Chef Matt Kantor in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef on unsweetened.ca

Our first Chef in the Chefs #LoveCDNBeef Series is Chef Matt Kantor.

If you are a regular reader of unsweetened.ca, you already know that Chef Matt Kantor is my partner in the Secret Pickle Supper Club, my travel buddy to the Encuentro Internacional de la Cocina del Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra , and my dear friend.    I have enthused about his food often and was delighted when he said he’d participate as the first Chef in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef on unsweetened.ca .

I invited Matt not because he is my friend, because he’s a very talented Chef who is doing inventive and exciting things with food.  Matt’s flavour-packed and carefully crafted dishes are often produced in kitchens that weren’t kitchens 3-hours earlier. The food he can produce when he’s working in a proper kitchen is inspired. 

In tomorrow’s recipe you’ll get to see what Matt can do with beef, in a simple and fantastic recipe you can try at home.  In the meantime, let’s hear what he has to say about Canadian Beef in this quick Q&A.

What is your favourite cut of Canadian Beef?
Short ribs

What is your best kitchen tip for working with Canadian Beef?
Keep it simple

What cut of beef do you think is under-utilized in home kitchens these days?
Oxtail

Do you have a specific butcher, farm or vendor you go to to get your Canadian Beef?
Sanagan’s

Who else does beef right, i.e. what is best restaurant (other than yours) to order Canadian beef (any style)?
Farmhouse Tavern, Nota Bene, Buca 

What is the most adventurous beef dish you’ve seen, made or eaten?
soup dumpling burger

Dave Arnold’s Burger Of The Future from Eater on Vimeo.

How do you like your steak?
marinated in garlic, lemon and rosemary, 128 internal temp, wood grilled

Your favourite side dish to go with a nice roast?
pommes au gratin

Your favourite seasoning to use with beef?
salt

What do you put on your burger?
onions and mushrooms

What do you drink with beef?
Cabernet -based wines

A bit more about Matt:

Chef Matt Kantor entered the Canadian culinary scene in 2009 designing custom menus for clients and creating dining experience events.  Despite not having a restaurant, Kantor quickly established a profile as an adventurous and creative chef through his Secret Pickle Supper Club, Muskoka Hidden Kitchen and Roadshow dinners, which included a 3-night el Bulli tribute dinner. His imaginative and playful style of food creation makes avant garde fine dining exciting and accessible.

Kantor has been featured in many of the top Toronto periodicals, including Toronto Life,  the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail, and has been interviewed several times on CBC Radio one and CFRB 1010AM.  Matt is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has worked in some of the top restaurants across North America.

You can find out more about Matt at www.MattKantor.ca or follow him @mattkantor

Note: this post is part of the Chefs #LoveCDNBeef on unsweetened.ca series and my Canadian Beef Brand Ambassador series.  For more information on my relationship with Canada Beef Inc read about my Foodie Adventure: I’m a Canadian Beef Brand Ambassador. #LoveCdnBeef and my disclosure statement