Just recently Chef and I had a re-evaluation of our steak dish (again). This is a dish that we tinker with the most probably. We had been using a very thick, meaty cut of the sirloin that is known by its French term, a ‘coulotte’ steak. After much taste testing…
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. Ahhh…Romeo and Juliet; a story that does…
Way back in the summer, I started writing in this blog again. I have periodically returned to it, perhaps not as often as I would like. Moreover, in hopes of picking up the threads of my old home-cooking blog that was the very genesis of the Beech Tree restaurant, I…
It’s that time of again; time to bid another year adieu. They seem to come faster and faster it seems. Nevertheless, there is much work to do, food to be eaten, champagne to be sipped etc. So with that said, we would like to present our ‘draft’ Four Course New…
The Ontario Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, a.k.a ‘The Royal‘, held annually in Toronto since 1922 has proven to be an integral component of my food education. It has now become a tradition for me and the family. I have written about The Royal in past iterations of the Beech Tree…
I suppose the hangover was a small price to pay. November 1st marked my 42nd birthday. It was also a week shy of the Beech Tree’s first birthday (we technically opened on November 7th, 2013). We are both a little bit older, and hopefully a little bit wiser. This past Saturday,…
Not quite a year, actually, but very soon. At this time last year, we were wall-papering and trying to hook up appliances. How far we’ve come. On November 7th, 2013, the Beech Tree opened its doors for the first time. Our first customer, a local school teacher came in for…
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…
