The Chef's House

What fun! What exquisite food! The Chef’s House is a chef and hospitality school affiliated with George Brown College. This is a fully functioning restaurant. The servers are young students bent on acquiring skills in the hospitality field. The young chefs are under the tutelage of fine chefs. I have now dined here three times. The food is absolutely exquisite. The flavor, the presentation and the variety makes for a guaranteed fine dining experience. We had such fun chatting with the young servers and wishing them well. This was the first day of a new session and I was prepared for inexperience and possible confusion.

I was entertaining cousin B.K. (for her birthday) and my sister. I wanted it to be special. The mandate of the school is to offer excellence in hospitality and culinary training. They do it so well. The restaurant itself is high tech great design. The young chefs are all dressed in white with the large tall hats. The servers seem nervous but so anxious to please.

The menu is a prix fixe. At lunch you can choose 2 courses for $18.00; 3 courses for $22.00 or 4 courses for $25.00. Dinner is more expensive. There are options in every category.

The birthday girl and my sister opted for the House Cured Salmon Gravlox with fennel slaw and honey mustard sauce. I have had this dish on two other occasions. The presentation is lovely. The taste is exquisite. My guests both loved every bite. I wanted to try something new and opted for the Asparagus, Quinoa Tomato Cucumber Salad with Guacamole. The plate looked like a photo from Gourmet Magazine. The flavors melded in my mouth and I was a completely satisfied diner.

Soup of the Day was Fire Roasted Red onion Soup with red fife Blue Cheese crouton.

The birthday girl and my sister ordered Pan Roasted Chicken with Roasted Vegetables with shallot reduction. B. K wondered how it was possible to have the chicken so moist. The vegetable presentation on the plate made for a creative and tasty presentation.

I chose the Parsley Frittata with Garlic Sauteed Shrimps and tossed greens. Oh my! I’ve run out of superlatives. The garlic shrimp were perfectly prepared. The frittata was so moist. A frittata dish can so easily be overcooked. The fresh parsley on top added to the color presentation and the flavor.

I was considering the Spaetzle with Spinach, mushrooms, almond and Parmesan. The lady at the next table was obviously enjoying this dish. Georgian Bay Whitefish was served with spring vegetables and a miso broth.

We splurged by sharing one dessert because we had eaten so much. The Rhubarb Crumble was so satisfying and the ice cream was tasty, refreshing and probably very fattening.

Every bite was great. By the time we finished lunch the young chefs were huddled around the cooking area getting ready for the evening crowd. I actually wished I was coming back. The food is outstanding and I find it enjoyable to be able to help young students to practice their trade.

There is an attempt to be environmentally friendly with the choices of food and the preparation. I was pleased to hear that they do not offer bottled water. They have a filtering process and offer their own still or flat water. The glasses were constantly refilled and we were asked many times if all was to our satisfaction. Yes it was.