Rob Rossi is leaving Mercatto. Is this a sign of how he did on Top Chef Canada? (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)
News broke on Twitter this morning that Top Chef Canada finalist Rob Rossi will be leaving the Mercatto group of restaurants. For the past two years, the 27-year-old Rossi has been the executive chef at the Italian chain, overseeing two locations and opening up two more. Although there are three other contestants still vying for the position of Canada’s Top Chef (and the $100,000 prize), we have a hunch that Connie DeSousa may have made one too many sausage dishes to snatch the win, while Dale MacKay’s, um, assertiveness, may have gotten him into some hot water. Dustin Gallagher’s adorableness factor, meanwhile, can only go so far. “I am very excited to announce that I am moving on to new and exciting ventures,” wrote Rossi in an email. We can’t wait to find out more about what those ventures might be (and how they might be funded).
Who…..cares?
June 24, 2011 at 11:16 am | by mattagascarI’m willing to guess that a considerable amount of Toronto Life’s readers ‘care’ about this article, or are at least interested. Restaurants have always been a focus of Toronto Life – both in print and online (take a look at the navagation bar; it’s the first section next to the logo). And the articles devoted to Top Chef Canada receive some of the most comments online. Mattagascar, your personal lack of interest doesn’t make this entry unimportant; it may, however, make it a great entry for you to decline commenting on.
June 24, 2011 at 11:51 am | by JohnGet a life John…seriously.
June 24, 2011 at 12:33 pm | by mattagascarummmmm….. I care. And I agree with John 100%.
June 24, 2011 at 2:43 pm | by TOgirlWell, I’m sure he’ll be cooking up some sloppy joes or grilled cheese sandwiches somewhere soon. His 15 minutes are already up.
June 24, 2011 at 3:07 pm | by mattagascarWhere is the Love?
June 24, 2011 at 4:10 pm | by StephenI agree who cares!
June 24, 2011 at 4:14 pm | by fredMERCATTO sucks, it craps italian food. 4 restaurants and there all shitty..
I know who will care:
All his fans (he has tons)
All the people who love Mercatto (they have 4 restaurants for a reason)
All his friends & family
And all the people who like great food (not just anyone can make it this far into a culinary competition without talent)
Stop being so negative towards someone you don’t even know… Or do u know him? It sounds to me like someone has a chip on their shoulder!
June 24, 2011 at 4:26 pm | by Rob Rossi FanI know who will care:
All his fans (he has tons)
All the people who love Mercatto (they have 4 restaurants for a reason)
All his friends & family
And all the people who like great food (not just anyone can make it this far into a culinary competition without talent)
Stop being so negative towards someone you don’t even know… Or do u know him? It sounds to me like someone has a chip on their shoulder!
June 24, 2011 at 4:45 pm | by Rob Rossi FanWell…they must be awesome if they have 4 locations. Nice logic. McDonalds has thousands of locations. I guess they must be top notch. Also, if his friends and family have to log on to Toronto Life to see what he’s up to that’s just sad. I don’t know him personally, but from what I’ve seen on TV and judging from his menus he’s nothing more than a foul mouthed, no talent ponce.
June 24, 2011 at 5:03 pm | by mattagascarWow. Shocked to see the rude posts above. Would love to try the cuisine of Fred and mattagascar. Apparently they are awesome.
June 24, 2011 at 5:05 pm | by LindsayI care!!! So excited, I’m getting the feeling rob won top chef canada!!! Woohooo!! He deserves it, such a talented youngchef with a great personality!!! Routing for him all the way to the finish!!!! Go rob go!!!
June 24, 2011 at 5:34 pm | by shannonI log onto Toronto Life to read about local restaurants and what’s going on because I love eating and supporting Toronto restaurants, which makes this article extremely relevant to me.
I love eating at Mercatto mostly because I found the menu a fresh new twist on Italian traditions. I found Rob’s contribution to the restaurant a great improvement and am eager to see where he ends up next because I’ll be sure to follow with friends.
June 24, 2011 at 8:12 pm | by Rob Rossi FanWOW,…a totaly mediocre chef quitting his job~!thats top new now~!~TORONTO LIFE HAS RAN OUT OF STORIES TO WRITE SO NOW TORONTO LIFE IS TRYING TO FEED US THIS BULLS*** AS TOP NEWS~!ROSSI IS IRRELEVANT AND MERCATTO IS A SORRY EXCUSE FOR ITALIAN FOOD,..SHAME ON YOU TORONTO LIFE FOR PUTTING THIS CLOWN ON HERE,,….NOBODY CARES,….ROSSI IS A DISHWASHER PROMOTED TO A COOK WHO STEALS ALL FOOD CONCEPTS FROM THE INTERNET~!BY THE WAY THE DUDE DOES NOT EVEN SPEAK ITALIAN~!GO FIGURE, OR EVER BEEN TO EUROPE FOR THAT MATTER ,..
June 24, 2011 at 11:25 pm | by ROB ROSSI CANT COOKhello….you are all feeding the
June 24, 2011 at 11:56 pm | by fred s.