Known for its wines and rich culinary traditions, Piedmont, Italy is where Chef Oscar Turchi’s journey began and it’s the inspiration behind the traditional Italian dishes which have inspired his career and remain close to his heart.

On May 22, he will transport a sold-out crowd to his homeland through his masterful dinner menu for A Chef’s Journey – a one-evening-only event at Niagara College’s Benchmark restaurant.

A Chef’s Journey is part of a popular College dinner series that debuted late last year to celebrate the extraordinary talents of NC’s academic chefs. Through specially curated menus and dashes of storytelling sprinkled throughout the evening, featured chefs for each event offer guests a taste of their personal and professional journeys.

Chef Turchi’s cooking has always been inspired by traditional Italian cuisine and the May 22 dinner event will be no exception.

For Turchi, the event is an opportunity to showcase his region, Piedmont, with dishes and wines that show his passion for food and cooking.

“I want guests to experience the food and service as if they were sitting at a small trattoria in Piemonte,” said Turchi, referring to his home region in Italian. “All the dishes on the menu are dishes that I made with my mother and they are typical of what we usually cook for our family and friends in the homeland.”

Turchi got his first taste for cooking as a child spending time in the kitchen with his mother.

“My mother was my beacon, and I learned to cook when I was six,” he said.

He pursued his passion by earning a hotel and food services diploma in Torino and gained experience working at various five-star restaurants and hotels. He immigrated to Canada in 1992 when he became Executive Chef at Ristorante Giardino at the Gatehouse Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, before taking the Toronto culinary scene by storm as the acclaimed Chef de Cuisine at Borgo Antico, and Star Chef at Toula. In 2002, he launched the award-winning Savoia Hors D’Oeuvres in St. Catharines, where he now lives.

In 2005, Turchi was hired by the Italian government to showcase the Piedmont Region’s food in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Calgary in honour of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics.

Thanks to his natural talent and two decades of collaborating with top Italian chefs, Turchi’s cooking has been known to tantalize even the most sophisticated palates. He spent much of his career in the spotlight at trendy top restaurants garnering coveted rave reviews.

Even after more than 25 years in Canada, his taste memories of Piedmont still inspire him as a chef, along with seeing the joy his food brings to others.

“The most rewarding, for me, is the moment when the dish is placed before my guests and I can see in their eyes that they not only see food, but a work of art,” he said.

Looking back, Turchi never imagined his culinary journey would lead him to begin teaching, but he became part-time faculty at NC in 2009 to pass on his recipes for success to the next generation of cooks and chefs.

“I would never have thought 16 years ago that I would have become a culinary teacher,” said Turchi. “Now it Is the most rewarding experience to have the opportunity to teach and inspire new chefs with my passion and knowledge.”

Turchi looks forward to sharing his journey with guests and working with talented NC chefs and students on the Benchmark team on May 22. He has also invited two former students to join him as featured alumni: Niagara Falls residents Joseph Abbruscato (Culinary Management, 2022), who is now Executive Chef at Vittorio’s Italian Eatery, and Quentin Petkovich (Culinary Management, 2018), who is currently opening a mobile pizza food truck called ‘The Crust By Q.’

“It is a privilege for me to come back to NC and give back to those who played a role in my time at the College,” said Abbruscato. “The College had an enormous impact on me as a person and a professional in my craft. It helped me develop my skills in a field I already loved, and helped prepare me for my future endeavors.”

“I am very excited to reconnect with all my chefs from Niagara College,” said Petkovich. “It’s a very motivating environment to be in and was some of the best years of my life.”

A Chef’s Journey

A Chef’s Journey with Oscar Turchi will mark the final dinner in the series for the 2024-2025 academic year.

“Our Chef’s Journey dinner has been an amazing celebration of culinary artistry, community and the journeys that have shaped our talented chefs and alumni,” said Craig Youdale, Dean of Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies. “Each event has created meaningful connections between our College chefs, alumni, students and our community.”

Since it debuted in late 2024, NC’s A Chef’s Journey dinner series has celebrated the talents of NC chefs as well as alumni from the division. It began in November 2024 featuring Youdale; and events continued in 2025 featuring Chef Professors Olaf Mertens (January 23); Michael Olson, along with his wife, celebrity chef Anna Olson (February 13); Frank Dodd (March 20); Erin Circelli and Isa Mottiar(April 3); Riley Bennett (April 24); and Scott Baechler (May 8).

Student Experience Scholarship Fund

Events support NC’s Student Experience Scholarship Fund, which launched simultaneously with the series late last year. In lieu of leaving a gratuity at Benchmark or a special event, guests are encouraged to donate to the fund, which creates scholarships for students within NC’s schools of Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism, and Wine, Beer and Spirits.

Donations may be made by scanning a QR code displayed on menus or through an online donation form.

Niagara College has a full-time enrolment of more than 10,000 students from over 95 countries, who study in 130 diploma, certificate and bachelor degree programs at specialized campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara College is also involved in educational projects and partnerships around the world and is ranked Canada’s No. 1 research college. Learn more at niagaracollege.ca.