Back to Creation: the Jamie Kennedy Story
Ok this ain’t California, we don’t have a 12 month growing cycle but a little window. But what a lot Jamie Kennedy, our fresh’n’local Alice Waters, has done with it. In the past 25 years since he opened his first restaurant Palmerston, Kennedy has driven the communal food agenda ceaselessly, promoting sustainable food both in farmers’ markets and through his restaurants, the most notable being the JK Wine Bar, a shared plate leader.
Last year, Kennedy suffered a financial reversal. He had to sell the wine bar and neighbouring Hank’s, and to cut back at the Gardiner Museum. Word was he might retreat to his farm and vineyard in Prince Edward County and open a restaurant there. But he hasn’t. He’s still in Toronto, hands-on, still cooking.
Tonight he’s cooking at Gilead Bistro in Corktown, off King E. It is housed in the lowslung industrial building which is the HQ of his catering service. The Kennedy brand is the local preserves lining the shelves. He’s serving too, a tall grave figure balancing carefully the plate of extraordinarily good herb soup and lentils $9. The message is clear. What’s important is the food, not him.
My companions are Bill Toye and Richard Teleky who, when they were at Oxford University Press, published Jamie Kennedy Cookbook in 1985. Richard remembers editing the book while he ate his meals surrounded by workmen putting the finishing touches on Palmerston.
Anticipation is keen. We open our small handwritten menus. Of course we must have the Red Fife sourdough $3. This is what Kennedy stands for. Red Fife is an heritage Canadian wheat now in Slow Food’s Ark of Taste, a global effort to resuscitate foods which for one reason or another are dying out. The bread’s holey and nutty. Red Fife is definitely worth retrieving from history. The butter is artisanal and creamy. Specials include slices of hot smoked sturgeon $14 which I find more interesting in print than in the mouth. But the Brandade of Black Cod $12 is an irresistible take on the traditional salt cod puree, perfectly seasoned and crisp round the edges.
We’re now drinking a pleasant pinot noir, a Jamie Kennedy label $60 from his own vineyard. This kind of comfy artisanal dinner with local wine was once enjoyed only in Europe. It was one of the spurs for the Slow Food movement where the right to eat splendidly was asserted in long, leisurely dinners – rich with raw milk cheese and cured meat, the kind of food which the health and safety police are keen to outlaw. Above all, the dinners were to be a riposte to fast food which threatens to consign them to the Ark of Taste – and in dire need of rescue.
Thank Goodness Jamie Kennedy doesn’t belong to the elitest political wing of Slow Food “Down with Big Mac Heads” but to the “let’s have a swell time” branch. Otherwise he’d have no time to concentrate on cooking this delectable Gratin of Agria Potatoes $7.50. What is an Agria Potato you may ask. Yellow, waxy which means it doesn’t crumble when cooked, and on the sweet side. This is the way I like my biodiversity – tasty. Education has never been so agreeable.
A Galantine of Muskoka Chicken, roasted, stuffed, redolent of mushrooms and onions $19. A word here about the difference between proclaiming fresh’n’local and actually cooking it. Like Lynn Crawford at Ruby Watchco, Kennedy doesn’t expect an ingredient to stand on its own but uses all the cooking tools, the allusions to classic recipes, to expand and enrich the food’s potential. Thus delicate slices of pork schnitzel $20 come with a vinegary mignonette sauce tweaked with anchovy – an allusion to the classic wienershnitzel Holstein. Richard meanwhile is in a nostalgic swoon over the tenderest braised beef (off the bone) shortrib with parsnip puree $ 24.Little fiddleheads are hidden in steamed greens $7. We’ve certainly come at the right time.
We end with $9 impeccable desserts: buttermilk panna cotta with sweet/bitter rhubarb compote, a blueberry financier (almond cake) with honey ice cream and fruit preserves, and the preserves also come with the Pavlova, a little meringue ring.
I have not always been a fan of Kennedy’s cooking, but now I’m eating my past critical words like crazy. Is it just me or has Kennedy, freed from corporate responsibilities, rediscovered his cooking soul. Whatever – A smashing dinner.
***1/2Gilead Bistro 4 Gilead Pl 647.288.0680 No wheelchair access. Dinner: food plus tax for two $118
