toronto recipes

Toronto chefs are sharing their recipes and secrets all over Instagram

There's no better time than now to hone your kitchen skills, and luckily for us, some of Toronto's chefs are hitting IG to share what they're cooking at home during quarantine. 

Impromptu cooking classes from some of the city's most well-known chefs, bakers, and pasta-makers, have begun to bombard us on social media — it's almost hard to keep up with all the free knowledge being passed around these days. 

Arguably the most comprehensive resource of pure gems is the first edition of Toronto's Open Source Cookbook compiled by chef and writer Nick Chen-Yin.

The online cookbook features more than 100 recipes from contributors working in the kitchens of hot Toronto eateries like Enoteca Sociale, Rosalinda, Rudy, and Patois

How-tos run the gamut from sourdough bread from Patti Robinson of Robinson Bread, or mason jar coffee from Sam James, or a "No Knead, No Skill Needed Square Pie With Bacon" recipe from Jesse Fader of Paris Paris and Favorites, to name a few. 

It's easily my favourite resource (I prefer cookbooks to videos) with good photos and fun asides like "...please let's stop using the term 'opening up' a pizza to describe rolling out dough. You sound like an ass." 

If you learn better through how-to videos, there are plenty of Instagram accounts to follow. 

Tomer Markovitz, former head chef at Parallel, has become a go-to account for everything from homemade polenta to challah, pad kra prao, cookies, and brunch food. Every night he posts his cooking process on to his IG story, then saves it to his highlights. 

Baker Matthew Duffy is beefing up his IG Live channel with adorable bread-making how-tos, featuring a pretty adorable sous chef. 

Aloette cook Maddy Goldberg is doing step-by-step instructions for crispy pork belly udon, tortelini, stuffed peppers, buttermilk biscuits, and her Blueberry n' Cream Blondies. Find the written recipes in her Instagram highlights. 

DaiLo owner Nick Liu just put out his doughnut recipe that he developed from scratch, when you're craving something sweet and deep fried. 

Meanwhile, wife-and-husband duo Audrey and Rob Gentile of Buca are doing an Instagram series called The Sauce where they teach you how to make all that Italian good stuff, with the option to access their recipes for free.

It's hard not to feel kitchen envy when you see what these chefs are working with in their own homes, but at the end of the day it's a solid recipe is all you need.

Lead photo by

Matthew Duffy


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