We interviewed Chef Richard Andino, and his enthusiasm was quite infectious - you could just hear it bursting through. Catch Chef Richard of Bar Negroni on August 10th at this year’s Kultura Filipino Arts Festival at Artscape Wychwood Barns, alongside other Filipino chefs, artisans, and talents. He's going to be serving the crowd crispy pork belly with green papaya relish and coconut vinegar, plus other yummy items!
Read more about what he thinks the best thing is about being a chef in Toronto after the jump!
(1) In your opinion, what is the best thing about being a chef in Toronto?
The sheer diversity of food that is available. There are so many cultures represented, like the Italians, Greeks, Chinese, Ethiopians, and the Koreans. It’s like the microcosm of the world in a city. I want Torontonians to try flavours available in Filipino cuisine, because since a lot of people are accustomed to the diversity that Toronto offers, giving them a different flavour should be no problem.
It’s like the presence of fish sauce - twenty years ago, there was no fish sauce where I worked because it wasn't seen as very good, but now a lot of restaurants have fish sauce, and they’re not even Asian restaurants. The cultural part of the city foods cape has grown so much, and you don’t have to worry if you’re in a certain restaurant that they won’t have certain things.
(2) What Filipino dish do you enjoy making the most, and what’s your personal spin on it?
My favourite Filipino dish to make is pork hock boiled with garlic, lily blossom, vinegar, soy sauce and a lot of sugar. Then I take that dish and use the techniques I’ve been trained for in the industry, put it in ravioli ricotta and reduce the sauce, then add an egg yolk cooked for thirty seconds. Cut into it, and it is delicious.
Keep an eye on Chef Richard's adventures at Bar Negroni over at Facebook and Twitter!