Nothing appeals to Jeremy Charles quite like the “salty” green grass of home.

Home has special meaning for everyone. For well-travelled chef Jeremy Charles, his native St. John’s, N.L., means family, the great outdoors and exquisite ingredients.

But 33-year-old Charles, executive chef and co-owner of Raymonds in St. John’s and silvermedal winner at the recent GoldMedal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships, wasn’t always rooted to his homeland. “I left when I was 19 to move to Montreal, where I ended up in culinary school,” the soft-spoken toque begins. “I spoke French, and I was eager to leave  St. John’s to travel and see what was out there.”

Nelson Urteaga is the product of many environments

It’s hard to determine what’s more interesting: the star of this story or the restaurant he created. The chef, Nelson Urteaga, is a multi-talented veteran who’s dabbled in medicine, teaching and business. The restaurant — Saskatchewan’s iconic Hole in the Wall — drives repeat traffic despite its  obscure location. Either way, it all began with the 68-year-old Lima, Peru-born toque who is known for his classic continental cuisine, after-hours cooking classes and an easy rapport with diners.

The chef ’s culinary career was a long-time coming. “[In Peru] my parents’ intentions were for me to become a doctor,” he says. Attempting to fulfill their wishes, Urteaga enrolled in medical school in Spain before deciding it didn’t suit him. Instead, he spent a few years travelling through Europe before joining his mother who had moved to Stockton, Calif. He enrolled in a general arts program at the University of the Pacific where his love of teaching led to a Masters in education.

Martin Juneau says he attracts bad luck, but a recent victory proves otherwise

If you can believe it, Gold Medal Plates champ Martin Juneau worries he may be cursed. Most major restaurants on his résumé close once he leaves. In fact, shortly after speaking with the humble Francophone, news hit that acclaimed chef Daniel Boulud was shuttering his upscale Vancouver restaurant Lumière, where Juneau cooked in 2000.

But, while many of the chef ’s former haunts have closed — beginning with the small Quebec hospital he worked at as a cook and ending with Lumière — it’s clear the supposed curse hasn’t befallen the man himself.

The 33-year-old toque recently took top honours at the Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna, B.C.,for his crispy piglet belly, glazed with beet juice and an unorthodox cider pairing. For the formerly shy chef, the honour was unexpected. “I never, ever do things like this,” insists Juneau. “When I was younger, I tried to enter cooking contests, and I didn’t have any success — I always choked. This was a serious competition, and we were treated like stars. It was like living a dream.”

Chris Velden shares his respect for local, sustainable food.

Chris Velden describes himself as a cook who loves to teach. The 50- year-old, Frankfurt, Germany-born

executive chef of Ryan Duffy’s Steakhouse in the Radisson Suite Hotel Halifax is a selfproclaimed “gypsy.” He insists the best cooks welcome diversity and educate customers and employees alike.

Although Velden has worked around the world, including in his native Frankfurt, he’s always espoused the same philosophy. “Moving is part of your education,” he insists. “You need different experiences, and if you don’t have them, there’s a lot you won’t know.”