Basilio Pesce
Pesce spent nearly a decade cooking under the Oliver and Bonacini umbrella as the sous chef at Canoe and then became the executive chef at Biff’s. His loyal followers were over the moon when he left to open Porzia, his own little place in Parkdale, two years ago. The dishes here are the comforting, nonna-approved kind that Pesce grew up eating: tripe, polenta tots and, if you come on the right night, a big meaty slab of lasagna.
1314 Queen West, 647-342-5776, porzia.ca, @PorziaParkdale
Steve Gonzalez
Self-proclaimed one-man Latino street party Gonzalez came to diners’ attention when he was competing on the first season of Top Chef Canada. Back then he was the chef de cuisine at Claudio Aprile’s Origin, which he soon left to open Valdez, a place specializing in Latin cooking. After a long search, he ended up on King West, introducing the clubbing crowd to refreshing ceviches, arepitas and croquetas.
606 King West, 416-363-8388, valdezrestaurant.com, @TheValdezTO
Anthony Rose
Hotel dining became a lot more fun when Rose was executive chef at the Drake thanks to themed menus focusing on Chinatown or southern barbecue. That’s why diners were excited when he left the hotel after six years to open his own place, Rose and Sons, the first in his little restaurant empire that now includes Fat Pasha, Big Crow and Schmaltz Appetizing in the Dupont ‘hood. The theme here is greasy diner food given the fine dining upgrade. Be sure to get the mouth-watering patty melt burger.
176 Dupont, 647-342-0356, roseandsons.ca, @RoseAndSons
