Posted by Sheryl Kirby in event reviews, events, events upcoming on April 8, 2008 at 7:24 am
Museums play an important role in the fabric of any city, but they’re generally not the first place we associate with food, especially great food. Of course, most of Toronto’s major museums have restaurants on site, and most of those are fine dining establishments run by some of the city’s most notable chefs. But to most folks, eating at the museum likely means the cafeteria.
Like most cafeterias, the Food Studio at the Royal Ontario Museum offers the standard fare; fries, pizza, burritos, burgers. But there’s something a little different here – the fries are hand cut, still touting skins and are darn near perfect; crisp, greaseless and golden. Burritos are big, healthy, filling and really quite reasonably-priced. Under the guidance of Chef Caesar Guinto, the Food Studio turns out a selection of traditional cafeteria dishes with a twist. Like it’s sister fine-dining establishment c5 upstairs, the ROM’s cafeteria is dedicated to “organic, seasonal ingredients from local Ontario food producers”.
If that wasn’t enough, The Food Studio is also taking part in the ROM’s Green Gastronomy series. One weekend per month until July, a local chef will join c5’s Chef Ted Corrado on the Friday evening to prepare a five-course menu for restaurant guests. Taking the co-operative effort one step further, that same chef will be back at the ROM on the Sunday to offer up a dish to customers at the Food Studio, allowing folks who might not be interested or able to dine at c5 (where the special Green Gastronomy menu is $125 per person) to sample items by local chefs such as Jamie Kennedy, Nathan Isberg, Michael Olsen or Bertrand Alépée.
We stopped by this past Sunday where Chef Kennedy was offering a Tourtiere Strudel made with pork, beef and lamb, accompanied by Jamie Kennedy Kitchens mustard pickles (better than Grandma’s – sorry Gran!), and jardiniere vegetables. At $2 a sample, it was not only a great deal, but with Kennedy serving up the dish himself, it gave Food Studio patrons an opportunity to talk to him directly, ask questions about the dish and the ingredients, and try something new and different that probably isn’t on a lot of cafeteria menus.
We didn’t see many kids checking out the Strudel (Kennedy joked that they were too short to see over the edge of the table), but a number of adults seemed to delight in the savoury and hearty fare. Creating a dish that was made from local and seasonal ingredients that would also appeal to the average cafeteria diner was a challenge Kennedy seemed to enjoy.
Accompanying each chef is a local winery pouring a selection paired with the dish. In this case, Norman Hardie Winery was offering their Melon de Bourgogne 2007, a fruity white with hints of pear, peach, kiwi and yes, melon.
While the average museum cafeteria visitor might be more interested in the burgers and fries than a really tasty tourtiere strudel, the ROM’s Green Gastronomy program is a truly fantastic way for patrons to check out the work of some of the city’s top chefs without stepping out of their comfort zone. Here’s hoping the program does so well it becomes a regular fixture at the Food Studio. Because while Guinto’s team cooks up some mean burgers and fries, a little variety in a familiar environment is the best way to create the food lovers of the future.
The Green Gastronomy series continues:
May 9 and 11
Chef: Michael Olson, Chef Professor at Niagara Culinary Institute
Winery: Stratus Wines, Niagara-on-the-Lake
June 6 and 8
Chef: Nathan Isberg, Coca Tapas and Wine Bar and Czehoski
Winery: Long Dog Wine, Prince Edward County
July 11 and 13
Chefs: Bertrand Alépée and Jason Inniss, Amuse Bouche
Winery: Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery, West Niagara
To book a reservation for one of the evenings at c5 or for more information for both c5 and Food Studio, call 416-586-7926.
