Antigua and Barbuda’s Giovanni Meyer to Compete on Top Chef Canada

Antiguan and Barbudan chef Giovanni Meyer will take his culinary talents to a national television audience after being selected to compete in season 13 of Top Chef Canada.

Meyer, who operates the private-chef brand Pinch of Black Salt, is among 12 professional chefs competing for the title of Canada’s Top Chef. According to the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA), the season premieres on October 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Flavour Network, with streaming available exclusively on STACKTV.

His selection follows several collaborations with the ABTA’s Canada Office to introduce Canadian audiences to Antigua and Barbuda’s food and culinary traditions.

In March, Meyer prepared a five-course dinner inspired by the country’s history and flavours for the authority’s A Taste of Antigua and Barbuda event, attended by media representatives and content creators.

Meyer said the response to that dinner helped give him the confidence to enter the competition.

“It was my participation in the culinary event that really inspired and encouraged me to enter Top Chef Canada,” he said. “The positive reception I received from all of the guests let me know that I have what it takes to put my culinary vision out there in a bigger way.”

In June, he also mentored 12-year-old junior chef Gigar Campbell, who represented Antigua and Barbuda and won the Grace Junior Chef Challenge at the Island Eats Toronto Food and Travel Festival.

ABTA Director of Tourism for Canada, Tameka Wharton, welcomed Meyer’s selection, describing it as a proud moment for both the chef and the country.

“Seeing that talent now recognised on a national platform is a wonderful moment for Chef Gio and for Antigua and Barbuda,” Wharton said.

Meyer trained at the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute and the Culinary Institute of America. His career includes work at Carlisle Bay Resort and Sheer Rocks in Antigua, A Voce in New York City, and Constantine and Byblos in Toronto.

His television appearance adds to efforts to raise the profile of Antigua and Barbuda’s culinary scene, including the destination’s annual Culinary Month in May.