The last time we spoke with Mark Cutrara, the locavore-minded chef had just closed his critically acclaimed Cowbell in Parkdale after an impressive six-year run. In the resto biz, that’s an eternity.
The mustachioed Cutrara has just announced that he’s joined the promising Hawthorne on Richmond East as its new executive chef. Former exec Binh An Nguyen follows even-more former exec Eric Wood – the ex-exec of Fabarnak – to the soon-come Beverley Hotel on Queen West. Cutrara took over the Hawthorne kitchen quietly three weeks ago.
“The menu’s about currently three quarters mine but we’re still keeping some of the older dishes,” says Cutrara. “We’re a training centre, after all, so I can’t just turn a switch.”
Hawthorne already had a locavore bent.
“We’re going to concentrate more on the proteins,” says the snout-to-tail guru not-so coincidentally. “They tended to focus more on 100-kilometre vegetables. We’re doing seasonal fish at the moment. And we’ve also introduced a boxed takeout lunch.”
Hawthorne has a great location but nobody knows its there. They’re all underground or speeding past in their cars.
“Our signage is weak. Richmond’s a one-way street heading west and our sign’s on the west side of the building so no one sees it when they drive by. I’m hoping that with me on this side of Yonge, and Carl Heinrich’s similar Richmond Station on the other, we’ll be a draw for people interested in good local food.”
