Suffice to say, we've met more than our share of "star" chefs. But few have resonated with us as much as Mark McEwan, who breezed through town recently to promote his new book celebrating his latest Toronto restaurant of the same name, Fabbrica.
As is often the case with visiting culinary luminaries, my initial encounter was at Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks cookbook emporium (1740 West Second Ave.), where McEwan was sharing his secrets on making an ingenious variation of gnocchi.
McEwan is a natural entertainer-we know that from his role as head judge on Canada's Top Chef. He's charming and engaging, which meant his attentive audience at the intimate bookshop's demo kitchen was as malleable as the dough being shaped and sliced by his slender (and remarkably intact) fingers.
He chatted while he worked, dropping such kitchen nuggets as "clean your knife from time to time-it'll glide through better," as he effortlessly prepared the light ricotta dough, which was potato-less, made with only a touch of flour. "If you really want to show off when your friends are over, have your dough balls ready to go, roll them right in front of them and just drop them in the water. They'll never invite you to dinner_ And I get invited to very few," he joked.
The result is an extraordinary dish of gossamer-light gnocchi, served with an heirloom tomato sauce and melting burrata. It's vibrant to taste, profound in its simplicity and emblematic of what you'll find in McEwan's Fabbrica: Great Italian Recipes Made Easy for Home (Penguin, $39).
"This basic recipe really is a great example of what we do throughout the book in a variety of ways," said McEwan, who applies the same, down-to-earth, ingredients-first approach, whether he's dealing with sardines (fresh, cured with vegetables and served with pine nuts) or porchetta (slow roasted with pear mostarda).
Much of McEwan's cooking style comes from an unwavering passion for the best ingredients and a deliberate manner that concentrates on technique and, apparently, never taking "no" for an answer.
Back in the early economic doldrums of 2009, with three restaurants under his belt at the time (North 44, Bymark and One), McEwan decided the time was right to try his hand at retailing. He launched McEwan's Gourmet Grocery-a 22,000 sq. ft., high-end Don Mills grocery store that emphatically flies in the face of traditional food retailing. Everything on offer is high-end and hand-selected by the chef, including only sustainable seafood and custom cut meats such as Prince Edward Island pasture-raised, antibiotic-free, potato-finished beef that McEwan buys direct from PEI farmers under his "Blue Dot" program. Needless to say, he's truly committed to the notion of farm to table.
The store also acts as an extension of his restaurant group, offering full take-home menus that incorporate hallmark dishes prepared in a central commissary kitchen.
If he ever moved out west, we can think of a few stores that would be looking over their shoulder.
We can only hope.
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