(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]
Hot on the heels of last weekend’s 
BruDa, the Little Italy restaurant that 
After winning season two of Top Chef Canada, Carl Heinrich became a household name. His new Financial District restaurant, Richmond Station, focuses on the farm-to-table cooking that made him a champ. As a kid, Heinrich helped out with the Christmas turkey and often heard his mom lament that it’s almost impossible to cook both the breast and the leg meat perfectly at the same time. He played with his own recipe until he came up with a simple solution: deconstruct the bird and stuff the legs. 
