After a period of reflection and renewal, the Good Food Innovation Awards are returning, reaffirming their role as a national platform celebrating the people shaping Canada’s food future.

Founded by the late Anita Stewart, the awards were created to honour innovation, leadership, and the power of food to connect communities from coast to coast to coast. Her understanding of Canadian cuisine reached far beyond urban centres. It lived in farmers’ markets, in the wilderness, on docks and fishing boats, in the North, in remote kitchens, and wherever Canadians gathered around the table.

“Canada is food, and the world is richer for it” - Anita Stewart

The program paused after her passing during the pandemic. This conscious decision emphasized collaboration over competition and allowed time for Anita’s family, the board, and the wider food community to breathe.

Now, the awards return with renewed purpose with Food Day Canada and the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph.

The Stewart family hopes the Good Food Innovation Awards will grow to become comparable in stature to the James Beard Foundation awards, yet unmistakably rooted in Canadian values, geography, and generosity of spirit.

“Food Day Canada is proud to carry on Anita Stewart’s vision and passion for Canadian food. The Good Food Innovation Awards are an opportunity to showcase leaders from coast to coast to coast. Canadians continue to support local trailblazers while always cooking & sharing Canadian tastes around the table and making memories.” says Christine Couvelier, board chair, Food Day Canada.

“Canada’s culinary talent is now being recognized globally, and that’s incredible,” says Jeff Stewart, executive director of Food Day Canada. “But we don’t need to look abroad for validation when we already know we have excellence right here at home. Extraordinary leaders are feeding their communities every day. We want to make sure they are seen.”

While international recognition — including the expansion of the Michelin Guide into parts of Canada — reflects growing global attention, the Good Food Innovation Awards remain committed to celebrating achievement wherever it happens, particularly in places foreign award systems overlook.

In the year leading up to the relaunch, Stewart travelled across the country, meeting food champions in coastal villages, northern regions, and communities far from conventional culinary spotlights.

“These awards continue Mom’s work,” Stewart says. “She had an extraordinary way of telling Canada’s food story long before the internet. She brought a nation to the table. We carry that spirit forward.”

The relaunch is presented in partnership with the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph, strengthening the awards’ commitment to research, innovation, education, and advancing Canada’s food systems. Winners will be celebrated on-campus at the UoG in May 2026.

Award Categories

From professional kitchens to remote communities, the awards recognize the people growing, cooking, teaching, sharing, and advancing Canadian food — and the future of our sovereignty through our food system.

Categories include:

  •  -  Canadian Menu Trailblazer

  •  -  Northern / Indigenous Food Champion

  •  -  Good Food Storyteller

  •  -  Community Food Innovator

  •  -  Emerging Canadian Food Leader

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Application and more award information is available directly here.

Winners reflect the values and principles that shape Food Day Canada and strengthen Canada’s food future. Details on nominations, eligibility, and celebration plans are available at fooddaycanada.ca

Source: Food Day Canada March 4, 2026 news release