Grant van Gameren’s next move: Crown Cooks, a new restaurant on College

Grant van Gameren’s next move: Crown Cooks, a new restaurant on College

Grant van Gameren at the Black Hoof, the Dundas West charcuterie bar he co-founded (Image: Renée Suen from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)

So this is what Grant van Gameren has been up to. Ever since the The Black Hoof chef and co-founder left that influential Dundas West charcuterie bar to take the reins at Enoteca Sociale, his many fans have been waiting for news of his next move. Now, The Grid is reporting that van Gameren will be opening up a new College Street restaurant called Crown Cooks in the former home of Grappa, a short 10-minute stroll from the Hoof. The new 70-ish-seat spot will be influenced by his recent culinary grand tour of Europe (apparently a certain Barcelona absinthe bar inspired some of the design), and will serve tapas-style sharing plates of offal, veggies and Crown Salumi, his new cured meat line. It’ll also feature a late-night menu prepped daily by the chefs, but put together  by the bartenders (the working day of a cook already being quite long enough, thank you). Unlike the Hoof, Crown Cooks will be accepting reservations. Apparently van Gameren’s learned a thing or two from Enoteca. [The Grid]