Featured Alumnus: Ezra Title

In the midst of his busy day Ezra Title, acclaimed chef, owner of Chezvous Dining, co-star of the Healthy Gourmet cooking show and father of year-old Isaiah, takes time to reflect on his journey from The Leo Baeck Day School to a culinary career.

Title's fond memories from his years at Leo Baeck include the warm school environment, caring teachers and fun times with classmates. The highlight was definitely Michael Levy's famous college bowl-trivia questions. He preferred those 'fun' activities to the traditional academics. However, he is still grateful for the French language skills he learned at Leo Baeck which were particularly beneficial when he trained in French culinary technique.

For Title, his passion for cooking developed when he moved away from his parents' home to McGill University. His choice was to either cook for himself or not eat at all. After earning his B.A., he went on to train at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and then to work in New York. He later earned his MBA in Hospitality Tours and Management from the University of Guelph.

With Chezvous, Title's goal is to create a personalized experience for each client, through individualized menus "turning their own dining room into their favorite restaurant." He describes his own cooking style as a blend of Californian ingredient based cooking combined with time-honoured French techniques. Together with his wife, therapist-yoga instructor Elisse Peltz, the two offer clients the option of a less conventional dinner party. Combining their skills, they have created 'Yo Dinna', an evening replete with yoga class and gourmet meal, which has been very popular to date.

Title is enthused by his recent television debut. Since June, he has costarred with nutritionist Julie Daniluk on the show, Healthy Gourmet. In each episode, the two go head to head over a recipe, with Ezra defending the taste component and Julie the nutrition. The show’s ultimate goal is to help viewers strike the delicate balance between healthy and tasty food. "It is possible," he advocates.

Title fully embraces his Jewish identity. When asked about his most popular dish, he laughs, "red wine braised beef short ribs," also known as flunken in the spirit of true Jewish cooking.