Chef Brandon Olsen, founder of Restaurant Le Melon, La Banane, Brando’s Fried Chicken, and chef in many of the city’s top kitchens such as Bar Isabel and the Black Hoof, has opened up a new fried chicken joint inside Chef’s Hall, Canada’s first-ever chef-driven community market.

Olsen’s friend chicken has a cult following in the city. It was on the menu at Bar Isabel, and the chef estimates that they apparenlty went through 20,000 orders of the fried chicken in a year.

Branding itself as “arguably Toronto’s best fried chicken,” the menu offers familiar favourites such as fried chicken buckets, sandwiches, and sides including Cajun fries, buttermilk onion rings, kale Caesar salad, and crunchy coleslaw. But Olsen has put a spin on traditional fried chicken fare, offering fried chicken buckets and champagne to go.

Choose from a three, five, or 10-piece fried chicken bucket paired with Cava or champagne. Prices range from $65 to $190. All of the fried bucket combos come served with Frank’s Red Hot sauce and buttermilk dressing. 

As far as the sandwiches go, stick with the Classic Fried Chicken Sandwich ($13) served on a potato bun with buttermilk coleslaw and Frank’s Red Hot sauce, or try something a little bit different with the Chicken Fried Mushroom Sammy ($13), which features Hen of the Woods mushrooms, buttermilk coleslaw and Frank’s Red Hot sauce. Both sandwiches can be turned into combos for an extra $5 and include a choice of side and a drink (pop or water).

Brandon Olsen’s The Grateful Chicken is located at 111 Richmond St. W., inside Chef’s Hall, and is open Tuesday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.