TORONTO, Canada – Tim Hortons introduces Chef Tallis Voakes as its new Culinary Lead, with a mission of innovating across the menu and making food and beverages at Tim Hortons more delicious and craveable than ever before. Voakes is a career chef who has worked in some of the industry’s top kitchens. He was formally trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa and went on to work with world-renowned chefs including Nobu Matsuhisa and Jason Atherton at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant Maze, and at three one-Michelin-star restaurants.
He’s also been an in-demand food stylist for Hollywood and TV productions including “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Voakes is now focused on elevating the quality of Tim Hortons menu items by making sure every donut, every sandwich and every item on the Tims menu is as delicious and fresh as it can be.
“My mission of making the food at Tim Hortons even better for our guests across Canada is just so, so exciting,” says Voakes.
“There are many things that are already awesome and you don’t mess with a good thing. And then there’s other things that we’re looking at amping up the flavour a little more here, or changing a different ingredient there. It’s about making sure that all the elements of a sandwich, or a soup, or a donut, are all the very best and create a ‘wow’ eating experience. That’s what makes food more craveable.”
Voakes also has personal insights into the job having worked behind-the-scenes at Tim Hortons himself as a teenager. Just as important as food quality is execution in the kitchen, Voakes says, and he’ll also be working on optimizing kitchen procedures.
“At the end of the day in all restaurants — and it doesn’t matter if it’s Tim Hortons or a posh restaurant — it’s all about the art of execution and repetition. It’s an art form doing something again and again as best as you can do each and every time,” says Voakes.
“When you look down at a beautiful product and savour each bite, a huge part of your enjoyment comes from execution.”
