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Penguin Group Canada to publish GREAT FOOD AT HOME by Canadian Celebrity Chef Mark McEwan

Chef Mark McEwan - Photo courtesy of Food Network Canada

Toronto, October 13, 2009 – Penguin Group (Canada) announced today it will publish GREAT FOOD AT HOME by celebrity chef, restaurateur, and Food Network TV Host of The Heat, Mark McEwan.

The book was acquired by Andrea Magyar, Managing Director at Penguin, who said: "Penguin Group (Canada) is absolutely thrilled to be publishing Mark McEwan's cookbook. Mark is one of the best chefs in Canada and GREAT FOOD AT HOME will definitely be a must-have for all our kitchens."

Mark McEwan is widely recognized for his distinctive style of cooking that captures the essence of classical cuisine with nuances of contemporary flavours. In 1990 McEwan opened the highly-acclaimed North 44.  Since then, he has reached celebrity status with his television show, THE HEAT, coupled with the opening of the restaurants Bymark and One, located in The Hazelton Hotel.  

THE HEAT, airing on Food Network Canada, will start its third season in January 2010. It’s a full throttle, sweat-drenched ride into the many kitchens of one of Canada’s most renowned, successful and infamous chefs as McEwan and his entertaining staff of talented protégés pull out all the stops to achieve culinary perfection at 100 miles an hour.

This year McEwan opened his new gourmet grocery store—appropriately called mcewan--in Toronto.  His latest venture will soon have the maverick entrepreneur adding author to his list of accomplishments.  In fall 2010, Penguin Group (Canada) with publish Mark McEwan's GREAT FOOD AT HOME--fabulous and easy-to-make recipes to create and enjoy with family and friends in the comfort of home.

“I’ve wanted to do a cookbook for many years but I also had very specific ideas about the way it would be,” said McEwan. “Chockfull of great restaurant recipes, of course -  but ones people can duplicate at home without taking the day off. Not a coffee table book, but a first go-to reference guide for good home cooks. Something I could imagine spotting in other people’s kitchens years from now, well-thumbed and sauce stained.  All that was very important to me so there was no way I was going to go about it without a solid production team that was on the same page and up to the challenge - so I’m really excited and gratified that my patience paid off and I got to do it with Penguin, who have such fine people working for them, and such an inspiring track record, too.”

In 1976 Mark McEwan began his career in Canada’s food industry at Toronto’s Constellation Hotel where he worked under the tutelage of Executive Chef, Joseph Vonlanthen. Also in 1976, he studied at George Brown College and graduated in 1979 as winner of the Red Seal Award for scholarship.   

In 1981, McEwan was hired as executive sous chef at the Sutton Place and two years later was appointed as chef, becoming the youngest in Canada to hold such a position. There he had the privilege of cooking for Pope John Paul II when the Pontiff visited Toronto in 1984. Later in 1985, Mark acquired Pronto Ristorante with two partners. Pronto was for many years Toronto’s most prestigious restaurant, the pinnacle of the city’s fine cuisine. McEwan sold his interest in 1992.

McEwan opened his own restaurant, North 44 in May 1990. One of Toronto’s finest restaurants in the heart of uptown Toronto, North 44 has become a benchmark in Toronto and across Canada for its elegance, impeccable service and exceptional cuisine. The restaurant offers a sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere with contemporary décor. Both Gourmet Magazine and The Zagat rated North 44 as the most popular restaurant in Toronto.

He opened Bymark Restaurant in November 2002 and again received overwhelming praise from critics and patrons alike. Bymark was rated as Canada’s Best New Restaurant by Enroute magazine.

ONE Restaurant at The Hazelton Hotel, which opened in 2007, has been deemed “celebrity-siting central” by Food & Drink magazine, in addition to receiving the usual rave reviews attending a Mark McEwan restaurant launch.  "A tuxedo and fine bone china do not make a five-star experience,” McEwan states, “The best hotels have a cool luxury about them and should make you feel the same. The food at ONE will be welcoming seven days a week-exquisite but recognizable.”  

Welcoming food is the foundation upon which all Mark McEwan’s establishments are built, and his latest venture, a unique gourmet market is no exception. The store also sells McEwan’s own line of takeaway cuisine. Created from his renowned recipes and unmatched by any other market’s offering, these dishes allow you to take the Chef’s distinctive, unparalleled creations home to your very own table.

And now, finally, McEwan’s own recipes will be made available to all for making in the comfort of home in GREAT FOOD AT HOME by Mark McEwan, to be published by Penguin Group (Canada) in fall 2010.


For further information, contact:
Yvonne Hunter, Vice President
Publicity and Marketing
Penguin Group (Canada)
416-928-2409 Direct
416-471-4973

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