Over the last two months I've had the pleasure of working with a very talented team that host a series of pop-up dinners held in spontaneous locations across Toronto. The team is backed by Danny Gunam (Owner of the restaurant Ganzi), the chefs - Joe Friday and Devan Rajkumar, and the cooks - myself and Lucas Jones (part owner of Southern Smoke Truck).
The location is announced to rsvp'd guests the day of each dinner - the first at Cabal, the second at College Street Bar. There's always an element of surprise for us too - we had a health inspector show up for one and a shortage of plates during another! It's difficult to capture everything on camera with the commotion, but here's a small glimpse behind the scenes of
Secrets & Lies.
CABAL: NOV 20
A shot of rum to get the team started! From left to right: Devan, Blaine, Nicole, Lucas and Joe
Ramen noodles dyed with squid ink.
Joe plating the cold dish
Lighting the japanese wood, lit table-side with the pork belly.
Gin infused squash soup.
Shrimp served in shots of raita.
Lobster bisque ramen with poached lobster, calamari and bonito flakes.
The kitchen was a tight space, this is where the finished dishes went out.
Beef tongue steam buns with pickled coleslaw
Seared pork belly with crispy pork rind, and a side of Hawaiian poi.
COLLEGE STREET BAR: DEC 11
Lucas slicing the beef tongue.
Charred scallions for garnish
Brussels caught in action.
Scallops doused in frothy butter.
Dinner samples!
Blowing up Twitter.
Devan giving the servers a briefing
Pork shoulder arancini balls.
Jerk turkey steam bun with cranberry compote and a soy glaze.
Purple brussels with pickled onion, candied pecans and apple.
Getting psyched and waiting for orders to come in!
Some gin for a little fun.
This is the point when we ran out of plates. The chits wouldn't stop coming!
Lucas with a steam bun spewing turkey.
Dessert! Charred chocolate brownie with matcha ricotta icing, strawberry sauce and sesame syrup.
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