La Vecchia Ristorante
2405A Yonge Street
416-489-0630

From childhood Aurora dreamed of coming to North America. By the time she graduated from high school she had turned that dream into a reality and had moved to the United States. However, she soon found herself working long hours in various fast food restaurants and reminiscing about her home in Italy. Too stubborn to admit she had made a mistake she persevered and relocated to Toronto in 1992 where she worked in a variety of Italian restaurants and finally landed a permanent position in La Vecchia Ristorante ten years ago.

Her work, dedication, and skill in the kitchen were quickly noticed by the owners who continued to promote her until finally she became head chef. The restaurant has flourished under her influence and her seafood is receiving accolades from Toronto’s food connoisseurs. I made an appointment to meet with her in La Vecchia Ristorante between peak hours to ask her a few simple questions.

Shannon Christy: What is one of your biggest problems with serving fish in Toronto?

Aurora Stranges: Bones. Europeans have entirely different perceptions than North Americans. In Europe you are expected to present a whole fish complete with bones to the table. In North America people will send it back and ask you to cut off the head and take off the bones. They don’t want a fish that is looking at them.

SC: What have you enjoyed about working in North America?

AS: Ten years ago a chef was seen as someone in the back of the kitchen who simply threw in the ingredients of a recipe. Now people have been exposed to the Food Network and celebrity chefs and they look at the chef as an artisan that creates food. This is a major improvement.

SC: How do you choose your ingredients?

AS: It depends. I spend most my time in the kitchen so I need to trust my distributors. When I work with a new distributor, I need to break them in and train them. If, for instance a new distributor sends me mushrooms I will pick them up, I will put my nose so close that it will touch them, and I will inhale to see if it has the smell of earth or preservatives. I will touch it, I will squeeze it, and I will do the things my mamma taught me to do.

It is the same with the fish. The fish arrives daily. I have been working with these guys for ten years and by now, they know how I define quality. Some of them are my friends but this is business and they know if they try to give me something I wouldn’t eat myself, back it goes, friends or not.

SC: What are the things you look for?

AS: Simplicity. I do not want a pre-packed fish, or a pre-marinated fish, I don’t want a lot of other ingredients. When I say I want a fish, I only want a fish. I get people all the time who are trying to sell me something in a bag with a list of ingredients longer than our wine list, and I tell them I don’t want it. What I want is a simple fish.

SC: Has your mom ever come to your restaurant?

AS: No. Mamma can’t understand why I came all this way to “flip pans” when I could “flip pans” at home. Don’t get me wrong she is glad that I have found something I enjoy, but she just wishes I would enjoy it a little closer to her.

SC: Has it been difficult as a woman in a predominately male environment?

AS: Yes and No. Sometimes in the kitchen, people will get fresh, or they will think “She’s just a woman and doesn’t know what she is talking about,” but I put them in their place and if I have to put them in their place a second time, they are looking for a new job. I don’t have a problem with the owners, and now the staff listens to exactly what I say. It is hard because you know when I am away from the kitchen I can be social and kind but when I am in the back, I need to be a tyrant.

SC: What are your plans for the future?

AS: I want to go home and spend time with my family, but I know as soon as I get there I will want to come back to Toronto. I don’t really know what is in store.

It was becoming busy and Aurora needed to return to the kitchen. I could here patrons at the surrounding tables commenting on the tasty sauces, the attention to details, and the unique flavour that could be found even in common dishes. Aurora might not know what the future holds for her but her patrons certainly hope her future is in Toronto.