Life Beyond the Kitchen – Chefs Build Their Brands with Chef Network Inc.

The food scene in Toronto is abuzz this week with distress over UK chef Marco Pierre White’s decision to become the face of Knorr bouillon cubes. Disregarding the fact that White has been the face of Knorr in the UK for a few years, food writers and chefs seem genuinely distressed that White has “sold out” for the corporate big bucks.

Known as one of the best chefs in the world, White’s decision to become the face of Knorr (and his insistence that all of his restaurants use the product in place of real stock) is confusing, amusing, and to his fans, especially other chefs, understandably upsetting.

The world may never know White’s real reasons for taking the endorsement, but in an era when even successful chefs don’t make a lot of money from cooking, branding yourself has taken on a much greater importance, especially for chefs coming to a point in their careers when it’s no longer enjoyable to work the line every night.

Chefs everywhere are in big demand – for cookbooks, personal appearances, television shows, and yes, endorsement deals. But it’s not as easy as one might think to hook up with the big players, and it’s not always a good idea for chefs to try and broker deals on their own.

That’s where Carmen Correia and Chef Network Inc. (CNI) come into play.

Continue reading “Life Beyond the Kitchen – Chefs Build Their Brands with Chef Network Inc.”

Elegant Whimsy – Food and Fun at Trevor Kitchen bar

Trevor Kitchen and Bar
38 Wellington Street East
416-941-9410

The entrance way to Trevor Kitchen and Bar reminds me of a Goth club. There’s a shiny red motorcycle situated just inside the door and dark stairs lead down into a candlelit room. Seriously, I’m expecting to hear some Bauhaus as I descend into what food critics referred to as a “subterranean grotto” when the space first opened in late 2006.

Despite the white walls, both the long bar area and the adjacent dining room are dim, with candles and ceiling pot lights creating ambient shadows across the 150-year-old stone walls. It’s a potentially intimidating space, but prospective diners shouldn’t be scared of the dark, because the team in the kitchen have prepared a seasonal bistro menu that is akin to your Mom wrapping you in a big hug and then serving you Sunday dinner. If your Mom was fancy and cooked foie gras.

Continue reading “Elegant Whimsy – Food and Fun at Trevor Kitchen bar”

Inspired By Italy, Made in Toronto

seasonsnumbercheese

As we revel in the seasonal autumn produce of Ontario, it’s easy to forget that it’s harvest time in other parts of the world as well.In Italy, they’re enjoying tomatoes, root vegetables and cabbage just as we are, but there’s also the addition of fragrant truffles, plump buffala mozzarella, chestnuts, seasonal fish and game meats on the plate.

To celebrate the delights of the autumn season, the Italian Trade Commission and twenty-one Italian restaurants in the Toronto area are putting together special tasting menus that highlight the very best of fall in Italy as part of the Autunno Italian Seasons Festival.

From November 7th to 22nd, participating restaurants will be offering up special dishes and selections from their own menus that exemplify the best of Italian regional cooking. We had the opportunity to visit two of the participating restaurants recently for a preview of their festival menus.

Continue reading “Inspired By Italy, Made in Toronto”