THE BRUCE in Stratford

-

Stratford, Ontario

 

THE BRUCE

The restaurant and lounge are now open at The Bruce, with the hotel opening May 24th 2014. The Restaurant is open for dinner Thursday through Saturday at 5:00 pm with the last reservation at 9:00 pm; The Lounge is open late night.

Owner Jennifer Birmingham wooed local food luminaries and owners of Bijou, Aaron Linley and Bronwyn Linley, to join her at The Bruce. Until recently, Bijou had been the gold standard for inspired, locally-sourced food in Stratford. Bijou  was born in Stratford in March 2001.

 "Birmingham sent them ’round the world and they’ve come back with the menu for The Bruce." The Bruce Hotel is actually named after Jennifer`s father.


Bronwyn and Aaron Linley, met at the Stratford Chefs School, where they both graduated in 1996. Chef Aaron Linley began his culinary career at Rundles, attaining the position of sous-chef. During his tenure at Rundles, he also became an instructor with the Stratford Chefs School. Aaron went on to work at Scaramouche in Toronto, became the sous-chef at Maple Bistro in Halifax, and the head chef at Le Nouveau Parigo in Toronto. Bronwyn worked for two seasons at Pan Chancho bakery in Kingston, was Pastry Chef at Maple Bistro in Halifax, and first Pastry Chef at Biff’s in Toronto.
 

Executive Chef Aaron Linley describes his menu as “Nouveau Ontario” – imaginative, ambitious, eclectic cuisine marrying global influence, modern French technique and the very best of Ontario. Bronwyn Linley is the Food and Beverage Manager.
 
Jennifer Birmingham sits on the board of the Stratford Festival, Stratford Summer Music, is in the cabinet of the Transplant Campaign at Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, and is a front line volunteer for Perth County Victim Services.  In her free time, Jennifer can be found out and about with her trusty sidekick Eddie (the Golden Doodle) or scoping out luxury hotels in the name of research.  thebruce.ca
 
 
Quote from Stratfood: ``
Vintage hotel fixtures, white on white on light on light. Stratford certainly does not having anything like this. It’s about as glam as you can get in Ontario while still courting a big enough customer base who will feel variously comfortable in the surroundings.``
 








 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Ann McColl's Kitchen Shop

-
Image
Ann McColl Lindsay and David Lindsay: A Brief History of a Road Less Traveled Hospitality and the culinary arts have always gone hand in hand. In London, Ontario, we have a history of exceptional restaurateurs, chefs and culinary retailers. Among the latter are Ann McColl Lindsay and David Lindsay, the former proprietors of the legendary Ann McColl’s Kitchen Shop, one of Canada’s finest cookware shops. Ann and David met, married and taught school in Windsor, Ontario from 1961 to 1968. They resigned their positions, sold their red brick bungalow, and embarked on a year-long food pilgrimage across Europe while camping in a Volkswagen van. Travelling in the van with a gas burner allowed them to truly enjoy the local terroir. The first six months of their trip , which ended at the French border, is described in Ann’s memoir Hungry Hearts – A Food Odyssey across Britain and Spain . The second volume, Hearts Forever Young, includes their travels in France, Italy, Austria
Read more

Homage to Toronto's Yorkville Landmarks the Coffee Mill and Le Trou Normand

-
Image
Homage to Toronto's Yorkville Landmarks the Coffee Mill  and  Le Trou Normand U p until just a few months ago, Le Trou Normand remained the oldest operating fine dining restaurant in Yorkville. Coincidentally, The Coffee Mill a venerated European-style cafe which recently celebrated 51 years in business closed earlier this month. Martha von Heczey’s Coffee Mill opened in May, 1963, in the now-demolished Lothian Mews, on Bloor Street. In 1973 , von Herczey  moved two blocks north to a mini-mall with Yorkville Avenue on one side, Cumberland Street on the other. There was a secluded terrace with an expandable awning in the event of rain. The Coffee Mill was practically right across the street from Le Trou Normand and it was one of my Yorkville haunts for over 30 years. Ms. von Heczey’s late husband Laci, a well-known wrestling champion, liked to wander around Yorkville with a tame cheetah on a leash.    Interestingly, in 1984, von Herczey even
Read more

Remembering Chef & Baker Extraordinaire Lindsay Todd Reid

-
Image
I was saddened to hear Lindsay Reid had passed away after a brief illness. Lindsay's motto was to “share really good baking,” made from scratch in small batches, using high quality ingredients. That required patience and precision – something Lindsay appeared to have in quantity. Lindsay incorporated only pure natural ingredients, unbleached organic flour, local eggs, honey and butter in his baking in the bake kitchen in the cellar of his Sebringville home. On offer were hand-made croissants, squares, tarts, muffins and seasonal specialties. Lindsay asked me not to refer to his baking as iconic – so instead I referred to his delicious baking as being emblematic. His baking represented everything good and comforting . The first time I tasted his baking was at the Stratford Slow Food Market. I was hooked. I was very happy when he decided to join us as a vendor at the Western Fair Farmers’ Market, after receiving plenty of encouragement from Alan Mailloux of Downie Stree
Read more