Paul Lillakas

Paul Lillakas is a TV Chef, Chopped Canada Champion, and former Food Editor of Canadian Living magazine. He’s also a 2008 graduate of our Comedy Writing and Performance program. We asked Paul a bit about his career and how his time at Humber helped him get where he is now.

What is your current job title? Describe a typical day in your life in this position.

I'm a freelance chef, recipe developer and media personality. In my business I create all types of food content, from recipes to videos, photography and televised cooking segments. I work with a variety of Canadian and international food, beverage and appliance brands to bring food stories to life. I also appear as chef contributor on many Canadian lifestyle television programs such as Cityline and CTV's Your Morning.

Can you tell us about a favourite project you’ve worked on or a project that you are particularly proud of?

In the pre-covid world, I had the opportunity to film a cooking segment with Tracy Moore and Harry Connick Jr. on Cityline. It was a very last-minute booking so I worked double-time to completely change my segment to a New Orleans Creole theme (in honour of his hometown). In the end, we nailed it and it became one of my favourite collaborative segments to date!

How did your time at Humber help you get where you are now?

I often tell people that, though I don't work in the field of comedy writing and performance, the skills I learned in studying scriptwriting, acting, sketch performance and particularly improvisation, have helped me immensely from the board room to the live TV studio. It gave me confidence to speak to crowds, hold a room and know when to use a well-placed joke to my advantage.

Give us a tip (or tips) for students and recent grads hoping to follow in your footsteps.

Be bold and try to start something! You'll likely face many skeptics, but nothing will feel as good as getting to tell them, "I told you I could do it". Every journey starts with a move.

Find out more about Paul on his website, and follow him on social media at @paullillakas.