Cluck n Cleaver

Nicole Gomes has plenty of credentials to her name – she was the last woman standing on Top Chef Canada season three, was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 in 2014 by Avenue magazine, owns a successful boutique catering company and in 2017 won Top Chef Canada All-Stars, the first female chef to win Top Chef Canada. But among Nicole Gomes' chief achievements is the title of Chief Chicken Officer, proudly held since March 2016.

Francine Gomes, Nicole's talented sidekick, sister and Director of Poultry, works with Nicole at their new business: Cluck ’n’ Cleaver.  But the playful titles belie the serious know-how behind their downright delicious fried chicken and equally mouth-watering rotisserie chicken. “It’s one of our favourite foods,” says Francine, a fine arts grad with 20 years of restaurant experience and seven years of chicken-rearing under her belt. “Nicole has been making this amazing fried chicken for years. Then in 2006, we were joking over a beer about opening a chicken joint.”

But shortly after that casual comment, they went their separate ways. Francine took off to Kootenay, BC, to start up her own chicken farm and Nicole launched Nicole Gourmet, her catering company. “It was just one of those conversations,” says Francine. “Then in 2013, she approached me and said we should do this chicken joint.”

So they did. And no, Nicole working at KFC at the age of 14 had nothing to do with it.