ETHICAL GOURMET / Remind me to Tell You About the Time I Looked in the Heart of an Artichoke

BY BRYAN LAVERY The once-celebrated Church Restaurant, previously Mackenzie Memorial Gospel Church, is now Revival House. The inspired and ambitious revitalization of the former grand dame of Stratford’s culinary scene took restaurateurs Rob and Candice Wigan just over seven months to complete. The location and the building’s architectural features and spacious interior inspired its original transformation. The property remains one of Ontario’s finest instances of the conversion of a historic property into a hospitality venue done with integrity and respect for the cultural heritage. Revival House is the Wigans’ second restaurant rejuvenation in Stratford. The couple purchased Molly Bloom’s Irish Pub in 2008 and put their own unique stamp on every aspect of that business.  The beautifully restored Revival House is decorated in a mix of wood, exposed brick, light walls, gold railings, and ecclesiastical purple accents and banquettes. Ornamenting the bright inte

The core of The Root Cellar’s creative, co-operative structure  includes, from the left, Mariam Waliji, Ellie Cook, Melissa Harland, Aaron Lawrence, Paul Harding and Jeff Pastorius. BY BRYAN LAVERY Delve into the emerging food and cultural district in London’s historic Old East Village. Stop into The Root Cellar Organic Restaurant, with its fresh, from-scratch organic offerings, artistic interior and friendly workers. Since its inception in July of 2012 as a small 20-seat café, The Root Cellar has evolved into a 70-seat destination café/pub and restaurant. On the second floor there is a new special events venue called Taproot. With a reclaimed aesthetic, carpentry by Arlen Galloway and metalwork by Wojchiech Sikorski (the craftsmen behind The Root Cellar’s artistry), the LCBO-licensed space with a 55-person capacity has been designed for special events and is also available for rent. The restaurant’s interior is artful and functional with many comfortable s

BY BRYAN LAVERY Chef Bryan Steele has trained and mentored hundreds of professional chefs. In his capacity as senior cookery instructor at the Stratford Chefs School, the originality and diversity of culinary undertakings that span his three-decade oeuvre have helped lay the underpinning for the culinary revolution that we see both locally and nationally. In what began in 1977 as a “self-directed sabbatical from work,” Eleanor Kane and Marion Isherwood opened The Old Prune (then a tea room) in Stratford, which led to successful careers as restaurateurs. With James Morris of Rundles Restaurant, which opened the same year, Kane later co-founded the Stratford Chefs School. The Old Prune, under the direction of Isherwood and Kane, cemented its reputation with Sue Anderson in the kitchen. In 1988, The New York Times stated, “The Old Prune serves lunch, dinner and after-theater suppers in three Edwardian dining rooms and on a patio. The creamy pastas and deft salad pl

BY BRYAN LAVERY The Ontario Liberal government’s recent announcement of a plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour — a 32% hike — in the next 18 months has created grave concerns for many small business owners, particularly in the labour-intensive hospitality industry. A government-commissioned report made 173 recommendations aimed at creating better workplaces with decent working conditions. But the average Ontario restaurant operator exists on a pre-tax profit margin of 3.4% of sales, which according to Statscan is the lowest in Canada. The restaurant business is a challenging way of life, and even the most dedicated and talented professionals are often ill-equipped to withstand dramatic turns in the economy. It takes more than tenacious determination and open-minded optimism to succeed in this field, one known for its high turnover and burn-out rate. The new laws will affect how restaurants are staffed and shifts are scheduled. Some pundits suggest the wage hike wil

Photographer Steve Grimes Classical Food with a Modern Twist: Spruce on Wellington BY BRYAN LAVERY Spruce on Wellington opened in January 2017 in a small house. Its minimalist design has charm and is compact with 32 seats in the dining room and 22 on a nicely appointed seasonal patio. The premises were formerly those of Willie’s Café, a landmark catering company and lunch hot-spot for over three decades. (Incidentally, a new iteration, Willie’s Catering and Takeout recently opened at the London Food Incubator in Old East Village.) The intimacy of the operation allows executive chef/owner Thomas Waite and chef de cuisine Evan Futcher (formerly of The Springs and Black Trumpet) to not only prepare meals à la minute, but be hands-on in the dining room to converse with the diners. There is a good-hearted bravado about Waite that is disarming. During a lengthy conversation we talked operational challenges, acoustics, social media and chef colleagues who share their