SOUS-CHEF suppers

Before long evenings of dinner service, sous-chefs whip up supper for restaurant staff, often using leftover items in clever ways to delicious effect; herewith some of their favourite recipes.

APRIL TO NOVEMBER, non-stop… It’s a long and busy season for anyone who works in a restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and 12- to 14-hour days are the rule not the exception. Squeezed in before the start of dinner service, the staff meal has to be hearty, nutritious and quickly prepared, and it often falls to the restaurant’s sous-chef to drum up something delicious. Ingredients are usually whatever happens to be seasonally abundant and at hand in the kitchen that day.

We went down to three of our favourite restaurants in Niagara-on-the-Lake and invited their sous-chefs to each share a recipe for a typical staff meal—something that could also be prepared at home, without a brigade of cooks to help. They came up with three perfect ideas that reflect the local, seasonal ethos of winecountry cuisine. And then, as a bonus, each one got together with their restaurant’s sommelier and paired the dish with a well-chosen wine or two. The results are just what we were hoping for and we think you’ll love them, too.