Chefs of the Kawarthas - Chef Justin Ladouceur

CHEF JUSTIN LADOUCEUR CHEFS OF THE KAWARTHAS

By Karen Irvine

Chef Justin Ladouceur

“I’ve always had a passion for fresh food. My mom cooked the freshest meals and did it on a budget. I love people being happy, enjoying their food and walking out with a smile on their face”, he says. Justin has been the Chef at One Fine Food for the past 1-1/2 years. Before that he was at Peterborough Golf and Country Club and also worked at Black Bean Steak House in Port Hope. “I’m from Huntsville and I worked at a lot of resorts and restaurants there.” Justin moved to Peterborough to attend Fleming College for a Culinary Management Degree. That’s also where he met the love of his life. He says, “The plan is to get a house and then have kids. I can’t wait to cook with a little kid around. I’m super excited.” I asked Justin where his passion for cooking came from. “My mom is Polish Ukrainian. She always produced gorgeous home cooked food and I work with those kinds of recipes as well. I love using things that my mom taught me, and I think it really comes out in the comfort food that I produce. When I left home my mom gave me a recipe book with all the recipes that she made for me.” Justin continued, “I always had a passion for food and I found a chef who was willing to work with me. You need experience to get a good job and at the same time no one wants to hire someone without experience. At One Fine Food we work with co-op Justin Ladouceur, Chef at One Fine Food, has been cooking professionally since he was 15 years old.

students and people who are fresh in the industry. We provide that path to give them a better knowledge of food.“ I asked Justin why he stays here. “I love Peterborough. The atmosphere and food scene is

amazing. The food in this region is insane. There is so much going on and so many varieties.” Justin feels that the Kawarthas should be a food destination. “You can get the best BBQ you’ve ever had in Keene or Italian, Greek, and Asian Korean Fusion food. It’s amazing. Most restaurants around here have a respect for food and use local grown. I appreciate that. It’s so nice to see restaurants working with local suppliers.” “Everything we bring in is fresh and as local as possible. You can get milk, cheese, beef, pork, chicken and vegetables within a hundred miles of here. We work a lot with grass fed beef, corn fed chicken, organic foods. We dry age our own beef for 60 to 120 days”, he says. The Chef culture here is very close knit. “I know a lot of the Chefs around here and it’s because you hear about what they are doing with food. Local Chefs recognize each other. Everybody is producing great food and anybody substantial

is doing it right. I think there’s a respect between Chefs for that.” Justin is proud of the food he serves and says, “People who we feed here at One Fine Food come back. We get returning customers all the time to the point where I see the same faces and I know what they want. Our cooking is always the same, and it’s always consistent. We make our own sauces. We serve home cooked casual fine dining with a twist on Italian food.“ Chef Justin works 5-6 days a week. “I love being here and everyone I work with is like family. The service industry is very close knit”, he says. Stop by and visit One Fine Food. You will be pleasantly surprised and will definitely be back.

Follow Justin on Instagram @thatlinecook FaceBook JustinR.Ladouceur