Dale MacKay

Dale MacKay is a Canadian chef and the winner of the first season of Top Chef Canada in 2011.

MacKay first entered the food industry as a fry cook in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the early 2000s, he moved to London, England, where he got a job at Gordon Ramsay's Claridge's, later moving to other Ramsay restaurants in London, Tokyo and New York City.

He opened his own pair of restaurants, ensemble and ensembleTap, in 2011. He won the Top Chef Canada title soon afterward, investing his prize money in the venues, but closed them in 2012 after determining that rental costs in downtown Vancouver were too expensive for them to become profitable.

He made a return appearance on Top Chef Canada in 2013, acting as sous chef to third season finalist Danny Francis.

In early 2013, MacKay announced that he was returning to his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to open a new restaurant. The restaurant, named Ayden Kitchen & Bar, opened on November 15, 2013 and operated until July 8, 2023. He is currently the owner of two restaurants: Little Grouse on the Prairie (Italian) in Saskatoon, and Avenue Restaurant in Regina. He also owned three other restaurants in Saskatoon: Sticks and Stones (Korean), and Home Slice Pizza Shoppe.

In 2019 he began appearing as a rotating judge on the BBQ competition series Fire Masters, which airs in Canada on Food Network and in the US on Cooking Channel.

In 2020 he appeared as a judge on the Food Network competition series Wall of Chefs.

In 2023, MacKay competed against 15 other chefs in Top Chef: World All-Stars, placing tenth.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2011 The Vancouver Recipe Himself Documentary 2011-2017 Top Chef Canada Contestant / Judge 16 episodes 2018 Iron Chef Gauntlet Contestant 2019-2020 Fire Masters Judge 3 episodes 2020 Wall of Chefs Judge 2023 Top Chef: World All-Stars Contestant