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Recipes from Toronto chefs and restaurants are now compiled in a free online cookbook

An open source cookbook with recipes from local Toronto chefs available for free online is changing the game when it comes to home cooking.

Launched on April 4 and available in PDF and web form, it's titled Open Source Recipes to be Used in Quarantine During a Global Pandemic.

Anyone can contribute, but it already contains recipes from chefs and bartenders at restaurants such as Favorites, Enoteca Sociale, Woodhouse Brew Pub, Patois and Tennessee Tavern.

"Food isn't like global economics or fucking toilet paper for that matter; one percent of the population shouldn't hoard all the food knowledge," reads the Foreword written by Nick Chen-Yin, former co-owner of Smoke Signals in Toronto. He came up with the idea for the cookbook, and did all the design for the online components.

"This cookbook is meant to be an open source toolkit that everyone and anyone can access during a time of heightened need," Chen-Yin continues. "There are recipes from chefs, line cooks, home cooks, mothers, fathers, nonnas, popo's and everyday joes."

The result is "a cookbook that encourages the open source sharing of food knowledge," writes Chen-Yin. "There is no right or wrong recipes in this book. There will be duplicates and there will be revisions...and that's totally fine. The primary focus behind this project is to continue the evolution of food culture and knowledge."

So far the cookbook is already over 100 pages and includes recipes for Robinson Bread sourdough, Mezze Maniche Alla Gricia from Kyle Rindinella of Enoteca Sociale, and a chilled green pea soup from Craig Wong of Patois.

To submit to the cookbook, all you have to do is write a recipe for your favourite dish including accurate measurements in weight or by volume and send it in by email with Open Source Cookbook as the subject line. You can include photos and video as well.

Lead photo by

Hector Vasquez


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