Located on the cement roof of a lively Parkdale restaurant unexpectedly lays an assortment of luscious vegetation. Lemon balm, mojito mint and stinging nettle just to name a few, breed vivaciously out of plastic bins, which supply the restaurant below. It’s an excellent type of sustainable urban agriculture that the creators hope will soon be more commonplace than novelty.

The Container System

A Conversation with Katie Mathieu & Victoria Taylor
Interview By Abby Ainsworth
Photography by Antonio Fernandez
Video by Abby Ainsworth

Tell us a little about yourselves and your relation to the garden.

VICTORIA: Ok, my name is Victoria Taylor and I’m a landscape architect working in Toronto. I’m interested in green roofs and growing food and restaurants and eating food. So when I bought this building in 2009 with some partners, I was very interested in getting something going on the roof and I was looking for the right person to do it with. Then I met Katie and she had all this interesting experience with growing food.
KATIE: My name is Katie Mathieu. I’m a chef, permaculture designer and a farmer. About five years ago I went to a farm school on Cortes Island in British Columbia called Linnaea Farms and studied organic agriculture and permaculture. Then I had the good fortune to work for Michael Stadtländer for seven months and now I’m interested in studying container systems – the urban systems that are smaller and more complicated.

How did you two meet?

KATIE: Parts and Labour was doing a cattle call for bartenders and a friend of mine was going to it. We were hanging out in the morning and I just kind of went along, as a joke. I got an interview and I totally blew it but was kind of curious about the space so I came back and met [chef] Matty at the back door of the restaurant. Matty and I got along right away and we started talking about animal slaughtering and planting and he suggested that we start a couple buckets up top, just as a casual thing and then all of a sudden I was meeting you [Victoria] – we had coffee at the Drake. Yeah we had a blind date! [laughs] And all of sudden it just kind of blew up.

When you first started the garden what were you growing and how has it evolved?

KATIE: Peas and radishes and carrots and greens – stuff that I knew were small and could survive. Then we got really excited about tomatoes last year. We thought that because it was hot up here it would be easy to grow heat-loving plants but when we got 25 tomato plants when they were babies it was too hot for them. There was too much wind, it was too exposed and they suffered for it. And so that was something that we did a couple this year because we really like them and they did produce a lot of tomatoes but not as much as you would expect. We did a lot of chives and a lot of herbs for the kitchen downstairs. They were really excited about having those on rotation and being able to come up and get them. We have a big container of Cuban mojito mint for the bar this year. We started growing different kinds of mint last year but we got the mojito this year and Rob, our bar manager really likes it.

What’s the difference between Cuban mojito mint and the mint that we’re used to?

KATIE: It’s still a mint. The family is called lamiaceae. It’s still a common mint but it’s a specific variety that has a rounder leaf and less of – you know how spearmint has a finishing note that kind of tastes like toothpaste? Mojito mint has a rounder, chubbier finish that doesn’t compete with the high notes in booze and it’s Hemmingway’s mojito mint of choice.

Was this the first time you were ever growing it?

KATIE: Yeah. Everything else is pretty familiar; everything else was stuff that I’d worked with before so I’ve got comparisons for all of them.

And are the comparisons from Stadtländer’s farm?

KATIE: …and Linnaea Farms. Big time.

What are some of the less common items grown in the garden?

KATIE: Lemongrass, Stinging nettle, purple sage, okra chickweed, and red plantain.

Who would be able to get your herbs and who would you sell them to other than just the restaurant?

KATIE: Private clients that are interested in establishing bins and friends and family.
VICTORIA: We have brought people up here and they’ve said, “Can you help us start a small roof garden on our garage at home?” We made small, little models like that. What we would really love to do is massive roofs like this, figure out what it would be like to be on a commercial rooftop that has a structure and make it like a real farm. We’re interested in both forms.
KATIE: I’m interested in irrigation right now too. We have buckets underneath the hood fans in the kitchen. There’s condensation that comes off of them and when it’s really, really hot you can get four eighteen liter buckets on a really busy night. So things like that, like figuring out how all these machines and systems around us can accumulate and bring in water.

You were saying you want to expand– what would be your ultimate garden? Would it just be for restaurants or would it also be a communal garden?

KATIE: Community access would be amazing. Not just because you need the expert hands but also because I think it’s the only way to really get the model to expand and grow and the only way to teach people effectively, to get people involved from start to finish. I think that’s the only way you really get what works and doesn’t work in the system. You have to watch it all the way through. That’s what the farm schools are about.
VICTORIA: And have it so that the public can come up here safely, have proper railings, have something other than just a ladder at the back. Have it so that people of all ages can come up and have a time to work on their garden up here, bring school groups. It would be great to have a place like that.

Is there a particular plant you’d want to introduce or take away?

KATIE: I like perennials. They like the bins.
VICTORIA: Yes, they do really well.
KATIE: I want to do more of them. They’re super effective, they produce really well. I really like the lemon balm too. It’s good for cold and flu and anxiety and I think it’s kind of funny to have that growing in a city, you know? I think it’s appropriate.

Victoria – How often do you come up here?

VICTORIA: Well, whenever I can. In the evenings and in the summer I come up here and hang out and do what I can and then on the weekends sometimes we have little work sessions. I’m here a lot at the beginning when we’re setting up for the season and then breaking it down, bringing everything inside. But Katie is really hands-on all week because I have another -
KATIE: You have another job!
VICTORIA: Another full-time job.

Since your background is landscape architecture, did you design the layout here?

VICTORIA: Yeah, we worked on that together with an engineer. We had to try and figure out structurally where we could have the weight and where the weight bearing walls are from underneath. There’s not really that much to design, but just figuring out what containers we were going to use and the soil mix too, talking to different soil suppliers. We wanted something that was really light but high in nutrients. So just doing some of that background research.

How often do you guys replenish your soil?

KATIE: It depends on what crop it is. Like a lettuce or things that are heavy feeders, they need to be replenished more often.

Can you talk a bit about your bin system?

KATIE: The bottom third is a water reservoir. It’s basically a recycling bin, a few pieces of election sign material and PVC pipe. Rooftop Garden Projects in Quebec made the prototype out of garbage and now they produce it and distribute it to people. So the water goes into the PVC filling pipe from the surface of the bin and goes down into the reservoir and then there are three areas of soil that extend into the water reservoir and act as candle wicks and they’ll pull the moisture up into the base of the soil and allow the roots to self regulate how much water they draw. I don’t think the plants would have survived up here without it because a heavy plant needs a lot of water. The big plants in two days with a heat wave would be bone dry. If I fill the reservoir up and soak the soil in a heat wave I would come back two days later and it would be cracking bone dry.
VICTORIA: Yeah it gets hot up here.

What’s the perfect weather for everything up here?

KATIE: How it was last week – 28, 25, 26 degrees (Celsius). Hot enough for everything to fruit and flower but not so hot that everybody gets all stressed out. Right now all the beets and carrots and peas and radishes and lettuce are super excited about this! They’re really into it!

Tell us about the hops that you’re growing.

KATIE: I’m growing three varieties for my cousin opening Bellwoods Brewery on Ossington and he’s starting a city-wide hops project and we were just studying to see how they do in bins and they’re only supposed to grow eight to ten feet in the first year and not produce hop cones and they grew 20 feet and produced cones.
VICTORIA: Oh, I didn’t know that.
KATIE: Yeah, hops love bins. It’s crazy, they did so well and they’re so attractive. And everyone likes beer, so it got a lot of people excited about roof gardens. The interest is always touch and go with urban agriculture but everyone got stoked about beer and it got a lot of attention.

Where do you see this type of system in five years?

KATIE: Hopefully just a casual thing that’s running all over the city and is not a big deal anymore, where everybody kind of knows what to do and the information isn’t precious or new and it’s just normal and everybody’s got their infrastructure going.

What would you say to someone who hasn’t grown anything out of a box or on their roof? What’s the easiest thing to start growing?

KATIE: Lettuce is pretty gratifying. With regard to seed sowing, it’s recommended that you just scatter it on top of the dirt and then rough it in, which is pretty easy for anybody to do. Then they come up pretty quick and they’re tasty, they’re super familiar and their lifespan is pretty short so it’s not, you know, it’s not a lot of time for tears. [laughs]

What would you like people to understand with the knowledge of what you two have started?

VICTORIA: Well, just that it’s possible. Even if there’s not access now, all you need is to put up a ladder, be safe about it and then get it going. Soil and water can get heavy, so checking with an engineer or architect before putting up something this size (or any size) is really important.
KATIE: I just really like studying it. It’s really nice instead of just thinking about it and talking about it. It’s really nice to be doing it – and doing it wrong and figuring out what’s killing things. [laughs] It’s been great to learn.

Toronto has had its fair share of clothing related pop ups but of late the food centric variety has taken off, and LA CARNITA is leading the pack.

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  Words by Chuck Ortiz & Photos by Antonio Fernandez

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  a) JON LOVETT - SPIN Braised Oxtail with Ancho Chilis and Sweet Pickled Onion Slaw. b) GUY RAWLINGS - APT 303 & LUCIEN: Compressed celery & biters, corriander emulsion, 3 month fermented serrano peppers & pork rinds. c) ANDREW RICHMOND - LA CARNITA: Steak tartare w/ confit Jalapeño aioli, watercress, sorrel & raddish slaw.

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  TUM founder, Hassel Aviles lends a helping hand to La Carnita co-founder and hubby, Andrew Richmond. Is there a harder working couple in Toronto right now than these two?

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  La Carnita co-founder, Amin Todai

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  Guest chef, Guy Rawlings & girlfriend Kim Montgomery rocking the La Carnita x Apt 303 mashup tee. (More on Apt. 303 coming soon!)

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  Toronto legends, DJ X and DJ Mastermind, enjoying some tacos before their set.

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  La Carnita co-founder, Andrew Richmond

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Hassel Aviles is a woman on a mission. She’s the brains behind the upcoming Toronto Underground Market that will give home cooks an opportunity to get their food out there.

The TUM will provide an opportunity to let the broader community taste delicious food that would otherwise only be consumed by friends and family. There are a select group of people in our city right now that are really starting a food revolution of different alternatives and Hassel is definitely one of them. We will provide some coverage of the first TUM that takes place on September 24th at the Evergreen Brick Works. Stay tuned..

Yes, we all know how great Jen Agg’s cocktails are and we’ve all been in love with her concoctions for quite some time. With the opening of Cocktail Bar, not only do you get to soak up her classic & modern libations, but you also get a taste of Agg’s design sense, which we absolutely love by the way. We stopped by to check out the space and it was obvious that every little detail had her name written on it.

The women behind Brockton General have such a passion for what they are doing and our visit there was evidence of that.

BROCKTON GENERAL

Words by Christina Gonzales
Photography by Chuck Ortiz

“Pea shoots” she pointed out. Alex Feswick, head chef of Brockton General
was giving us a quick tour of the garden. Birkenstocks, a black shirt, hair-in-
a-bun with a printed scarf wrapped around it, I instantly admired her. She
was understated, charmingly humble and young. We continued around the
kitchen. “A coconut, my mom gave me.” And in that, the essence of this
establishment: it’s like a visit to a good friend’s home.

Alex grew up in Dundas Ontario, a long drive down the same road where the restaurant sits.  A family of Italian and Ukrainian descent, her mother was adventurous in the kitchen, a trait Alex states she’s inherited. As a result, she and her brother were exposed to a rotating menu at the family table, significant preparation for what could be her most momentous gig thus far. The menu changes daily here – written on a piece of paper and hung in the dining room – in keeping with authenticity of the place. One of the owners, Brie Read, politely asks if Alex has some time to powwow about tonight’s dishes. I loiter around the kitchen and instantly realize that I could never be a chef, especially on crowded, humid afternoons like this – though Alex, is more than accommodating.

By 8:30 pm the restaurant is bustling and I watch a group of customers in view. They seem familiar; young, professional and hoping to embody people of “good taste”. Brie approaches our table and I see golden pork belly, its rich scent wafts toward me. Beside it, raw candy cane beets and apples shaped like hickory sticks and stacked like hay with a dollop of grainy mustard as a compliment to the already victorious ingredients. I take a bite of the pork belly and it blankets my tongue with grease until the beet and apple cut the weight; a flawlessly balanced dish.

Cluttering the table are mismatched plates of china: creamy oat risotto on one, and on another, maltagliati, duck confit and mustard green seedlings married to create a bleak looking dish the colour of a cloudy day yet exceptionally memorable, rustic, flavourful and real. Every dish is down-to-earth and resembling Alex – moving, to experience such blatant personality in her food.

Another favourite is the peperonata, goat cheese and capers on grilled bread. A modest aperitif combining what I believe to be, the world’s unsung delicacies: peppers bathed in tomato and onion, velvet goat cheese and the pleasurable addition of briny capers. Presents on a piece of bread; frankly, I could eat dozens of these.

Beyond the delightful yet incompatible wooden chairs, orphaned and paired among one another since B.G. has opened over a year ago, I see one couple, poised and eclectically dressed. Could these be the regulars that Alex has told me about? Mid-forties with the money and demeanour of ex-rock stars I envision their pasts and wonder about the journey to their present. In an earlier conversation with Brie, she tells me about her previous job as an assistant at Morgan Stanley – an environment so far removed from what she desired. Along with Pam, at 28 years old, she’s a first time restaurant owner offering up this reflection, “after working for myself, I can never go back.”

There is theme that runs in the veins of this restaurant – authenticity. A group of women ultimately searching for the same thing as you and me: Oz. In this case, I think they’ve found it. But more than likely, B.G. is just another stop along yellow brick road.

At first glance, you probably thought these photos were taken at some food stand somewhere in Asia right? Well actually, they were taken at the recent T&T Night Market by Toronto’s waterfront. If you’re not familiar with the market, its an annual showcase of various ethnic street foods  and although they try to be as diverse as possible, its obvious that Asian street food runs these parts. This type of food is hard to come by in our city so when this market comes around we take every opportunity to indulge.

We had a chance to sit down with Executive Chef & Co-Owner of the newly designed Victor Restaurant, David Chrystian. Not only was the space redesigned but the menu also under went a revamp as well. We spoke to David about his new role as co-owner, working with the Hotel Le Germaine and where he draws inspiration from in Toronto.

The space was redesigned by Jenny Francis Design

David and partner Michael Sullivan have breathed new life into the menu by offering their “TORONTO TASTING MENU”, which celebrates the tastes of various neighborhoods around the city.

JAPANESE VILLAGE: Soft-shell crab with soy braised turnips, sesame sunchokes and sprouts

LITTLE ITALY: “Tonno Del Chianti” olive oil poached pork with crisp polenta and ramps

LITTLE INDIA: Tandoori lamb loin with raita and papadam

For more info on Victor Restaurant, go here

Here is a little teaser from the upcoming feature titled “The Walsh’s”.

Video by Abby Ainsworth

Toronto isn’t as lucky a city to have the vibrant street food scene other cities like San Francisco and New York have. Thanks to Toronto’s ancient bylaws the only variety we get are the people running the fleet of hot dog stands we are allowed to have. And don’t get me started on the failed Toronto a la Cart program. Enter Suresh Doss. He came up with the idea of “Food Truck Eats”, an event in Toronto’s Distillery District that brought together local food trucks and vendors to dish out awesome street food. Here are some photos from that day.

Suresh Doss, the brains behind “Food Truck Eats”.

Awesome poster designed by Catherine Mangosing

Geoffrey Hopgood & Julia Gilmore running the Hopgood tent.

Guy Rawlings lent a helping hand at the Hopgood tent.

Ryan Donovan and Carl Heinrich of Marben.

Carl Heinrich hard at work.

El Gastrónomo Vagabundo

Shawn Hartwell of Simple Fish & Chips prepares their Cajun Catfish Taco.

Wasabi Lobster Sliders by Simple Fish & Chips

Beef Empanadas by Supicucu.

Gorilla Cheese, hard at work.

For more info on upcoming events, go here.

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