{"id":9317,"date":"2023-02-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T13:16:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T17:16:48","slug":"black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford","status":"publish","type":"menu","link":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/","title":{"rendered":"All Eyes on the Prize – Rob Rainford"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Elle Asiedu, The Re-seasoning Coalition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"License<\/figure>
\n

You might know Chef Rob Rainford from the millennium Food Network hit License to Grill<\/em>, but the hats he\u2019s worn in the kitchen go far beyond grill master supreme. Having immigrated from Jamaica with his family at a young age, Rainford\u2019s aspirations to be a chef were abundantly clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So clear, in fact, that they didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe requisite was to come to Canada, get a degree, and go to work,\u201d he says, recalling his father\u2019s model for success at the time. He traded his dream for traditional subjects and basketball, although a food program at his Toronto, ON high school, Central Technical School, reminded him of the passion for food still burning within.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At age 26, Chef Rainford finally enrolled in George Brown College\u2019s culinary program. \u201cI knew that if I wanted to get ahead, especially as a person of colour, I had to have that diploma,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GETTING TO WORK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following his culinary school graduation, he worked at a series of high-profile Toronto restaurants, with his eyes set on being an Executive Chef. \u201cMy quest was to be the best. Nobody was going to outwork me,\u201d he remembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite several big breaks and mentorship from chefs like Ned Bell, Rainford\u2019s race was often the stumbling block that prevented him from reaching the goal he had been working towards for over a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That invisible, and sometimes, visible barrier to reaching the top shows up in the careers of the majority of Black restaurant chefs in Canada. It\u2019s one that can strengthen your resolve or push you out of traditional establishments altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He remembers working at Accolade as the second-in-command when the Executive Chef left. There assumption in the kitchen was that Rainford would be next in line, but instead the restaurant hired another white chef. \u201cI believe that if I was a white guy, I would\u2019ve gotten the job – it would\u2019ve been enough,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar situation transpired at another elite establishment where Rainford managed the kitchen for six months while the executive team looked for a new brigade leader. He was ready for the role – the problem was that management wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI heard indirectly that the owner said \u2018I can\u2019t have a Black face be the Executive Chef at my spot\u2019,\u201d he recounts. \u201cAnd it burns your gizzards because you know that it\u2019s a race thing and if you speak up about it, you\u2019ll be black-balled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

PUSHING THROUGH<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a career full of highlights, Rainford believes that keeping his head down, working hard, and \u201cplaying the game\u201d left him in a better position, but he knows that his story isn\u2019t common and that the old boys\u2019 club needs to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe industry can only change if more of the decision-makers are Black, more entrepreneurs need to be hiring Black chefs to change the business itself,\u201d he reflects. \u201cHow many Black executive chefs can you count in Toronto right now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Chef Rainford is looking inward. After working in European and North American-style kitchens for 20 years and eventually becoming an Executive Chef, he\u2019s looking forward to joining a restaurant with roots connected to his own background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His advice to young Black chefs just starting out? \u201cLearn how to cook, learn the basics, and never let yourself be dissuaded from pursuing your goals because someone said \u2018No.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Re-Seasoning Coalition is dedicated to increasing the representation of Black Canadians in foodservice through research, programming, and sharing real stories like Rob\u2019s. Stay tuned for more profiles on menumag.ca<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9320,"template":"","menu_author":[471],"menu-category":[491],"menu-tag":[487,498,481],"class_list":["post-9317","menu","type-menu","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","menu_author-menu-magazine","menu-category-leadership","menu-tag-chef","menu-tag-deia","menu-tag-spotlight"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAll Eyes on the Prize - Rob Rainford - Restaurants Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All Eyes on the Prize - Rob Rainford - Restaurants Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Elle Asiedu, The Re-seasoning Coalition You might know Chef Rob Rainford from the millennium Food Network hit...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Restaurants Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-20T17:16:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RestaurantsCA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/\",\"name\":\"All Eyes on the Prize - Rob Rainford - Restaurants Canada\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-20T17:16:48+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/fr\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"All Eyes on the Prize – Rob Rainford\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Restaurants Canada\",\"description\":\"La voix des services alimentaires\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Restaurants Canada\",\"alternateName\":\"RC\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/rc-brand-colour.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/rc-brand-colour.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"Restaurants Canada\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/RestaurantsCanada\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RestaurantsCA\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"All Eyes on the Prize - Rob Rainford - Restaurants Canada","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"All Eyes on the Prize - Rob Rainford - Restaurants Canada","og_description":"By Elle Asiedu, The Re-seasoning Coalition You might know Chef Rob Rainford from the millennium Food Network hit...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/","og_site_name":"Restaurants Canada","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada","article_modified_time":"2026-10-20T17:16:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@RestaurantsCA","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/","name":"All Eyes on the Prize - Rob Rainford - Restaurants Canada","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg","datePublished":"2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-20T17:16:48+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1574418_BlackintheKitchenFeatureImages_RobRainford_022223.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/black-in-the-kitchen-chef-rob-rainford\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"All Eyes on the Prize – Rob Rainford"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/","name":"Restaurants Canada","description":"La voix des services alimentaires","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#organization","name":"Restaurants Canada","alternateName":"RC","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/rc-brand-colour.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/rc-brand-colour.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"Restaurants Canada"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada","https:\/\/x.com\/RestaurantsCA"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/menu\/9317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/menu"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/menu"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"menu_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/menu_author?post=9317"},{"taxonomy":"menu-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/menu-category?post=9317"},{"taxonomy":"menu-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/menu-tag?post=9317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}