At The Pass with Junelle Casalan
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. Meet Junelle Casalan.
🕘 6.5 min read
Currently
Pastry Chef/Co-Owner, Castle & Coal
Formerly
England: Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa in Helmsley North Yorkshire, Marcus at The Berkeley in London. New York: Eleven Madison Park, Per Se, Le Bernardin. Toronto: Scaramouche.
Favourite dish to make right now
Short ribs with mash.
Last cookbook purchase
The Pie Room: 80 achievable and show-stopping pies and sides for pie lovers everywhere by Calum Franklin
Have you read it/tried any recipes
Yes, I’ve been wanting to try his savoury pies, specifically the Beef, Stilton & Onion Pie, since I love cooking at home. Maybe a few vegetarian savouries for the shop such as the Tomato, Goat’s Cheese & Onion Lattice for this summer.
Oe dish or ingredient you’d like to see gone from menus
Capers and olives.
Strawberry & Elderflower Shortcake. Angel food cake, elderflower pastry cream, macerated and dried strawberries.
And one dish or ingredient that you’re excited about right now and would like to see on more menus
Ramps. I got into foraging last spring and there were so many ramps around my neighbourhood park. I picked two to three stems since I didn’t want to disturb the area, and made a simple omelette with that, a little bit of parm and butter, and it was amazing.
Elderflower. Tasted my first elderflower dessert in London, and I try to put it on everything during the summer months, though I mostly pair it with strawberries.
Biggest influences
Ghaya Oliveira – The story of how she became DANIEL’s Executive Pastry Chef and her pastries are truly inspiring and astonishing.
Clare Smyth - Her presence and drive in the kitchen is why I think women in this industry are pushing boundaries. She’s an example in our time that women are just as capable as men when it comes to striving and succeeding in their careers.
If you could eat at any restaurant in the world
Restaurant Story, London England. I came across the restaurant when I was living in London when they only had one Michelin star, and I fell very much in love with their food and the fairytale-esque menu they were serving.
I still dream about one of their courses called “Bread & Dripping” and it’s not what I would’ve imagined: A candle that was made out of beef dripping was brought to the table and lit by the waiter. As the dripping melted, I was told to dip their housemade bread into it. They also served pickled celery on the side that complimented the beef dripping well.
London’s Tiramisu. Valrhona 70% chocolate espresso mousse, Marsala mascarpone mousse, Hatch Blackout Espresso soaked genoise.
Last thing you ate
Kensington Sourdough from Blackbird Baking Co. with confit cherry tomatoes, garlic and burrata.
Three must-have ingredients always in your fridge
Milk, eggs, and a cold Riesling.
Guilty pleasure
Crème brûlée.
Top 3 favourite Toronto restaurants
Bar Isabel, Sukhothai, Famiglia Baldassarre
Top 3 favourite Toronto bars
Chef Casalan at work.
Go-to drink
Amaretto Sour, Pimm’s Cup.
One habit you have in the kitchen that you should lose, but can’t seem to shake
I sometimes don’t try my desserts before putting them up to see how it tastes like as a whole. I mentally taste things and I taste individual components, but I somehow always forget to taste the end product until the end of the day when we’ve already sold the desserts.
And one habit you have in the kitchen that will inspire young chefs
Cleaning as you go and owning up to your mistakes.
Hidden talent
Snowboarding.
Cannelés. These best-sellers boast a thin crust and gooey centre.
Best career advice you ever received
If they treat you bad, they’re not worth your time.” – Head chef, Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa.
My head chef told me that advice before on my last day in his kitchen before starting my job in my first Michelin restaurant. “It’s rough out there, and your goal is to find a kitchen that treats you with respect as a person, because you don’t want to be miserable 16 hours a day, five days a week.” Fortunately, the kitchens I worked at were very professional, but I always kept that at the back of my mind whenever I start a new job.
Worst career advice you ever received
“You can’t make mistakes.” By being afraid to make mistakes, you won’t learn to be creative and open-minded. A lot of great inventions in life were mistakes.
Your advice for a young cook starting out in the business
Have humility, learn as much as you can, and always be humble.
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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