After nearly five years at Vertical, one of the business district’s busiest restaurants, Chef Tawfik Shehata has parted ways with management.
Shehata, a creative genius in the kitchen, described the split as “amicable.”
“We weren’t really seeing eye-to-eye on some things,” Shehata told PostCity.com.
Shehata, who trained under legendary chef Keith Froggett at Scaramouche and spent time in the kitchens of Auberge du Pommier, Winston’s, Boba and The Rosewater Supperclub, is one of Toronto’s most sought after chefs.
He tells us he’s already fielded calls from some of Toronto’s top restaurateurs (including one who owns several of the city’s best regarded eateries), has an invitation to help open the new Daniel Boulud restaurant in Singapore, and is mulling the possibility of opening his own boîte.
As for his immediate future, he’ll be getting what most chefs who handle a large kitchen can only dream of: a little rest.
Over at Vertical, no plans have been announced as to who will replace the talented Shehata. The loss follows a summer in which Vertical’s outdoor patio became a tough place to dine due to massive construction on the First Canadian Place.