I just learned recently that this September will mark the final night of the Toronto Underground Market. This is very sad news. The photo above, taken by Toronto Life magazine at the inaugural underground market, was the very first Beech Tree menu ever presented to the public. This market, for…
Before opening the Beech Tree and working with a bonafide Chef, I did a lot of home cooking. In fact, I did all the cooking in my household. This is largely what got me started on the road toward a new career in the hospitality industry. Cooking wasn’t enough; I…
If I put my ear to the ground, I could probably detect it. A tentative muttering, as if a massive waterfall many miles away were pounding the earth; a distant fury. I’ve been feeling a strange tug, a magnetic attraction to the north these days. It has been gaining strength…
It was Tuesday, and I had a doctor’s appointment to look forward to. I had to be there at 3:30pm. My mother was coming to The Beech Tree (for the first time since opening). She would arrive for a 5:30pm reservation. We were winding down the last days before…
I’ve put a lot of thought into where my food comes from. I have written past blogs regarding eating seasonally, animal husbandry, ethical animal slaughter and the non-wasteful, nose-to-tail approach to cooking and eating meat. I have even written about vegetarianism on my old blog. I am not afraid to…
One of our servers, a certifiable beer geek and always one to selflessly volunteer for independent research, recently filled a shopping cart at the LCBO all in the name of science….well, not really, more like ‘Beech Tree Science’. Either way, he was searching for the next interesting brew to offer…
During a busy service a month or so back, Chef mentioned off-hand to me that perhaps it was time to retire our grilled steak dish for a while. It had been a regular menu item for a couple of months. Previously it had been a Thursday night (and sometimes Friday…
Chef didn’t like the idea of mozzarella salad. Not one bit… I felt slightly chastened, because I saw potential there. He saw a cliché. Maybe I had to explain myself a bit better. Negotiation would be required. Many of our menu items are created by Chef alone. Creativity is…
Toronto Life magazine has named us in their TOP 300 places to eat in the city. Thanks for the love! You can find a copy of the complete guide on news stands now!
We’re just about halfway through the year, which in the world of Toronto restaurants is basically a lifetime. While some big deal lists of top spots have already been published (thank you, Joanne Kates), the number of restaurants popping up means it’s hard to keep up…. Check out the full…
