Mandel Hitzer

MANDEL HITZER HAS refreshingly good intentions. The chef behind Winnipeg’s celebrated restaurant Deer + Almond has made a name for himself as one of the most important culinary voices in the Prairies, guided by a strong sense of play and an unwavering devotion to his community.

“There’s no place I’d rather be than my hometown,” Hitzer says. “Because those are the people that I want to cook for.”

So while it’s not uncommon for ambitious Canadian chefs in smaller markets to jet off for opportunities in Canada’s larger, more prosperous cities, if not global restaurant hubs like New York, London or Sydney, Hitzer has chosen to keep his talents at home on the Prairies. He opened Deer + Almond in 2012, and it has ever since been synonymous with the best of the Winnipeg dining scene, offering inspired musings on what it means to eat Canadian.

For me, community is everything. I’m a born-and-bred Winnipegger. I’ve chosen to make it my home with so much pride. Part of a chef’s responsibility is cooking for the community; it’s like playing your part in a family. Mandel Hitzer

Taking that sentiment to the next level is RAW:almond, an annual pop-up restaurant that Hitzer founded with architect and designer Joe Kalturnyk in 2013. Taking place in a temporary structure built on Winnipeg’s frozen Red and Assiniboine rivers, RAW:almond takes something long and hard — the Manitoba winter — and gives us a reason to embrace it. The weeks-long event attracts some of the food world’s most exciting chefs — such as Joël Watanabe from Vancouver Michelin darling Kissa Tanto and Iliana Regan from Michigan’s beloved Milkweed Inn — who visit “Winterpeg” to cook one-off tasting menus for long tables of diners cozied up in blan-kets. RAW:almond is a truly singular offering, earning international praise for its ability to turn the frozen Prairie landscape into a place of genuine warmth.

The word “community” has become ubiquitous in marketing, and in so many cases it’s nothing more than empty jargon. But Hitzer was cut from a different cloth. His passion for creating world-class, one-of-a-kind food experiences just for Winnipeg is genuine and palpable, which is why he’s the 2024 recipient of the Canada’s 100 Best community leadership award.

—SARA HAROWITZ