Hunks O Meat How bespoke butchery became the city's newest fine art
DAVIDA ARONOVITCH
Special to The Globe and Mail
Lorenzo Loseto, head chef at up-market George restaurant on Queen Street East, has a tough decision to make on a tender issue: Will it be Cumbrae's Niagara Gold whey-fed pork, or Olliffe's Empire Cheese whey-fed pork? Each premium purveyor has launched an enticing new program experimenting with feed for generously marbled meats. While the call was once a no-brainer, an increasing number of carvers are making the cut.
The recent explosion of the meat market has bred the bespoke butcher: a brand of carnies who eliminate the middle man and work with local farmers to raise elite meat.
"People are really starting to rage against the Big Meat industry," says Susan Bourette, author of Carnivore Chic. "We've become so interested in knowing where food comes from."
Pioneering chef-butcher Mark Cutrara of Cowbell sees increasingly discerning diners with high expectations who expect steaks with reputable pedigree. It's a hunger that Mr. Cutrara thinks is leading to the rise of indie chop shops.
Good butchers are now accountable for every step of a beast's life, from its provenance (Is it local? What breed is it?) to its health (Was it given natural feed? Was it raised humanely?) to its impact on the environment (Does it come from a sustainable farm?). Traditional cuts are old news: Manual slicing techniques privilege all parts of the animal, including often overlooked hanger steaks, tongues and cheeks.
Mr. Loseto, like many of the city's top chefs, has been sourcing from Cumbrae for over six years. But in March, Rosedale standby Olliffe was purchased by triple threat brothers James Aitken and Sam and Ben Gundy (respectively a jet-setting ad man, an eat-local entrepreneur and a four-starred steakhouse chef). The overhauled business, which has joined George under the Verity Group umbrella, now caters to sophisticated tastes with hands-on husbandry and restaurant-ready exclusives: Ninety per cent of their product is now local (to Cumbrae's 95 per cent); they are the sole purveyors of the TamShire pig, a succulent Tamworth-Berkshire crossbreed they helped develop, and are working on a more delicious cow.
Like Mr. Loseto, many Hogtown meatheads have divided loyalties. The Cookbook Shop owner Josh Josephson always shopped at Olliffe until he discovered Cumbrae's seven years ago, which he recently crowned No. 1 supplier in a blind tasting. "They're both good butchers," he says, "but Stephen Alexander is one hell of a guy. He's always on top of it." Mr. Josephson still makes exceptions for Olliffe's custom steak burger and "the best veal chop in the city," but a fresh take on an old favourite could tip the balance.
An uptown institution since 1975, Olliffe was the go-to among the meat-seeking elite until it was eclipsed by Stephen Alexander's direct source "farm-to-fork" butchery (and swoon-worthy smile) in the late nineties. Gord Mackie, then at Canoe, catapulted Cumbrae to the top of the food chain when he approached Mr. Alexander about sourcing for the restaurant in 1998. Cumbrae meats quickly became a must-have menu item at 50 of the city's hottest kitchens, including the Oliver & Bonacini empire. The brand has its own Wagyu herd in Fisherville, countless accolades, two Toronto locations and 4,000 served weekly (about double the amount of Olliffe).
"Cumbrae's was the original trailblazer of nose-to-tail," explains Mr. Alexander. "It's funny," he says of the suddenly chic pursuit, "when I was a kid, it wasn't the most glamorous thing when you're trying to impress girls." Now, Mr. Alexander sees a trending towards chefs-turned-choppers, like Mr. Cutrara. "It's good," he says. "There's room in the market."
Ben Gundy is just that hybrid. When Olliffe founders approached him, he was executive chef at Jacob's Steakhouse (where he aged his own sides). Now he's teamed up with his band of brothers to take Olliffe to the next level: Mr. Aitken is the charming marketing mogul, and Sam is the no-nonsense founder of Forager Foods (an all-local-food shop in Huron County) who mans the front of the house. Like Mr. Alexander, the Aitken-Gundy boys don't look like old-world meat peddlers - unless the ones you know have great smiles, good hair and nary a blood splatter on them. While Cumbrae has had the market locked up for near ten years, the fraternity is quietly rehabilitating Olliffe's name with a high-profile chef and some rock-star style of their own.
First came the facelift. Czehoski designer Brad Denton updated the shop's look during the restoration, in June, of the so-called Five Thieves, a clutch of tony businesses at Summerhill and Yonge. In addition to swanky decor and a 1969 Vespa delivery truck, the shop showcases its talent. "Our butchers are on display," says Sam of the glassed-in counter his meat men work behind. The new space is double in size, with a cigar-locker-style drying room where Ben custom ages sides for local families.
The biggest change will be Olliffe's presence on the restaurant scene. Sam is eager to take a stab at wholesale, hoping Olliffe meat cred with in-house epicures will help: "All the best personal chefs for the most famous families come here." Ben's culinary connections will also come in handy. Olliffe is working with farmers to develop exclusive breeds - what Mr. Cutrara calls the key to the niche market - such as the Berkshire-Tamworth blend that is tempting Mr. Loseto.
As to Chef Loseto's choice? "We'll see when we try them," he says. Only taste will tell.
