At The Pass with Braden Chong
🕒 5 min read
At The Pass is a weekly series showcasing Toronto’s best chefs. You won’t find any celebrity chefs featured here. Perhaps you already know these fine cooks, but maybe not. They’re not famous - yet. But it’s time these talented, passionate, hard-working chefs got a bit of the spotlight.
Currently
Sous chef, Sunny's Chinese, a popup with David Schwartz and Keith Siu.
The three of us are working on this temporary project as a creative outlet to perform menu testing for a future bricks and mortar restaurant which has been delayed due to the current pandemic. The name for Sunny's more sophisticated big sister restaurant has yet been released to the public.
Formerly
LURRA (Kyoto), Sazenka (Tokyo), Grey Gardens, La Banane, DaiLo, Porchetta & Co.
Favourite dish to make right now
Mentaiko on warm rice with an umeboshi, maybe a raw egg if I'm feeling spicy.
Last cookbook purchase
Fäviken: 4015 Days, Beginning to End by Magnus Nilsson.
Have you read it/tried any recipes
It just came in the mail days before writing this, but I've looked through the majority of the book.
One dish or ingredient you’d like to see gone from menus
Vegan burgers. Just make a tasty vegan sandwich.
And one dish or ingredient that you’re excited about right now and would like to see on more menus
Green Szechuan peppercorns.
Biggest influences
The badass, overworked and underpaid immigrants running the restaurants that are unseen in the "Top 100" lists.
If you could eat at any restaurant in the world
The street vendors in Vietnam.
Last thing you ate
The Sunny's Chinese Sichuan menu development dishes.
Stir Fried A-Choy with Garlic Sauce, Lap Cheong and Yun Cheong. Photo credit: Studio Gabe and Rachel T. Tong.
Three must-have ingredients always in your fridge
Kewpie mayo, eggs, a slab of trashy Black Diamond cheddar cheese.
Guilty pleasure
7-Eleven taquitos at 3am.
Top 3 favourite Toronto restaurants
That's impossible to answer and ever-changing with recent COVID closures, but I love House of Gourmet, Donna's, and Banh Mi Ba Le 2.
Top 3 favourite Toronto bars
Communist's Daughter, Little Jerry, Pinky's Caphe.
Go-to drink
Double G+T.
One habit you have in the kitchen that you should lose, but can’t seem to shake
Setting up the line for service and realizing I forgot a piece of equipment, walking to the dish pit to get it, but then forgetting what I came for.
And one habit you have in the kitchen that will inspire young chefs
Teamwork. Always lend a helping hand to someone if they're in the juice. That includes the dishwashers and glass polishers!!
Hidden talent
Getting chili oil stains on (and off of) my white t-shirts.
Best career advice you ever received
As a young cook starting out and looking to put every ounce of energy into cooking, I constantly found myself thinking about the next day's prep list and how busy work would be. Working 12 to 16 hour days, the build up of stress and anxiety can really burn a cook out. Dennis Tay always reminded me that work is work and to leave it at the restaurant once you step out the door.
Worst career advice you ever received
Not much really comes to mind. If you are given bad advice, don't waste your time trying to remember it!!!
Your advice for a young cook starting out in the business
Buy a notebook and write every little detail down. Read lots of cookbooks. Be ready to work a lot and not see your 9-5 friends. Take vacations and travel to other countries that you're unfamiliar with to eat the food and experience their way of life. Learning how to use a wet stone is more important than buying an expensive knife if you're on a cook's salary. You can always learn something from a cook of any skill level and experience. Work clean. Ask lots of questions. Stage at restaurants that inspire you. You will not only learn how different restaurants operate, but also meet new friends and make valuable connections for your career down the line.
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In order to support chefs during this time, the monthly At The Pass series is now WEEKLY. Know someone in Toronto or GTA who should be featured? Submit their name for consideration. And yes, you can nominate yourself.
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