Who's House? Chef's House

On a cold wintery night I decided to have a nice warm meal at the "Chef's House." The "Chef's house" is a student run culinary restaurant by George Brown College. The culinary students are the ones that cook your meal, take your order and even pour your beer, which is something I can appreciate because I know the money I spend on the meal will be going directly back to educating these young future chefs.

The space is decorated to be modern but not pretentious. The kitchen for the restaurant is large and long  and is actually a feature point for the restaurant. The restaurant is covered in TV monitors while the kitchen is covered with cameras directed at the students chefs in action. The restaurant's space was decorated very well and you would've never have known it was school building (at least not until you start looking for the bathroom). The wait staff were attentive and very courteous (though it was kind of fun to see how nervous the student wait staff were).

The Menu is small, which I believe was done so not to overwhelm the young chefs. There was a choice of three starters, three mains and three deserts. On this particular cold winter night my companion and I decided to order one of each. 

Before any of our courses were served a roasted sweet potato leek soup, with coconut cream, spiced walnuts came out first.

Roasted Sweet Potato

This soup was more of a puree then a thin soup. The sweet potato soup was a sweet soup which really didn't suit my tastes. I personally don't like sweet soups and I thought this soup was particularly sweet. The texture was smooth but the sweet potato was sweet and the coconut cream was sweet, which I thought was too much (Food show judges say it all the time, "too sweet because it was sweet on sweet"). The spiced Walnuts were a nice touch, the walnuts had a little bit of spice and added a crunchy element to the soup.

Next up were our starters: a house smoked trout, picked Cookstown beet, candied olives and a baked three‐mushroom strudel, spinach puree, Woolwich goats’ brie cheese.

House smoked Trout

The smoked trout with pickled beets and candied olives was a very enjoyable dish. The fish delivered a nice subtle smokiness to compliment the acidity of the pickled beet. The portion size was perfect too as to leave you with plenty of room for the next two courses.

Three‐Mushroom Strudel

The mushroom strudel had loads of flavour packed in between the flaky crust. The mushrooms were delicious and had a nice earthy taste. Combing the strudel with the creaminess of the brie and the freshness of the spinach puree creates an amazing tasty bite which I highly recommend everyone to try. 

Next up to bat were out main courses: braised beef short rib, Yukon gold pave, glazed cipollini onions and Butternut Squash & Ricotta Agnolotti, Hazelnuts, Brown Butter.

braised beef short rib.

The braised beef was expertly prepared by the young chefs. Some restaurant that serve a braised beef short ribs sometimes sacrifice tenderness for having a moist piece of meat or vice-versa but the braised short rib I was served was not only a generous portion but was extremely tender and moist. The Yukon gold pave was something I haven't heard of but was a delicious side (beef and potatoes, what not love?). The best way I can describe a Yukon gold pave would be a side dish of scallop potatoes. The potatoes were not too soft and still maintained a nice texture of sliced potatoes stacked on top of each other to compliment the tenderness of the beef.

Ricotta Agnolotti

The ricotta agnolotti like the roasted sweet potato soup really didn't suit my tastes. This was not a savoury dish and was on the sweet side. the pasta was cooked right and was al dente and the hazelnuts added another dimension to the texture but the dish as a whole didn't work for me. After having a sweet soup and then getting a sweet main to follow really was not a very good combination (at least for me).

and finally we have our deserts:

.....

well it was a little better then that.

My Associate and I had the mixed berry crumble with sour cream gelato and the flour less chocolate cake.

Mixed Berry Crumble

The mixed berry crumble was a really tasty desert and had a really nice balance of flavours. There was the sweet and sourness from the berries, and the cold, and creamy sour cream gelato. The only change I would suggest is to make the shell that held the berries less dense. I thought a thinner pastry shell would've helped highlight the berries a little better.

Flour less Chocolate Cake

The flour less chocolate cake was beautiful presented on an off centered plate and a splash of raspberry coulis. If I was a bigger chocolate lover I think I would've looked this desert better. This desert was more like a brownie and packs loads of chocolate flavour. I've never been a very big fan of brownies and thought this desert packed too much sugar on one dish. The raspberry coulis was a good way to cut through the sweetness with a bit sourness.

The Chef's House had a lot of hits and misses for me overall but I enjoyed the experience.  The student servers were all very attentive and tried their hardest to make sure we enjoyed our food. I would like to comeback again to the chefs house and try their new menu because I know the service will be top notch and the chefs would be trying their hardest to make the absolute best dish.

For More Information:
The Chef's House