager, Joey Skeir, to create a home-like environment where the chefs
call the shots.
Using a fixed-price, set menu, Crawford and Kirk create the daily menus with some of the freshest, local
in-season ingredients, and post a week’s worth of the daily menus on their website.
It’s no surprise that as former guest host of Restaurant Makeover, Crawford would be under great
scrutiny when she opened up her own restaurant. While ruffling a few feathers with Ruby’s fixed menu, she
explains that it is all in good measure.
“It’s amazing to watch the feedback of your peers and the people who have this expectation… It’s not what
they thought it would be. It’s entirely different. It’s very easy to criticize that,” she explains. “I’m not
cooking because I’m selfish; it’s about supporting the local farmers and growers. You are receiving product
that is at the height of its excellence, putting together a meal that is chef-driven, chef-cooked and we love
what we do so much. Everyone has the same memory when they leave. They have shared the table.”
Following her own advice from Pitchin’ In, Crawford and her team use a 100-mile and 100-kilometre
market of farmers, fishermen and food producers as its primary suppliers, even for its wine selection.
To create the space that would soon be Ruby Watchco, Crawford bought The Citizen from Rodney Bowers, whom she
worked with at the Four Seasons and reunited with on Restaurant Makeover. She fell in love with the
place and asked him to let her know when he was ready to sell. When he did, Crawford took the serendipitous
chance to open up a place of her own.
When approached by Crawford to join the restaurant, Kirk said it was an easy decision.
“It’s great. If I couldn’t work with her, I wouldn’t come back [to Toronto],” says the former New York chef.
“She has the same passion, drive and understanding for food. It just encourages me to want to work with
someone who is so passionate. Here [at Ruby Watchco], it’s great because we essentially get to do what we
want to, every day. There’s no structure with the same dish or bringing in the same product.”
When it was time to come up with a name for the restaurant, the task proved to be no easy task. Fate seemed
to come to the rescue when restaurant co-owner Stinson came across an eclectic sign for Ruby Watch Co., an
Indian watchmaker company that is now defunct. Upon showing Crawford the chic art, they both thought the
catchy name would be perfect, and today the red, vintage 13-foot mirrored sign emblazoned with the name is
displayed in the back of the restaurant.
With its family-style dining, the restaurant averages more than 100 guests per night. It is the success of
Ruby Watchco that has silenced Crawford’s critics, as she lets the food speak for itself.
In the Works
Crawford’s secret ingredient to her success has been her dedication to her career in the food
industry. She applies her passion for food to everything she does, and she makes it clear she has no plans on
stopping anytime soon.
Already scheduled to work on season three of Pitchin’ In, Crawford also hints at a cookbook or two
in the future that will further showcase farmers and growers from across Canada.
“There is so much heart and soul and passion and talent from the East Coast to the West Coast. I would really
like to have something that incorporates that. For Pitchin’ In, I think we need to do a cookbook and
I think that would be a wonderful thing for more of the storytelling about behind-the-scenes.”
In regards to the expansion of the Ruby Watchco brand, Crawford says she is apprehensive about having more
than one location, admitting that the Riverside location is “her baby.” But she says she has admits to having
a few things up her sleeve.
“There will always be room for more Ruby Watchcos. Toronto needs more Ruby Watchcos, let’s just say that.
Honestly, it’s not about quantity it’s about quality. When everything is in place, you never know.”
From her television show to her work with food, the chef has kept her hard work consistent, while never
hiding her love of cooking. But with Crawford, you never know what may be next on the menu.
Watch season two of Pitchin’ In on Food Network Canada on Monday nights at 10 p.m. EST.
