When the Student Becomes the Teacher

Every December, my department welcomes the holidays with a celebratory team dinner. This year, we chose The Chef's House: it is a fully operational restaurant staffed by the talented students from George Brown College and the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts. None of us had been to the restaurant before, but I could attest to the quality of their education, having taken two courses and a workshop at the school.

We were not disappointed.

The venue had very clean, modern decor, comparable to some of the trendiest restaurants in the downtown core. The open-concept kitchen is the focal point, with cameras capturing all the activity for customers who can watch on flat-screen TVs installed throughout the dining area.

Diners have a choice of a 3-course meal ($39) or a 4-course meal ($45), i.e. you could choose any 3 or 4 dishes from the menu. I opted for the 3-course dinner. We were first served an amuse bouche palate cleanser: a tiny mix of tomato, pine nuts, greens plated with a streak of balsamic vinegar reduction.

For my starter, I picked the soup of the day: cream of mushroom soup. Having enjoyed Lynn's soulful soup last week made me crave more of this good thing. The trouble with cream of mushroom soup -- when it doesn't come from a can -- is its unappealing color. It reminds me of the shade of sludge that pools by the side of a curb when winter's frost starts to melt in March. However, the student chefs presented it beautifully, garnished with a dollop of what I believe was crème fraîche and emerald green herbed oils drizzled for color. The wide-rimmed bowl provided a broad, clean canvas for all these elements.

For my main, I ordered a gnudi dish without really knowing what it was, other than it sounded a lot like gnocchi. Turns out, I wasn't far from the mark: gnudi means "nude" in Italian, a reference to the fact that it is essentially the filling for stuffed pasta such as ravioli but without the pasta. It is similar to gnocchi except the potato is replaced by ricotta.

My gnudi was mixed with spinach, served on a bed of arugula and wild mushrooms. The mushrooms had been cooked or marinated in a salty/savory sauce. When eaten with the creamy gnudi and the grated parmesan, the taste sensation made me exclaim, "OMG this is good" (and I'm an atheist). I'm usually a salt hog, but this was so perfectly seasoned that I didn't touch the salt shaker even once.

Choosing the dessert was a no-brainer: maple pecan tart. I am fond of any combination of ice cream, maple syrup and nuts. They were made for each other. The tart arrived before me still warm, with the freshly made ice cream gently oozing from the heat of the pastry. To be honest, my memory of eating the dessert is very hazy because it went by so fast. I was mocked for stopping to take a photo in mid-bite, but I needed a record of the experience before inhaling it.

I can't imagine a better training ground for tomorrow's star chefs. The Chef's House emphasizes locally grown produce, which teaches socially responsible practices while supporting the local economy. The students gain invaluable experience that can't be simulated in a classroom. For the public, dining in a place like that brings them closer to the process of food preparation. I think this heightens one's appreciation for what we eat and the talent of those who serve it to us. These young cooks merit our full support.