Death Row Meals - Sous Chef Edition

"A First Meal, as your Last Meal" was the theme of February's Death Row Meal. Brought to you by Joel (@foodie411) from Living.Loving.Local, five of Toronto's great Sous Chefs were given the task of preparing their takes on their first cooking memories. In order to give the Sous Chefs some inspiration, they were asked the following:


"Do you remember the first meal you learned to cook as a kid? How old were you? Was it a family recipe? From a cookbook? Something you learned on a cooking show?" 

I bought my ticket right away because I thought the event had a really fun and neat concept. I guess many others felt the same way as it was a sold-out event at Keriwa Café =)

Below is a recap of the event...

COURSE ONE: Coulson Armstrong (@Chef_Coulson), Auberge du Pommier (@Oliver_Bonacini)

Luca Gatti - Trish Gill - Kevin Gilmour

THE DISH: Eggs Brouillade + Kataffii Nest + Sturgeon Caviar + Flowers 

THE PAIRING: 2010 Sémillon, Rosewood Estates (@Rosewoodwine)

Coulson: "Growing up outside the city in rural farmland, on weekly occasions certain family members would have to make their way into the kitchen coop to fetch some eggs for the weekend lunch. I supposed I got the job more than others. This memory has inspired me to serve an egg in a crispy nest, showcasing my roots growing up, and finishing it off with a generous dollop of caviar for that fine dining aspect of where I'm now in my career".

Death Row Meals - Taco Edition

The launch of the 2012 season of the Death Row Meals Supper Club was all about tacos, tacos, TACOS! Brought to you by Joel (@foodie411) from Living.Loving.Local, 6 tacos were presented blind, in no particular order with alcohol pairings, and guests were to rate each taco with increments of 0.25 for Flavour (2 pts), Appearance (1 pt), Originality (1 pt) and Bonus (1 pt), for a possible perfect score of 5 points. Honestly, 6 tacos, 6 chefs, 6 booze pairings, whats not to love? =D


The Death Row Meals taco event yesterday took place at Milagros Cantina (@Milagro_Cantina)

Chefs hard at work in the kitchen.

Prepping the first set of tacos *drools*

Without further ado, below are the six delicious tacos~ Keep in mind that the tacos were presented blind at the time of tasting.

Taco #1: Rossy Earle (SupiCucu) (@PanCanCooks) - Green plantain tortilla, avocado cream, braised & pulled chipotle smoked duck, chayote & tomato pickled slaw, culantro lime cream, duck skin chicharron. Paired with Spearhead Hawaiian Style Pale Ale.

Taco #2: Steve Gonzalez (@latino5spice)- Grilled adobo pork tender + tomatillo and corn relish + roasted garlic and lime crema + refried bean tortilla. Paired with Corona.

Taco #3: Tom Davis (The Stockyards) (@thestockyards) - Braised beef cheek and smoked beef tongue taco with avocado crema, pickled red onion, cilantro, and duo of house smoked hot sauces. Paired with Trapiche Malbec.

Taco #4: Andres Marquez (representing Charlies Burgers) (@charliesburgers) - Carne asada taco using smoked and grilled marinated kobe knuckle, fresh flour tortillas, salsa taquera garnished with grilled scallions. Paired with Tequila Tromba Blanco.

Taco #5: Nick Liu (Niagara Street Cafe) (@ninjachefnick) - Crispy octopus and jicama taco with smoked paprika caponata, chorizo bacon, spicy tomato aioli. Paired with Steam Whistle.

Taco # 6: Arturo Anhalt (Milagro Cantina) (@ElChefdeMilagro) - Taco de longaniza (spicy stret style chorizo) en salsa verder, with onion and nopales (cactus). Paired with Don Julio Blanco.

My favourites were Taco #5 (I loved the chorizo and the jicama taco was very unique), #1 (I liked the light ingredients and the smoked duck) and #3 (can't go wrong with house smoked hot sauces!).


The winner was Nick Liu (Taco #5) with his "Crispy Octopus and Jicama Taco with Smoked Paprika Caponata, Chorizo Bacon, and Spicy Tomato Aioli". Congratulations Chef Nick! (Note: Nick will be at Niagara Street Café until the end of the month...make sure to visit!)

Thanks to all the chefs, Milagros Cantina, the alcohol sponsors, and of course Joel for organizing such an amazing event. Death Row Meals Supper Club will be making donations to charity in all of the chefs names as thanks for their participation. 


Keep you eyes peeled for February's instalment of Death Row Meals featuring "Rising Stars" of Toronto's culinary community. Better yet, join their mailing list at deathrowmeals@gmail.com and LIKE them on Facebook so you won't miss out!