In today's Urban Planner: make sure you're correctly filling out your human rights complaint forms, participate in a film festival for young new Canadians, see a screening of a film about a film about Karl Marx, and catch a recreation of a thirteenth-century Mass.

Graduates Melody Madziro and Adam Taylor, serving delicious pulled-pork sliders. Last spring, we had the privilege of meeting the amazing chef instructors and students of the YMCA’s Basic Culinary Skills Training Program, which we nicknamed “The Original Fifteen” (they’ve been at it since Jamie Oliver was in grade school!). Led by experienced chefs, the program [...]

Back in May, when the Metro Central YMCA announced they were planning a green roof to accompany other repairs, it was an idea that made sense: the rooftop running track was a flat, ugly expanse of hot concrete, and certainly not much to look at from the surrounding condo towers. Originally intended as a outdoor [...]

On Sunday evening, more than thirty of Toronto’s most celebrated chefs congregated in the open air of Yorkville Park for Toronto Taste, Second Harvest‘s biggest and most lavish fundraiser. Honouring its nineteenth year, the event raised $250,000 in just one night—enough to provide 500,000 meals for people in need. Torontoist was lucky to snag a [...]

Decades before the Chef Jeff Project and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, a small group of dedicated chefs began an initiative to help Torontonians on social assistance learn the skills needed to work and thrive as professional cooks. Twenty-five years later, the Basic Culinary Skills Training Program‘s current director Kelvin Ramjattan and his crew of experienced and [...]

Photo of the existing YMCA rooftop running track by Marc Lostracco. The Metro Central YMCA at Yonge and Grosvenor found itself with a problem, but one that led to a new opportunity: the roof is leaking and needs extensive repairs. Featuring a running track and not much else, the large concrete rooftop slab is more [...]