At The Pass with Kyla Kennaley
Judge Kyla Kennaley (far right) on The Great Canadian Baking Show, with fellow judge Bruno Feldeisen, host Aurora Bronwne.
đź•’ 3.5 min read
At The Pass is a monthly series showcasing Toronto’s best chefs. You won’t find any celebrity chefs featured here. Perhaps you already know these fine cooks, but maybe not. They’re not famous - yet. But it’s time these talented, passionate, hard-working chefs got a bit of the spotlight.
Currently
Pastry chef, currently working as Talent Development Manager F&B at The Savoy Hotel London.
Formerly
Judge on CBC’s The Great Canadian Baking Show, Season 3; Pastry Chef and Owner of Madeleines, Cherry Pie and Ice Cream; Chef Instructor, George Brown College CHCA School of Continuing Education.
Favourite dish to make right now
Chestnut pancakes!
Last cookbook purchase
Baking with Bruno by Bruno Feldeisen.
Have you read it/tried any recipes
Not yet. I want to try Gâteau à la Tomate. :)
One dish or ingredient you’d like to see gone from menus
Artificial preservatives.
And one dish or ingredient that you’re excited about right now and would like to see on more menus
Foraged/wild mushrooms. If we are going plant-based, we can add a lot of texture and flavour with this great protein base.
Your biggest influences
Dominique Ansel and Auguste Escoffier (I work in his kitchen…).
If you could eat at any restaurant in the world
My mom’s kitchen table - we grew up in the Kawarthas on Pigeon Lake. And there are too many to name; El Celler de Can Roca is on my list, if you can get me a table!
Last thing you ate
Duck breast in simple wine reduction with dried figs.
Three must-have ingredients always in your fridge
Maple syrup, homegrown preserved hot peppers, and butter.
Guilty pleasure
Salt and vinegar potato chips, or as they say here in the UK, balsamic crisps. ;)
Top 3 favourite Toronto restaurants
Alo, Dailo, and Taste of China Seafood Restaurant.
Top 3 favourite Toronto bars
Bar Raval, CĂ´te de Boeuf, and Reposado Bar.
Go-to drink
French 75, dry.
One habit you have in the kitchen that you should lose, but can’t seem to shake
Assuming that my way is the best way. ;)
One habit you have in the kitchen that will inspire young chefs
Scrape your bowls. Your dishwasher and the owner will love you.
Hidden talent
Eek… Old bartending trick - I can tie a cherry stem in a knot. Also, I am extremely accurate with weights and measures.
Best career advice you ever received
When you enter the kitchen be fully present and let nothing distract you. Leave the world behind and create. The world will still be there when you get out.
Worst career advice you ever received
“As a girl you will never be hired for any job other than as an institutional cook. You should think about working in another industry.” - from my Chef Instructor teaching my Institutional Cooking Course in college in 1992.
Your advice for a young cook starting out in the business
If you start at the top you have nothing to look back upon. Start at the bottom and grow; slowly. You have a lifetime to become the best in the industry.
———
At The Pass is a monthly series showcasing Toronto/GTA’s best chefs. You won’t find any celebrity chefs featured here. Perhaps you already know these fine cooks, but maybe not. They’re not famous - yet. But it’s time these talented, passionate, hard-working chefs got a bit of the spotlight.
Know someone in Toronto or GTA who should be featured? Submit their name for consideration.