ChefDb is an ongoing project that documents the names and work history of people associated with the foodservice & hospitality industry, both past and present. In addition to promoting present-day chefs the website includes people and places dating back to the 18th century, making it a robust reference tool for industry historians.

My name is Brian and I'm the 'proprietor' of ChefDb.  I was born and raised in Toronto and spend my days working as a marketing consultant for a large law firm, although my background is in information technology.  The idea for ChefDb came about in 2003 when I was living in Scotland and kept track of the many bars and restaurants I visited around the UK and Europe.  Having an interest in food, drink, restaurants and web development, I created a simple page to record the places I visited and the people I knew who worked there.  This idea soon developed into The Toronto Chef and Restaurant Database, created from my flat in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle.

The focus of the original database was primarily historical Toronto chef and restaurants from the 1960's through the 1980's (I guess I was homesick or nostalgic, or both).  In 2004 I moved back to Toronto and enlisted the help of my father George—a retired Professor at the University of Toronto—to assist in maintaining and growing the database.  After opening up the site to chefs and restaurants from around the world, the site was rebranded as The Chef and Restaurant Database.

• You must be currently employed by a restaurant or institution in a BOH or FOH capacity, or be "between jobs";
• Catering, consulting and personal chef services are also eligible, but you must have an existing Website before you can be listed on ChefDb;
• You must submit your own listing, using a personal email account. Listings are not accepted from marketing agencies or similar, or from generic restaurant email accounts.

• Any back of house position;
• Senior front of the house positions (General Manager, Sommelier, Maitre 'd, etc);
• Owners, partners, executives, officers and directors of restaurants or restaurant groups;
• Consulting positions are eligible if the services pertain to the food. Design consultants may be listed if you are the designer of record for the restaurant, in which case your name is listed below the restaurant name (as "Designed by ... "). Other consultants (Business, Web design, marketing, financial, legal etc.) are not eligible;
• Host/Server/bartender/busser/food runner/dishwasher positions are only eligible if you have since moved into a more senior FOH position, a BOH role or ownership/partnership in a restaurant;
• Culinary students are only eligible if associated with a restaurant in an internship or externship capacity.

• Distributors, importers, recruiters, HR or marketing professionals, representatives and agents.

It's easy.  Provided you meet our criteria for inclusion (see above), you only need to:

1. Create an account with ChefDb by selecting the 'Register' link found on every page;
2. Wait for the auto-reply email and click on the activation link in this email to activate your account;
3. Submit your information by selecting the 'Add Record' button from the top navigation menu.

We'll take care of the rest!

Select the button on the left-hand side of the page you want to change.

You must be registered and logged in before you can submit updates or corrections to existing listings.

You may not submit new information on behalf of others.  If you wish to add information for yourself, see "How do I get myself listed on ChefDb?" above.

Information is usually posted in 1-2 weeks but if it's particularly busy, there could be a longer delay.

Click on the "Register" link found on every page and submit all of the required information.  You will receive a automated email with an activation link. You cannot log into your account until you click on the activation link.

We are asking for a personal email address so that if you forget your password, a reset password link can be sent to an active email address, instead of an old address from a job you had several years ago.

The activation email is sent by an automated process at the time your registration form is received.  Most emails are sent and received almost immediately, but depending on email traffic there may be a delay of several hours, so be patient.  If your email client or host use anti-spam filters, check your spam or junk mailboxes to see if the email has been flagged as spam.

To change your password or any of your profile information (email, city, education, etc.), log into your account and select the 'Member Services' link.

This message means you've either typed in the wrong username, the wrong password or that you have not activated your account with ChefDb.  If you have not activated your account with ChefDb, please click on the link in the confirmation email you received from ChefDb at the time you registered.  If you have activated your account and you're sure you haven't made any typos when entering your username and password, the best thing to do is reset your password from the "Forgotten Password" page.

You can reset your password from the Forgotten Password page.

When you reset your password an automated process sends you a link that expires in 1 hour (for security purposes).  Most emails are received almost immediately, but depending on email traffic there may be a delay, so be patient.  If your email client or host use anti-spam filters, check your spam or junk mailboxes to see if the email has been flagged as spam.

If you are a registered member with an existing ChefDb profile, you can include a link to your member profile page.  Your member profile page includes additional information about yourself not found in your ChefDb profile.  The content of your member profile page is maintained by you and can include:
A personal bio, written by you A photo Your full resume (Word or PDF) A link to your social media sites or your personal web site Personal contact information (email; phone)	Click the image to see a sample member profile Your member profile page includes a personal bio written by you, your picture, contact information and a link to your full resume.

A button called "View Profile" will appear on your ChefDb profile page (see image below). 

   Click the image to enlarge

A link to your member profile page will appear on your ChefDb profile page.

No.  Member profiles can only be viewed by selecting the "View Member Profile" button on an existing ChefDb profile page.

Your personal bio is a great opportunity to sell yourself, so include information about your work experience, skills, travel or anything you think will help promote your career.

Log into your account and select the 'Member Services' link from the homepage, then select 'Edit your member profile'.  From there you can upload your resume to ChefDb.

Resumes are accepted in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

You must select the 'Show' radio button next to the information you wish to appear on your member profile page.

ChefDb originally focused on historical chef and restaurant listings.  As such, the database initially grew based on research conducted by ChefDb editors in newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites and from information gathered through acquaintances.  No online submissions were accepted from the chef and restaurant community.  Today, approximately 50% of new database listings are derived from such research, conducted primarily in several major newspapers offering online, subscription-based archives dating back several decades.

In an effort to grow ChefDb beyond a historical source of information, we began to offer a registration and submission process in January 2005, allowing chefs and restaurateurs the opportunity to submit a profile of their career.  Although information submitted in this manner is carefully vetted, we don't have the time (or the ability) to independently verify every submission made to the site.  We simply ask that those submitting information do so with good intentions and include a source or reference if possible.  If we have questions regarding submissions made to ChefDb (as we often do), we will contact the submitter or use other resources to verify the information.

A considerable effort is made to provide accurate information, but there is no guarantee regarding the accuracy or completeness for any particular listing.  To suggest additions or corrections to the database, please use the online tools as outlined in the ChefDb FAQ.

Visit our Statistics page for a current count of our data.

Determining the position or title of an individual can often times be difficult.  We are sensitive to the fact that some individuals will be identified with the wrong title.  This is usually a result of conflicting, incomplete, or incorrect reference information.  Below are the general guidelines with respect to position descriptions.

Chef or Executive Chef

The individual is specifically identified in reviews, articles or other reference material as being "the Chef" or Executive Chef of the establishment. This may or may not be the person responsible for the day-to-day cooking and may actually be the Sous Chef or Chef de Cuisine.  In some cases the individual could also be the owner or co-owner of the restaurant, although he or she is not specifically identified as such in available references.

Other titles (e.g. Owner, Co-owner, Sommelier, Maitre d', Manager)

The individual is specifically identified in our sources as having this title.  This person may have had other roles at the restaurant, but the position listed is the only one identified in our references.

No title listed (i.e.'--')

A title of '--' indicates the individual's specific role is not known.  Our references will usually indicate the individual is "a veteran of such kitchens as Canoe and Auberge du Pommier" or that "Chef Smith spent 1989 to 1991 at Centro."   We have no information to support a title of any sort for these listings.

Unless the individual has personally submitted their profile to ChefDb, the process of assembling a "complete" profile for a chef can be extremely time-consuming.  A chef's profile is often developed over a period of weeks, months or even years, using small pieces of information gathered from various sources.  As there can be a great deal of speculation with respect to years of employment or ownership, the styles below are being used to manage the inevitable uncertainties.

Style	Description	Meaning
xxxx - Present	Any year - Present	At the time of our last update this person is still working at this establishment and is believed to have started in the year indicated.
2011 - 2015	Black font	One or more sources indicate the individual worked at this establishment during this specific time period.
[2011 - 2015]	[Bracketed]	The duration specified is known for certain, however the individual may have occupied this position before and/or after these years.
--	Dashes	No specific years of employment are known.

The year listed underneath the restaurant's address is the year the restaurant opened to the public.  The year listed next to the individual's name is the year they became involved in the project.  Owners, Executive Chefs and key management almost always have an association with a project long before the restaurant opens to the public, which can account for an earlier year listed next to the individual's name.

Surprisingly (at least to us), this question has been asked several times.  The very short answer is no.  While we appreciate the interest, ChefDb is a part-time hobby and we just don't have the time to discuss bulk distribution of the data.

No.  Assuming the individual is even a registered member of ChefDb, member contact information is confidential so we cannot provide this information.  If the chef has elected to display their Member Profile, there will be a link on the profile page to "View Member Profile", which may include an email address.  Failing that, your best option is to contact the establishment where the chef works.

We don't know any more about an individual than what is currently listed on their profile page.  Subscribe to our RSS feed or follow ChefDb on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to be alerted to new additions to the database.

We read every message sent to us, however we are not able to provide personalized responses to questions that have already been answered on this FAQ page.  Thanks for understanding.