Maple Ridge teaching chef receives Prime Minister’s Award

Maple Ridge chef and educator Trevor Randle is one of 20 teachers from across Canada to receive a 2026 Prime Minister’s Award Certificate of Achievement. He teaches culinary arts to students in Grades 9 to 12 at Maple Ridge Secondary School (MRSS). The awards recognize teachers and early childhood educators whose dedication, innovation and leadership have made a meaningful difference in the lives of Canadian children and students. They celebrate educators who create engaging learning experiences, encourage curiosity and confidence, and make a lasting impact.

Randle began teaching at MRSS in 2005. He said he is the first teaching chef to receive the award, and that this shows how important culinary and food security education has become across the country. Secondary-school teaching kitchens do more than teach students to cook, he said: they offer every student a consistent place to feel successful and safe while being challenged. His friends and colleagues at Thomas Haney Secondary nominated him.

Randle aims to make learning immersive, student-centred, energetic, professional and inclusive. He said his teaching style brings those elements together each day, and that he wants students to leave every class feeling proud and accomplished. He said this is what makes teaching kitchens, especially those in his district, special.

He said he tries to make a difference by showing up each day with positive energy, which his students reciprocate. That positivity reaches the school and surrounding community through daily lunches prepared at the school and projects such as the weekly Community Dinner.

Randle is also chef ambassador for BC Egg and the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, and president of the BC Culinary Arts Specialists Association. The Government of Canada website describes him as a passionate teaching chef who turns his kitchen into a place for students to learn practical culinary skills and discover what they can do. Its online biography says that for more than two decades, his vision, innovation and commitment have transformed culinary education in British Columbia. His kitchen is a place of energy, teamwork and possibility as well as a place to learn recipes. Students take on real responsibilities and lead tasks that show them their capabilities; Randle helps them build confidence by tackling challenges that matter to their school and community.

Randle said he was incredibly honoured to receive the prestigious award and thanked his “army of support,” including students, school administrators, kitchen and office staff, custodians, maintenance workers, IT staff and everyone at the district education office. He also said he was fortunate to work in a district with four other outstanding teaching chefs, who are dear friends and whom he often turns to for inspiration and advice.

He said the award reminded him how important provincial culinary arts programmes are to students, schools and communities. He feels fortunate to have a career held by so few people in the province, through which he can positively affect more than just his culinary arts students. “It’s totally cliché, but it’s true: when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s Awards are presented annually for teaching excellence, teaching excellence in STEM, and excellence in early childhood education. Eight other teachers across the country received a Certificate of Excellence. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the federal department behind the awards, congratulated all recipients and thanked every nominee for their important work each day.

Nominations for the 2027 awards are now open. Nominees may be teachers introducing innovative approaches in the classroom, building strong connections with families, championing inclusive learning environments or inspiring a lifelong love of learning. The nomination deadline is Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2027.