Matt Basile
Founder, Fidel Gastro’s
Matt Basile believes food should be fun, and that in the food business you have to do things differently to be memorable. The creator of the Toronto-based street food brand Fidel Gastro’s, Basile started his career in advertising as a copywriter, but when he was just 26 years old, he left it all to host his first underground popup in Toronto. Now, Fidel Gastro’s has grown from a fold-up table to a food empire receiving national and international attention.
Under the Fidel Gastro’s brand, Basile operates one of Canada’s most recognizable food trucks and for six phenomenal years ran the gastro pub, Lisa Marie. It was featured on various TV series, including You Gotta Eat Here! and Chef In The City, and was also ranked as the ninth best brunch spot in Canada by OpenTable magazine.
In addition, Basile hosted the reality television show Rebel Without a Kitchen, which aired on Netflix, Travel and Escape Channel, the Cooking Channel, and the Asian Food Channel. He also hosts original cooking shows on YouTube that include Chefs In Cars Getting Takeout, Date Night with Grandma, YAAAA Brunch, and much more!
Basile and his partner, Kyla Zanardi, are the bestselling authors of two cookbooks: Street Food Diaries and, most recently, Brunch Life. He is also a food writer for both The Huffington Post and Vice, and a regular guest on programs such as Global Morning and Breakfast Television.
In 2015, Basile was nominated for a coveted Canadian Screen Award for Best Host of a Canadian Reality Series.