Amanda Sentineal BACKHOUSE
When Chef Ryan Crawford and his partner opened backhouse last summer, he knew who he wanted as his sous-chef: Amanda Sentineal had worked there with him when the property was Stone Road Grille. A fifth-generation native of Niagara-on-the-Lake, she honed her skills at top winery restaurants Hillebrand, Peller Estates and Ravine. She and her sister are also farmers—as is Crawford—and much of their produce finds its way onto backhouse’s fascinating tasting menus. Customers who sit at the counter can watch the action as dishes are cooked on an open fire or in a wood-fired oven—and that’s where the brigade of 20 gathers every afternoon for the staff meal. “It’s nice to sit down and take a deep breath before a really intense service,” says Sentineal, 31. And when she’s not working? “I like doing anything outside—golf, tennis, gardening. But somehow on every day off I end up cooking.”
“My farming experience definitely helps in the kitchen—knowing when things are fresh and of good quality, whether it was raining when the lettuce was picked.”