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Former Origin chef Steve Gonzalez is opening a new place for Latin American street food on King West

(Image: Mishki Vaccaro)

Best known as the beloved class clown on season one of Top Chef Canada, Steve Gonzales, a former chef de cuisine at Claudio Aprile’s Origin, is starting his own restaurant in the 3000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Cheval nightclub. The Latin American spot is named Valdez and seats 120-140, plus a lounge area and rooftop patio. Gonzales spent the last two years doing pop ups and events (and winning the Guacamole Smackdown at the Drake Hotel), and Valdez is his first foray as a chef and restaurant owner. It’s scheduled to open at the end of the month. [The Grid]

The Dish

Food Porn

April 16, 2013 | 4:40 pm

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Slideshow: Claudio Aprile hosts a farewell dinner for Colborne Lane with six of his top alumni

Claudio Aprile closed Colborne Lane in February with little notice in order to focus on his growing stable of Origin restaurants. Last night, at Origin Liberty Village, Aprile enlisted six of the top chefs who’ve passed through Colborne’s kitchen—Matt Blondin (Momofuku Daishō), Steve Gonzalez (Top Chef Canada), David Haman (Woodlot), Ben Heaton (The Grove), Jonathan Poon (Chantecler) and Andrew Wilson (Colborne Lane’s final chef de Cuisine)—to join him for a tribute to the pioneering modernist restaurant. Each chef created one hors d’oeuvre and one course, revealing the ways they’ve diverged since their time at Colborne but also betraying debts to Aprile’s style—right down to his idiosyncratic way of describing dishes on the menu.

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Food Events

March 27, 2013 | 2:36 pm

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Claudio Aprile is convening Colborne Lane’s top alumni for one final dinner

Colborne Lane’s kitchen circa 2009 (Image: Evan Goldenberg)

Claudio Aprile, who announced the closure of Colborne Lane last month, is hosting a valedictory celebration for the molecularly inclined restaurant. The Reunion Dinner, set for April 15 at Aprile’s Origin Liberty, will bring together some of the biggest chefs to pass through the restaurant’s kitchens, including Ben Heaton (The Grove), Matt Blondin (Momofuku Daishō), Jonathan Poon (Chantecler), David Haman (Woodlot), Steve Gonzalez (the upcoming Bushwick), Aprile himself and the final chef de cuisine at Colborne, Andrew Wilson. The eight-course tasting menu includes one snack and one dish from each of the participating chefs, and costs $119 per person, plus tax, tip, and drinks. For reservations, call Origin Liberty at 416-649-4567 or email events@orderfire.com

The Dish

Food Events

March 6, 2013 | 5:11 pm

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Foreign Dumplings brings six kinds of dumpling to the Beer Academy next week

Hot on the heels of last weekend’s Slurp Noodlefest comes another pop-up event whose starting point is a popular Asian dish. Foreign Dumplings is hosted by Nick Liu (of still-not-open GwaiLo), and takes place at the Beer Academy on March 11. Six chefs will each present their take on the humble dumpling, ranging from Top Chef Canada contestant Steve Gonzalez’s Latin version (a fried pork and potato empanada) to Zane Caplansky’s Eastern European creation, featuring, naturally, smoked meat. Tickets for the six-course meal are $58, and include one sample glass of beer. Find out more »

The Dish

Food Events

November 21, 2012 | 3:37 pm

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GALLERY: The Dinner Party, a celebration of women in the kitchen from some of Toronto’s top female chefs

(Image: Renée Suen)

Restaurant kitchens can be macho, male-dominated places. So, on Monday night, 60 guests gathered at The Great Hall to celebrate the unsung talents of the women in Toronto’s kitchens at The Dinner Party, a special event organized by Alexandra Feswick of the soon-to-open Samuel J. Moore. Feswick enlisted some of the city’s top female talent to create a collaborative tasting menu dedicated to the women who inspired them. The evening was a takeoff on Judy Chicago’s famous 1979 installation of the same name, which honoured famous female historical figures with a dinner of dishes and place settings celebrating their accomplishments. “I’ve been working in the industry for nearly a decade and have yet to find many people who don’t walk into a kitchen I’m running and ask me where the chef is,” Feswick tells us. “I’ve decided that this needs to change.”

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Openings

July 11, 2012 | 3:39 pm

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Introducing: Hidden Kitchen, a dinner series brought to you by a ghost chef, an ex-chef, a guest chef and a craft brewery

Trying to keep up with the many pop-up food events in Toronto is a challenge, what with their unpredictable locations and irregular timing. And even if the location remains a mystery until the day of the event, Hidden Kitchen, a new collaboration between chef Matt Kantor (Secret Pickle, Ghost Chef), Swallow’s Ivy Knight (a former chef) and Muskoka Brewery, is at least blessed with a predictable schedule. The series takes places on the last Thursday of each month at non-traditional (yet TTC accessible) venues, and has space for 40 diners. It always starts at 7 p.m. and, unsurprisingly, is reliably stocked with a bounty of beer.

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The Dish

Openings

June 11, 2012 | 5:30 pm

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The Bellevue’s Monday night dinner series returns with a new name, @TheBellevue

Steve Gonzalez having a little fun at the Bellevue’s pass (Image: Renée Suen)

At The Bellevue in Kensington Market, the warmer weather signals the return of Monday dinners, a series of biweekly, under-the-radar meals launched last summer by the (then) relatively unknown team of Jonathan Poon and Jacob Wharton-Shukster, who went on to open Parkdale’s Chantecler. At these nights, Poon would collaborate with a number of Toronto-based guest chefs—like Brandon Olsen (The Black Hoof) and Dustin Gallagher (ex-Grace)—while Wharton-Shukster managed the front-of-house duties. This summer, Chris Dardarian, The Bellevue’s co-owner, will be bringing in various kitchen-less Toronto chefs and offering them the chance to cook for the public in a series he’s calling @TheBellevue.

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Food Events

April 30, 2012 | 3:51 pm

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Gallery: the highly-anticipated collaboration between Jason Carter and Daniel Burns, two of Canada’s top out-of-work chefs

Steve Gonzalez and Daniel Hadida, on the ends, joined chefs Daniel Burns and Jason Carter in the kitchen (Image: Renée Suen)

This weekend, 90 diners gathered over three nights at Mitzi’s on College for one of this year’s most highly anticipated dinners: a collaboration between chefs Daniel Burns (Momofuku’s food lab, Noma, The Fat Duck and St. John) and Jason Carter (Centro, Lee), both currently between jobs. Those fortunate enough to snag a seat were treated to a $100 five-course menu with wine pairings, along with some snacks to start things off.

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The Dish

Food TV

February 6, 2012 | 1:22 pm

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Top Chef Canada season two contestants announced; here are your six Toronto chefs

(Images: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

UPDATE: Check out our recap of episode 1 »

With the sophomore season of Top Chef Canada set to premiere on March 12, Food Network Canada has finally introduced the 16 chefs hoping to cook their way to $100,000 (and, lest we forget, a GE Monogram kitchen). The group (which, perhaps responding to feedback about season one, is a tad more multicultural) once again contains six Torontonians, among them Marben’s Carl Heinrich and Ruby Watchco’s Ryan Gallagher. Tasting the food will be new host Lisa Ray, alongside head judge Mark McEwan and resident judge Shereen Arazm and a spate of guests that includes culinary personalities (Top Chef Masters winner Marcus Samuelsson) and sundry celebrities (handyman Mike Holmes, actor Alan Thicke, Kenny vs. Spenny’s Spencer Rice). We round up the Toronto contestants, starting with Victor’s David Chrystian »

The Dish

Deathwatch

January 18, 2012 | 4:58 pm

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Steve Gonzalez to fill in at Niagara Street Café as owner Anton Potvin readies it for sale

Steve Gonzalez and Nick Liu at the What’s on the Table fundraiser for the Stop (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Last week we reported that Nick Liu is leaving Niagara Street Café to open his own place, an Asian brasserie. As it turns out, he’s not gone quite yet—he’ll be manning the stoves until January 29, at which point he makes way for Top Chef Canada contestant Steve Gonzalez, who’s filled in for Liu at the café on several occasions in the past. But the bigger news is that after owning the quiet restaurant off the main King Street strip for almost eight years, Anton Potvin is casting about for buyers.

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Restaurants

January 6, 2012 | 1:52 pm

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La Carnita’s Andrew Richmond shopping for permanent digs

(Image: Renée Suen)

After drawing monster crowds for his La Carnita pop-ups, it seems design-director-cum-roving-taco-man Andrew Richmond is scouting King West for a space that could accommodate a 50-seat La Carnita restaurant. Richmond told the Toronto Star’s Corey Mintz that if he can get the place up and running by spring, he would leave his current post at OneMethod Digital and Design (though a King Street location would mean his advertising buddies could still stop by). Sounds like Richmond’s got a busy few months ahead; with no formal training in the kitchen, he’s been getting some help from chefs like Guy Rawlings and Steve Gonzalez. He’s also hoping to complete a stagiaire program with Matt Blondin at Acadia to get himself up to speed. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »

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People

November 4, 2011 | 3:52 pm

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GALLERY: At this year’s What’s on the Table benefit, Toronto’s top chefs came out to support The Stop

(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

On Wednesday, 550 Toronto foodies and philanthropists gathered in the Wychwood Barns for What’s on the Table, the annual fundraiser for The Stop Community Food Centre. The sold-out event featured 35 food and drink stations representing a staggering array of top Toronto restaurants, including Canoe, Scaramouche, Niagara Street Café, Parts and Labour, Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, C5, Ruby Watchco, Noce, Cowbell, George and the Gabardine, with desserts from Frangipane, Nadège and Soma, and drinks from Steam Whistle, Henry of Pelham, Frodpond Farm and Château des Charmes, among many others, not to mention two contestants from season one of Top Chef Canada.

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The Dish

Restaurants

August 8, 2011 | 12:00 pm

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Top Chef Canada’s Andrea Nicholson announces she’s leaving her post at Great Cooks on Eight

Nicholson at this year’s Toronto Taste (Image: Renée Suen)

First it was Rob Rossi. Then Steve Gonzalez. Now a third Toronto Top Chef Canada contestant has announced they’re leaving their current gig to follow their culinary muse. This morning, Andrea Nicholson of Great Cooks on Eight announced via Twitter that this would be her last week at the restaurant. Nicholson plans to travel, focus on her company, Killer Condiments, and then pursue her “long-awaited dream” (mentioned back in episode 10) of opening her own restaurant. We’ll be watching closely.

The Dish

Restaurants

August 4, 2011 | 12:17 pm

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Top Chef Canada favourite Steve Gonzalez leaves Origin to strike out on his own

(Image: Mishki Vaccaro)

Steve Gonzalez, everyone’s favourite class clown from season one of Top Chef Canada, has left his post at last year’s best new restaurant Origin, where he was the chef de cuisine. Gonzalez told The Dish that it was “time for me to do my own thing,” but that he left the restaurant last week with the blessing of chef and owner Claudio Aprile, who’s also giving him advice on his next venture. As for the details of that new venture, Gonzalez is keeping tight-lipped, although fans of Top Chef Canada know what to expect: nuevo Latino cuisine delivered with a swagger. He’s also considering hopping on Toronto’s recent food truck trend. Gonzalez is the second Toronto Top Chef Canada contestant to leave his perch, following Rob Rossi, who left Mercatto in June to open his own place. We’ll be watching to see how the show’s freshman class fares after graduation.

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People

June 16, 2011 | 3:58 pm

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Toronto Taste 2011: We get the latest news from top chefs and restaurateurs from Woodlot, Buca, Nota Bene, O&B and many more

Rob Gentile (Buca), David Lee (Nota Bene), Andrea Nicholson (Great Cooks on Eight), Paul Boehmer (Böhmer), Teo Paul (Union)

Two thousand of Toronto’s food lovers and makers gathered at the ROM on Sunday for the 21st edition of Toronto Taste. The annual fundraiser—which raises money for Second Harvest—saw more than 60 restaurants and 30 beverage purveyors offering their best to the guests. Burgers and tacos might have been the plats du jour, but new restaurant openings seemed to be the hottest item on the plates of many chefs and restaurateurs we spoke to. Here’s what we heard from Buca’s Rob Gentile, Woodlot’s David Haman, Scarpetta’s Scott Conant, Splendido’s Victor Barry, Top Chef Canada contestants Dustin Gallagher and Andrea Nicholson and many more. Words and images by Renée Suen

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