European fine dining, West African accent
Emmanuel Boakye
Thirty-five years of European fine dining with a West African accent, from a chef who ran Toronto dining rooms before he ran yours.
George Brown, then an apprenticeship at the King Edward — which in this city is roughly the equivalent of learning to drive on a Formula circuit. Then Chantrelle. Then the Lord Nelson, the Golden Tulip, the Metropolitan, Brunello, the Rosewood Bistro. Thirty-five years of Toronto dining rooms, in order, and now other people’s kitchens on a Saturday.
The food is European technique with a Ghanaian pull underneath it. Bay scallops in shrimp bisque. Bone marrow and Dungeness crab soup under crème fraîche. Beef two ways — braised short rib beside filet mignon in truffle jus. Salmon glazed with yogurt, dill and cumin, over jollof couscous. His Italian card opens at C$154, the floor price of this whole register, which tells you nothing at all about where the man trained.
He calls himself a perfectionist and a clean freak and does not appear to be joking. Hosts write back with the same three observations every time, in the same order: he arrived early, the plates were beautiful, the counters were gleaming when he left.
| Checked | Trained at George Brown College; apprenticed at the King Edward Hotel. Ran kitchens at Chantrelle, the Metropolitan, Brunello and the Rosewood Bistro. Also cooks weddings, corporate evenings and interactive dinners. |
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| Hired for | Wedding-party dinners and Mother’s Day lunches turn up repeatedly in his notes, along with condo party-room evenings downtown and tables with several dietary restrictions to navigate at once. |
Two plates from Emmanuel’s own gallery, shot in service.
Straight off the card
Emmanuel’s cards, with the figure already on them
We hired him to cook a private dinner for our wedding party. The menu he offered was enormous, and when we narrowed it down he told us honestly which dishes belonged together. Warm with everyone, all night.
Bronte L. of Toronto, who scored the night 5.0/5