Who is Top Chef Canada's new host? Canadian star Lisa Ray

Fans of Top Chef Canada, the Canadian version of the international reality TV competition, let this whet your appetite: season two will boast a new host.

Canadian actor and model Lisa Ray has been named the new host, after Thea Andrews, who hosted the first season and recently gave birth to her second child, stepped down.

Ray, who is of Indian and Polish descent, has starred in the films Bollywood/Hollywood, Water, Cooking With Stella, Defendor, and I Can’t Think Straight. She has also starred in several Indian films, and has hosted an entertainment TV show in India, and cohosted the Genies and the Giller Prize in Canada.

In 2009, Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She went public with the diagnosis, blogged about her experiences, has done both charity fundraising work and given talks about the cancer.

Season two will premiere on March 12, 2012 on Food Network Canada. Canadian chefs will compete for the title of top chef, and a grand prize of $10,000 along with a GE Monogram kitchen worth $30,000.

Episodes of season one can be watched online. And it has a special local connection. Vancouverite Dale MacKay won season one, managing to beat 15 other competitors from across the country. MacKay opened his own Vancouver restaurant, Ensemble, earlier this year.

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