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

Culinary innovator and food entrepreneur Dave Cook continues to renovate the former Merv’s Variety at 874 Dundas Street. The revamped premises will be home to a restaurant, patio, craft beer pub and Fire Roasted Coffee offering. Cook is also establishing a food incubator in the 14,000-square-foot Somerville Building at 630 Dundas St. He is developing a shared space where culinary entrepreneurs can set up and grow, in much the same way vendors can get their start at his Farmer s’ & Artisans’ Market at Western Fair. In the first stage of this project Cook is creating space for small businesses incubation and food start-ups, a Fire Roasted Coffee café and roastery, and a grocery store. The grocery store is a joint initiative with ATN Access. This project was prompted by the need for a new roastery for Fire Roasted Coffee, which has outgrown its home at the Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market at Western Fair. The Somerville Building will have a large patio facing Dundas Street with fo...

BY BRYAN LAVERY A recent road trip consisting of a meandering but scenic drive through Oxford County, Punkeydoodles Corners, Kitchener-Waterloo and the towns and hamlets in and around the Grand River, would eventually bring us to Paris, Ontario, for a two day reunion with long-time friends from London, Toronto and Parkhill. We were looking for a new and top-notch culinary experience, and had been anticipating chef Jonathan Gushue`s return to the culinary scene. Our host/organizer made reservations at The Berlin in Kitchener, well in advance. The Berlin was already making a name for itself as a culinary destination. It was a given that we would be dining there. Jonathan Gushue is the Newfoundland-born chef who was instrumental in Cambridge`s Langdon Hall receiving a coveted Five Diamond Award, and also being named the 77 th  best restaurant in the world on the S. Pellegrino list several years ago. The Berlin, which opened in December 2015, is named...

        Down The Rabbit Hole at The Red Rabbit In Stratford BY BRYAN LAVERY               “A locally sourced restaurant, run by workers, owned by workers, shared by the community,” pretty much sums up the Red Rabbit’s ethos. C hef Sean Collins is a Stratford Chefs School graduate, instructor and previously head chef at Mercer Hall before its sale last year. Collins terms his cooking as “Flavour First, Ingredient Driven.” He also says, “We cook food we like to eat.” One of Stratford’s most anticipated openings last summer was  The Red Rabbit, which opened in mid-July. Stratford born Jessie Votary and Collins left  Mercer Hall  to build the community-shared restaurant on Wellington Street with partners/workers Johnathon Naiman (sous chef),  Adam Robinson  (front of house),  Tyson Everitt  (Doctor and resident soda jerk and fermenting spe...

BY BRYAN LAVERY Black George like its predecessor Kantina has been one of those independent businesses that thrive on creativity, dedication and commitment enhanced by well-honed and sophisticated culinary points of view. Both incarnations have been meccas for serious food and wine enthusiasts in Downtown London. I have enjoyed many memorable meals in both these establishments. Owner Miljan Karac built the former Kantina’s stellar reputation on innovative Balkan-inspired cuisine, prepared from scratch with farm-to-table ideals. There is no denying the deftness, innovation and instinct that both Karac and his former chef Danijel “Dacha” Markovic originally brought to the table. Over the last six years, Karac has offered some of the most strikingly realized and highly characterized cutting-edge cuisine imbued with farm-to-table ideals around.  At Kantina Markovic reinterpreted classic Balkan–inspired cooking with a fresh twist in the chic but casual...

Interview with Joe Duby from Blu Duby BY BRYAN LAVERY Blu Duby is an unpretentious restaurant in downtown London that celebrates honest food and wine, a sophisticated atmosphere, friendly service and hospitality. Owners Joe and Cheryl Duby have established a loyal clientele by creating a welcoming ambience where patrons can come and enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail at the bar, a couple of appetizers or a full dining experience, in a casual yet stylish setting. Creating a restaurant that others talk about and willingly recommend to others is paramount for restaurant success. The Duby’s are more interested in serving you a good dinner than in doing culinary gymnastics to compete for a spot in the gastronomic Olympics. Quite simply, the restaurant is aiming to feed its customers well by combining accessible artful cuisine and an eclectic wine list. Their tagline: “A remarkable experience designed to accommodate every budget.” The result: a sleek and very successful operati...

Toronto’s Culinary Hot Spots 2016 BY BRYAN LAVERY What is more exciting than planning a culinary getaway to Toronto? Here are a few recommendations and tips for navigating the vibrant and ever-changing restaurant scene and some of Toronto’s hottest culinary tickets. Park your vehicle. There is an efficient transit system that makes it easy to get around the city. More than that, Toronto is a walkable city of many communities with great restaurants, markets and culinary retailers. Located on Front Street and operating since 1803, the St. Lawrence Market is heralded as the world's best food market by National Geographic. The other must-see is Kensington Market, another noted gastronomic attraction, and colourful vestige of the area’s storied history. The market is an expansive multi-cultural culinary scene sprawling across numerous blocks to the west of downtown’s vibrant Chinatown. Both markets remain a fundamental part of Toronto’s epicurean cultu...

  Culinary Education:   Local Food Skills and the Culinary Pre-Apprenticeship Program at the London Training Centre BY BRYAN LAVERY Since 2002, David Corke has been the Executive Director of London Training Centre (LTC), an award winning, non-profit social mission driven organization, which applies market-based strategies to self-fund programs and initiatives that help people have a positive impact in the community.   Corke is a highly-respected and fervent food educator with a rock-steady commitment. He is a long-time proponent for local and sustainable food systems, from both a civic and economic development viewpoint. When it started in 1987, the LTC helped disenfranchised young people find employment in the food service industry. Since then, however, LTC has morphed into a cutting-edge and multifaceted organization providing food skills training, advocacy for careers in food service, and other services that range from computer training to banquet st...

BY BRYAN LAVERY

  BY BRYAN LAVERY Recently, my nephew Nicholas and I were guests of Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa.   For our culinary road trip we were provided with an all-new Lexus 2016 RX350 from Lexus of London. We drove to Stratford for a delicious repast of chicken and waffles at The Red Rabbit restaurant and a trip to the Slow Food Market, arriving at Langdon Hall at three in the afternoon. As we turned into Langdon Hall’s discreet driveway and drove up the winding road, we passed through wooded acreage dusted with a light snowfall and arrived at the 75-acre hilltop estate’s main house, which is the centerpiece of the estate. Built in 1898 as the lavish summer retreat of Eugene Langdon Wilks , (a great-great-grandson of John Jacob Astor), the imposing main house is inspired by Georgian and Classical traditions of the Federal Revival Style. The property, with its expansive gardens and Carolinian trails, is situated in the countrysi...