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HOT STUFF
Four of Toronto’s top chefs dish on the ingredients, markets and neighbourhood eateries that continue to fuel their fire. By James Chatto
amazing breadth of quality that we take for granted. We should be screaming about these places.
— What about the ingredients that are available? I love the pickerel and whitefish we get from the Great Lakes. Awesome quality! I use the pickerel on steamed buns at Bannock with cucumber-apple salad and a spoonful of local caviar. I’ve been so influenced by the great Asian restaurants in this city.
whO Anthony Walsh years in the business 22 restaurantS Canoe and Bannock style of food Canadian comfort food, from Toronto’s diverse communities to B.C. tuna teriyaki — If you opened a Bannock in Calgary or Vancouver would the menu be the same? No. People in different cities have different comfort foods. My comfort food is pork bone soup from Owl of Minerva, a Korean restaurant that’s open 24 hours a day, close to where I live. But it might just as easily be congee from one of those places up in Markham, or something from Little India. Toronto has this 34 | www.SeeTorontoNow.com
— what’s your favourite place for a quick bite? Foxley is one. The owner-chef Tom Thai is one of the most talented cooks out there. — What’s the city’s best-kept secret? The porchetta at Vicentina, the Italian butcher’s shop up in Woodbridge. It’s done old-school with black pepper, chilies, salt and rosemary, the pork wrapped in the skin and roasted really slow. Unbelievable.