DelectablyChic!‘s T U Dawood interviews 5 of Toronto’s leading chefs at Second Harvest’s 22nd anniversary of its Toronto Taste fundraiser for the homeless. The wonderful event held at the Royal Ontario Museum pairs “cuisine and compassion” and is a great opportunity to try the delicious innovations of our nation’s top chefs. Over 1,450 guests enjoyed “bite-sized creations from 60 fine restaurants and beverages from over 30 top vintners and brewers.” More than $335,000 was raised from this event to “enable Second Harvest to rescue and deliver enough excess food to provide over 670,000 meals for those who are hungry in our city.”
We asked Mark McEwan, Brad Long, Trista Sheen, Martin Kouprie and Andrew Court what makes Toronto such a great city for food and for the inside scoop on women diners at their restaurants.
Mark McEwan, Celebrity Chef:
“I’ve been in Toronto since 1975, so I’ve seen every new trend that’s happened and Toronto is on fire now. We didn’t get the casino downtown by we will do other things.”
Martin Kouprie, Pangaea:
“Toronto is a city for food. Great diversity. In fact, our restaurant Pangaea’s name which means all land is named after Toronto because this is one city with all cultures in one place.”
“As a chef, it’s important to please women first because they bring their husbands and restaurants into the restaurant. Women also spend time figuring out what’s good and what’s not.”
Brad Long, Cafe Belong:
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years in Toronto and we have unique cuisine and solid, well experienced people in business. And we’re still growing. We’re young adults in cooking age terms, so we are not teenagers any more but not quite there. You’ll find lots of gorgeous food across different cultures, price points and experimentations in Toronto. There’s always a mash-up here! We’re also surrounded by the best farmland.”
“Women make all the decisions. The number of readers and fans of DelectablyChic! become double the patrons at our restaurant because the women bring the men. Women are more vocal and clear in explaining their preferences so I enjoy speaking to a woman who knows what she wants.”
Trista Sheen, Crush Wine Bar:
“I’m from Toronto – this is my city and I love it – and damn right, Toronto as a food city. It’s huge and not just a food city but a multicultural food city, so if you feel like dining Bangladeshi one night, you can just go for it!”
“I cater a lot for women as my cooking is lighter and more feminine so it’s easier for women to eat. Not heavy and full of bacon.”
Andrew Court, Fairmount Toronto:
“I’ve worked all over, so Toronto may be smaller but it’s a great food city because the food culture is more tight here and there are some phenomenal abilities especially from the younger Chefs.”
“Women are the most informed diners. You can’t pull the wool over their eyes and you just have one chance to make the right impression on them.”
