Stephanie Dickison's Blog, page 43
July 14, 2020
July 9, 2020
July 6, 2020
At The Pass with Steven Molnar
Photo credit: Rick O'Brien.
July 3, 2020
June 30, 2020
5 Canada Day Celebrations for Food Lovers
Photo courtesy of Funnel Cake Dream.
July 1st will look a little different this year (i.e. virtual fireworks, social distancing dining), but our country pride and love of local fare prevails.
Take a look:
1/ Great Canadian Pancake Breakfast
Start the day off right with fluffy pancakes that come together quickly and easily.
Download the Canada Day Buttermilk Pancake Recipe by Chef Chris Zielinski, Culinary Director and Executive Chef for all Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) properties, including three stadiums (Scotiabank Arena, BMO Field, Coca-Cola Coliseum) and five restaurants (Real Sports, e11even, Platinum Club, Scotia Club, Hot Stove).
Snap a pic and share on social using #CanadaDayTO.
2/ Food Truck’N Canada Day Festival
Food Truck’N Event Series is commemorating the holiday this year with a fleet of trucks at Exhibition Place.
Ten food trucks will be parked outside the Liberty Grand to satiate your every craving. Enjoy socially distanced eats available for takeout and delivery from: Alijandro’s Kitchen, The Arepa Republic, BeaverTails, El Bosco Catering, Buster’s Sea Cove, Funnel Cake Dream, Meltdown Cheesery, Mustache Burger, Jerk Brothers, and T Dot’s Naansense.
p.s. The expansive licensed patio delivers serious summer feels.
Barbecued ribs are a quintessential summer food, but they require a bit of work. This Canada Day, let the Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore do all the heavy lifting this holiday.
The annual celebration of all things red, white and barbecue takes place at Burlington Centre, transformed into a drive-thru this year, with all proceeds donated to community organizations and charities.
Dig into a mess o’ ribs, chicken, pulled pork, cornbread, beans, and coleslaw from four H-cues: Billy Bones BBQ from Niagara Distillery, Camp 31, Pistol Pete’s Oklahoma Smokehouse, and Uncle Sam’s BBQ. For those in search of non-smoked options, Blaze Pizza and East Side Mario’s will be on-site.
How it works: No walk-up orders allowed. Order from one vendor, pay and receive your food all while remaining safely in your car.
4/ Canada Day Street Eats Market
The all-day drive-thru food truck fest returns to Yorkdale on Wednesday, this time with more trucks and a different format.
Instead of being car-bound, walk-up and order grab-and-go items from 18 vendors: Alfies Lemonade, Born2Eat, Bubba's Butterfly Chips, Choco Churros, Eva's Original Chimneys, Food From East Express, ICEE, Johnny Rocco’s Pizza Wagon, Mary Browns, Meltwich, Rebozos Taqueria, Rick's Good Eats, Road Grill, The Smoke Stop, Tinuno, Tiny Tom Donuts, Toronto Gourmet Hotdogs & Fries, and Twisted Tomato.
Order and schedule your pick-up time ahead of time on the website, starting June 30 at 12pm.
Mariposa Cruises by Hornblower is back, just in time for the holiday.
Set sail this Wednesday with a 90-minute harbour and waterways cruise, complete with DJ on deck, and nibbles and sips available for purchase.
Departure times vary.
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To keep up to date, follow Toronto Restaurants on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter.
June 28, 2020
June 24, 2020
Toronto Restaurants Ultimate Cocktail Guide – Three Little Words
Renowned pastry chef Farzam Fallah dazzled guests with his phenomenal creations for a decade at top Toronto restaurants - Ruby Watchco and Richmond Station, to name just a few.
After a moving to Hong Kong in 2016 to head up pastry for esteemed restaurant group Black Sheep Restaurants, he returned home two years later, and switched gears completely.
Wanting to “learn how a restaurant works as a whole,” he moved to the front of house as bartender at award-winning fine dining establishments. “Prior to COVID-19, I had just started at Canoe Restaurant, and before that I was the lead bartender at Don Alfonso 1890,” he said. “Getting behind the bar was a natural move for me. I found it as a way to introduce myself to new ingredients and learn to work and balance flavours in a new way.”
Always the innovator, he hopes to one day “have a space where both dessert and cocktails are the main focus of the restaurant.” In the meantime, he’s at home whipping up exquisite cocktails and striking handmade leather accessories.
The drink he shares here is rather intricate, but rewarding once you gather the ingredients (add agar agar, Szechuan peppercorns, and rose petals to your shopping list). So don’t be intimidated by the ingredients or steps it takes to complete the heady concoction. In fact, the level of attention and time it requires makes it the ideal quarantine cocktail.
The smooth and citrusy tipple, accompanied with a slight tongue-numbing sting and floral finish, wasn’t created on the fly. In fact, the complete opposite. It turns out Fallah gives all his recipes serious thought.
“It is always difficult for me to come up with a cocktail idea without a person in mind. Without a guest’s preferences to work around, I'm left with too many directions to go in.” he says. Since being quarantined with his partner chef Samantha Medeiros (pictured above) for the past three months, “I figured she would be the perfect person to make a cocktail for, using a few ingredients I know she enjoys.” The stellar tribute to “the most important person in my life,” is also reminder that even in difficult times, there’s a lot to be grateful for.
Three Little Words
60 ml Crystal Head Vodka
30 ml Lemon Juice
20 ml Grapefruit Szechuan Marmalade
1 Egg white
Rose Petal Fluid Gel, garnish
Method
Add first four ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake hard without any ice for one minute. Add ice and shake the mixture further until the outside of the tins are frosted. Double strain the mixture into a glass of your choice and garnish with rose fluid gel.
Grapefruit Szechuan Marmalade
1 Grapefruit Zested
200g White Sugar
1L Water
10g Szechuan peppercorns
Method
Chop the zest into smaller pieces and place all ingredients into a pot and simmer at a low temp until the mixture reduces and resembles Jam. Stir the pot every once in a while to insure the bottom doesn't burn. Expect the marmalade to be bitter, sweet and spicy.
Rose Petal Fluid Gel
300g Water
60g Sugar
3g Agar Agar
20g Rose Petals
Method
Mix first three ingredients into a pot and stir on high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the rose petals and remove from heat. Let steep for three minutes and strain the mixture. Let the gel completely set in the fridge before blending. Ensure the mixture is completely smooth before storing in a squeeze bottle or pipe bag.
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For more cocktail recipes, visit Toronto Restaurants Ultimate Cocktail Guide.
To keep up to date, follow Toronto Restaurants on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter.
June 22, 2020
COVID-19: Patios permitted to reopen as Toronto moves to Stage 2
Photo courtesy of The Pilot.
June 20, 2020
At The Pass with Justin Friedlich
Currently
Sous Chef, Buca Osteria & Enoteca
Formerly
Pretty much straight out of George Brown Chef School to Buca.
Favourite dish to make right now
Gnocchi cacio e pepe.
Last cookbook purchase
The NoMad Cookbook by Daniel Humm, Will Guidara and Leo Robitschek
Have you read it/tried any recipes
I have read the entire cookbook, and one recipe I really enjoy making is the Fried Chicken with Chile Lime Yogurt. It is a crowd pleaser, so it has become a staple recipe when I’m entertaining. The dipping sauce is so refreshing.
One dish or ingredient you’d like to see gone from menus
Two come to mind: spiralized vegetables and cauliflower pizza.
And one dish or ingredient that you’re excited about right now and would like to see on more menus
Ramps. They are packed with flavour and very versatile. I personally keep pickled ramps in my home fridge, but I also love to grill ramps. I don’t think many home cooks have experimented with ramps, but they should!
Biggest influences
My wife is my number one supporter. She too, is goal-driven and I am inspired by how hard she works. She pushes me to be the best version of myself. My parents have influenced my values of working hard, and I hope to provide my children with the amazing upbringing they gave me.
In my career, my chef de cuisine Jorge Fiestas has molded and guided me (inside and outside of work) over the last fou years into the chef I am today.
In the industry, I have been influenced by Chef Grant Achatz. He pushed the envelope with food and challenges me to think more creatively about how I use and pair ingredients and how to present the food I make. I have a methodical way of thinking, but his work reminds me that, at the end of the day, cooking is an art.
If you could eat at any restaurant in the world
I love to travel and eat at different restaurants - something I hope I can get back to doing once this pandemic is over. My number is one at the moment is Noma in Copenhagen, and a close second would be Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
In the meantime, I have been keeping busy making new recipes and sharing them with everyone on Instagram: @justinfriedlich.
Last thing you ate
McDonald’s Big Mac - hands down the best burger in the world!
Three must-have ingredients always in your fridge
Garlic, chili peppers, and pickles.
Guilty pleasure
I can’t think of just one: Sour Keys. Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce from Pizza Pizza. Reese’s Mini Pieces. Sour Patch Kids. Miss Vickie’s Salt & Vinegar. Tostitos and salsa. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Is this too many?
Top 3 favourite Toronto restaurants
The Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder, Jacobs and Co. Steakhouse, and Gonoe Sushi.
Top 3 favourite Toronto bars
Go-to drink
Old Fashioned.
One habit you have in the kitchen that you should lose, but can’t seem to shake
Bad posture. My back hates me for it.
One habit you have in the kitchen that will inspire young chefs
I think unity and respect in the kitchen is key to having a smooth and successful service. I am friends with everyone at the restaurant, but when it comes to service, I quickly transition to my manager role. I try to encourage the younger chefs to navigate this transition and balance early on. I stress how important it is to gain the respect of everyone you work with, but that your work life should never impact your personal life.
Hidden talent
Solving a Rubik’s cube.
Best career advice you ever received
“Work hard, play hard.”- my Dad.
Worst career advice you ever received
To take the safe path. When I made the decision to switch from completing my business degree to go to culinary school, I got a lot of criticism. I was told that I would not be as successful, and to reconsider this choice given the job and income security. I am so glad I did not listen.
Your advice for a young cook starting out in the business
Be passionate. Be curious. Be respectful. Strive for perfection, but know that it will not come easy. Do not expect an easy road ahead of you - expect an uphill satisfying climb. You will make many mistakes along the way, but that is how you grow. There are no small roles in the kitchen, so take yours seriously.
