September is here and the stage is set for an exciting fall season. The kids are back in school and we’re busy catering parties for TIFF. At the restaurant on King, it’s back to business after taking time this summer to launch our second location of Petite Thuet at King and Yonge, creating a new cookbook and enjoying our annual end-of-summer tradition of pickling and preserving. This year’s standout batches include: peaches, apricots, beans, and new cucumber jam (very tasty!).
This month also marks the debut of our new TV show, Conviction Kitchen, airing on Sunday nights on City TV at 10PM.
Filmed last spring, the show follows us (literally…for months we couldn’t turn around without bumping into a camera) as we hire, fire and train a staff of recently released ex-convicts in search of a second chance. We were really inspired by the thought of helping people turn a new chapter in their lives. So, like in everything we do, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. At times, tempers flared. In the kitchen, flames flared. And sometimes, we lost our cool. But judging by the overwhelmingly positive reaction of our family and friends who gathered together the other night to watch the first episode, I can now say it was all worth it, and mean it.
We took a gamble and put the reputation of our business on the line. We weren’t so worried about our personal reputations. Sure, there’s no shortage of swearing but at the end of the day I knew we were in this for the right reasons and I was hopeful that this would come across in the series. But business is business and this business is our lives. The prospect of turning over our kitchen and dining room to a cast of ex-cons who had never dined in a restaurant such as ours, let alone work in one, was a daunting challenge to say the least. However, the dedication of everyone involved pushed us through the obstacles. Now as viewers and guests of the restaurant will see, we truly are one big, extended family.
It was a slightly surreal experience watching the show in the same space where we spent so many months being filmed. There were times both of us were surprised by what we saw or about something we said in the heat of the moment. But because it’s a documentary, there were no retakes (or hair and make-up people for that matter!). It’s true what they say, “what you see is what you get." The show is an honest look at the often times hectic but always exciting life in the restaurant industry. Here’s a clip.
We are excited to share our thoughts and experiences with you through this blog. We’ll be sure to update it regularly and promise to share some of our most-requested recipes of the season in this space as well as more on our adventures and culinary pursuits. We’ve got a delicious fall menu in the works for Conviction featuring traditional faves like Cassoulet de Toulouse, the chef’s famous choucroute, short ribs and much more. Also back by popular demand is Gospel Sundays, our unique brunch experience featuring the soul-stirring sounds of a gospel choir. Join us and book your reservation by calling 416-603-2777.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more to come.
World-renowned executive chef, Marc Thuet, and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, will be blogging weekly for PostCity.com about their new show and restaurant.