Peter mentions that most of his habits that would have landed him in hot water with his high school teachers were left behind in elementary school. Recalling a number of his more memorable teachers and subjects, he notes that while Mr. Peter Burpee's Geography was at the top of his list of favorites, Science with Mr. Daly was at the opposite end of the scale. “I simply wasn't inspired there, whereas Mr. Burpee's blend of discipline and organization came in a manner of making one feel where they fit within the human and physical world. Geometry, as taught by Mr. Weeks was another of my favorite subjects, and thanks to him, I excelled".

During high school years he managed to handle a couple of jobs, firstly like so many before, as a Montreal Gazette delivery person, and later as a sale clerk with Le Chateau located in the Greenfield Park Shopping Centre on Taschereau Boulevard.

Peter also acquired some administrative experience ascending to the Student Council Presidency in his final year. In 1969 he was also elected “Most likely to Succeed”, and after nearly 40 years that plaque attestation remains within the school's trophy collections.

He recalls that during high school he and several classmates became engrossed with the concept that “Health Foods” and maintaining a healthier diet was very much in everyone's best interest and should be promoted almost as a way of life – a concept never lost, as following the usual number of prescribed years at CEGEP he became fully employed as a chef in a private residence in Caledon East, ON and Tucson, AZ.

Carruthers is now president of his own extremely successful catering company, Presidential Gourmet, has been catering what he describes as “mostly high–end corporate and private functions” in Toronto – for the likes of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the ROM and Roy Thomson Hall – he's helped organize more than 4,000 parties. To each encounter, Peter brings 14 years as a chef in a private home in Canada and Arizona and an additional 20 at the helm as founder and president of Presidential Gourmet Fine Catering. He supervises a sales, marketing, and food production team of 12 full-time professionals in the company. Peter believes in manifesting a delicate balance between style and substance. In other words, a driving principle of Presidential Gourmet is to create elegance in envisioning catered cuisine, followed by the logistics and practical delivery of that vision. His personal commitment to food and an event's image is a very strong factor in the daily operations of the company and one that places customers at the centre core of all objectives. Peter's sense of style, grace in manner and subtle sense of humour are legendary among customers, contemporaries and staff alike.

Presidential Gourmet has served meals to gastronomes in their wine cellars, where guests dine at a table nestled among row upon row of vintages… Sometimes an entire event, from initial communication to putting food on the table can be coordinated in 48 hours – not bad if you get an unexpected visit from a client who you want to impress… Presidential Gourmet prepared Digby scallops for the Queen during her royal visit to Toronto in 2002, commemorating the 50th Jubilee of her reign

Aside from a very long clientele list which reads like an industrial and financial world Who's Who directory, there is to Presidential Gourmet's credit an almost equally long list of special events for which their expert services have been sought including:

Toronto Rehab gala dinners at the Downsview Hangar: 2002 to present: fabulous concerts with top Canadian performers with over 1600 guests

Stratford Express: 1997 to present: a seated black-tie dinner aboard the Stratford- bound train to celebrate the annual spring opening of the Stratford Festival, attended by up to 900 guests

“Fact or Fiction” an annual celebration for the Royal Ontario Museum Foundation and curatorial staff, 2001 to present: an tremendously fun evening of touring exhibits with curators guiding guests through a maze of facts to determine the truth about an object, attended by 375 guests

AMREF Canada's annual gala dinner attended by 575 guests

The Marketing Magazine Awards evening, 1998 to present: Canada's premier awards event for the advertising industry. Also, the Digital Marketing Awards, honouring the best of the cyber world's designers, attended by 1600 guests

Product launches and AGM's for Royal Bank, Kodak, Mack Trucks, Porsche, Nissan, Solect and a host of corporations throughout Canada

The launch of the Toronto Stock Exchange's Standard Poor's 60 Index

Roy Thomson Hall galas for: Queen Elizabeth II, Cecilia Bartoli, Seiji Ozawa, Tom Jones, Midori, Ray Charles, BB King, k.d Lang and numerous other performers

A fabulous summertime gala for Microsoft held at Toronto's Guvernment/Koolhaus and managed by JPDL, attended by 6000 guests

Charity fundraisers including the wonderful “Camp Ooch” gala reception annually and the “Battle of the Brains”

Peter's interest in sports has left volleyball and rugby way behind and he is now an active regular player at the Mayfair Tennis Club.

Peter met Mary Beth Schofield, a criminal defence lawyer, through her volunteer work with the CNIB in Toronto. They were married in 1995 and have two daughters, Chloe, age 10 and Quinn age 7. The whole family enjoys winter skiing in Quebec and New York and in the hills south of Muskoka.

Peter with Mary Beth and daughters Chloe, and Quinn, during a recent vacation in England, pictured here on the famous London "Eye".