Canada’s favourite drag queen, Priyanka, has teamed up with Crave to launch her very own limited series.
Drag Brunch Saved My Life is a fast-paced, highly addicting show that follows Priyanka and her team (interior designer Crystal Westland, chef Mitchell Bright and drag performers like Lemon, Tynomi Banks and Xtacy Love) as they scope out a handful of restaurants across Canada who are in dire need of a makeover.
The eight-episode series debuts with three episodes streaming on Friday, May 2, and follows a weekly release schedule with one new episode streaming on subsequent Fridays.
Speaking with Priyanka about her latest passion project, we dive into the concept of the show, which ultimately sees restaurants incorporate themed drag brunches within their establishments—under Priyanka’s guidance, of course—to ultimately boost revenue, but also, foster a warm and welcoming sense of community. A musician, a performer, and now, a reality tv star, Priyanka’s first taste of working in the hospitality industry came at the age of 16, when she hosted a local TV show called Durham Dining and interviewed local restaurant owners and discussed their menus.
“Coming back to the restaurant industry was like a full circle moment for me and getting back to hospitality feels so right,” she says. “I’m in my Martha Stewart era.”
“[The show] really is all about this idea of drag brunch saving your life. For most business owners, these restaurants are their livelihood,” Priyanka continued. “The title was a funny one to come up with. I am somebody who likes severe drama and likes to really, really, really make things look bigger than sometimes they actually are—but then I thought about how I would feel if my passion project ever failed or went away, and I couldn’t do the thing I always dreamed of. I would feel like my life would need to be saved. Drag is all about spreading joy and creating this sense of escapism…it’s for everyone.”
Of the eight Ontario restaurants featured in the new series, just one spot in Toronto made the cut.
The Alpine, located in the city’s Junction neighbourhood, is a modern-day mountain lodge that prides itself on serving up big plates of comfort food—think warm, chewy pretzels dripping in Gruyère, saucy wings and loaded fries. The restaurant recently started its brunch service, available Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 to 3, and under Priyanka’s guidance, things are about to become more sparkly than a round of bottomless mimosas.
Other featured cities include Thorold, Barrie, Orangeville, London, Belleville and Paris. While drag brunch is common in bigger cities like Toronto, sometimes, small town businesses can be slightly reluctant at the concept, but the majority love the idea, Priyanka says, and the business owners with the most success have a concrete plan in place.
“It’s about the restaurant management or owner having a clear vision of what they want the event to be,” she explains. “What is the theme? Who is it for? What makes it special to have people coming back? And what are you doing to make it so memorable that people keep coming back or making an impact that people hear about it and want to come support your restaurant?”
Of course, as exciting as it is to give some of these restaurants a much-needed facelift, Priyanka says that the working relationship with staff to ensure everyone felt respected and heard was also extremely important during and after filming.
“Some restaurant owners have a lot of pride, and some restaurant owners have given up; it honestly is such a nuanced relationship,” Priyanka says. “But at the end of the day, we will make sure to remind them that the decision [to host drag brunch] is ultimately up to them. This is not Kitchen Nightmares where we storm in…we want to work with them and learn how they work to set them up for individual success.”
As for her favourite spots to eat in Toronto?
“I’m a huge foodie,” Priyanka gushes. “But I’m such a creature of habit; if there’s more than seven pages on the menu, I’m overwhelmed. Lady Marmalade on Broadview is a good one; it’s just super cozy comfort food like eggs Benedict, and that’s what I’m all about — sweatpants and enjoying comfy food like wings, ramen, and noodles.”
Catch the first episode of Drag Brunch Saved My Life May 2 on Crave Original!
