Award-winning journalist and Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frias reconnected with his ancestral homeland in his memoir, “Take Me with You: A Secret Search for Family in a Forbidden Cuba”. His restaurant recommendations included Miami’s Palacio de los Jugos and Empanada Harry’s – both fabulous finds. He shared his lively stories with me at the Herald newsroom on the outskirts of Miami.

Marlene Benedicto has been in a wheelchair since she was three years old. She lives with her boyfriend in downtown Toronto and has a day job. Since 2011, she has been writing a blog called 'Tasting Toronto on Wheels'. In it, she writes restaurant reviews, reports on food events and shares recipes. I chatted with her in the kitchen of her apartment.

On the second Tuesday of every month, homeless people and their advocates gather at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto. They read out names and honour those who have lost their lives on the streets of the city. Merylie Houston has been cooking lunch for the event for 15 years. The day before, I visited her at home as she prepared mac 'n' cheese for 100. During the communal meal, I spoke to several people who shared their stories.

Famous chef Massimo Bottura has received accolades and awards for his restaurants in Modena Italy and for his latest mission: recycling food waste. He and other top chefs, with their helpers, started feeding the homeless and refugees at Milan Expo in 2015 using only discarded food. This groundbreaking effort is documented in the stunning film 'Theater of Life'. Since then, his project has been duplicated in other countries. Massimo's most recent success is the brilliant cookbook 'Bread is Gold' which features recipes that use what he calls "ordinary ingredients".

Vancouver-based pastry chef Bruno Feldeisen has won major awards and has worked with top chefs in Paris, San Francisco and New York. He has appeared on TV shows like Beat Bobby Flay, Donut Showdown and Chopped. He is a judge on The Great Canadian Baking Show on CBC TV. Don't miss his inspiring story about redemption from childhood trauma.

Chef Lynn Crawford and I have been friends for decades. Our common bond is a love of humour and a passion for food and cooking. We talk about her path to celebrity, her TV career and our joint project raising funds for a new kitchen at the Sistering shelter in Toronto.

Rebecca Coleman’s cookbook Aquafabulous! will appeal to vegans and people who don’t eat eggs. She uses the eggwhite substitute to make meringues, macarons, and mousse. Aquafaba (the liquid from canned beans) is also featured in recipes for hummus, pulled jackfruit, breakfast cookies, and shepherd’s pie.

Chef Jagger Gordon has declared war on food waste. His multi-faceted non-profit Feed it Forward recycles food that would otherwise be wasted by the food industry. He has an organic farm, serves meals at Nathan Phillips Square and dishes out soup, sandwiches and salad at his pay-what-you-can soup bar in downtown Toronto. He's a big guy with big ideas and big plans.

I talked with chef Hugh Acheson on his visit to Canada to present at this year's Terroir Symposium. His topic: representing Canada on the world stage. Well-known for his appearances on 'Top Chef', he has strong opinions on sexism in the food industry, on being Canadian and on teaching school children to cook.

I talked with chef Hugh Acheson on his visit to Canada to present at this year's Terroir Symposium. His topic: representing Canada on the world stage. Well-known for his appearances on 'Top Chef', he has strong opinions on sexism in the food industry, on being Canadian and on teaching school children to cook.