Rumours are flying that Lynn Crawford, executive chef at New York’s Four Seasons, may be returning to Toronto this year. TasteTO reported that the celebrated cook—who worked at Messis and Studio Café before going to the Big Apple—might be ditching her hotel gig and taking over a renamed and remade version of The Citizen on Queen East starting January 1, 2010. We contacted the restaurant’s chef-owner, Rod Bowers, to see if he could confirm or deny, but his response was evasive. “I also heard Jamie Kennedy is taking over The Rosebud,” he said. “I’m not going to agree or disagree with any of it.”
The plot thickens like so much meringue.
I would personally welcome the change. The Citizen needs a serious facelift, and an injection of celeb chef to the neighbourhood would likely do well. Let’s just hope if the rumours are true Chef Crawford keeps to the Leslieville warmth … no pretension required.
November 4, 2009 at 1:56 pm | by AlyssaI heard this from very reliable sources about a month ago. Sounds like it will be Jan 1, 2010 transfer from Rodney to Lynn.
November 4, 2009 at 10:23 pm | by EricFinally, Lynn is putting her balls on the table.(so to speak)Interesting to see what happens. If all else fails, she still has a nice retirement paycheque from the FS to pull her through old age. Good Luck!!
November 8, 2009 at 3:49 pm | by lilaLynn Crawford and her talented cooking will be a welcome relief to Mr. Bowers giant ego and his all-too-often culinary chaos.
November 10, 2009 at 8:04 am | by SimonHope she got a good deal on the place.
I thought Chef Crawford packed her whites in to become the next t.v. Culinary-Thang????
November 10, 2009 at 4:56 pm | by DavenportReally? Another tv show,awesome!! Love her! I think she is doing both then. I also believe her new girlfriend, Lora Kirk, is helping out with the new restaurant. What an amazing team that would be!!!
November 11, 2009 at 12:07 am | by julieIt’s a done deal. Lynn Crawford and Cherie Stinson (one of the designers from Restaurant Makeover who often works with Lynn on show) are taking over the Citizen in 2010, with the full relaunch set for March 2010. There’s an article on the Toronto Star website that goes into more details. Sounds like it’ll be a pretty nice change from the Citizen, which, I agree has been a little tired lately.
November 24, 2009 at 4:26 pm | by Chris