Blog  October 27, 2011

Behind the pass with Dan DeMatteis at Café Belong

Chef Dan DeMatteis ladles sauce onto a dish (Photo: Melissa Yu)

Café Belong, Brad Long's local, seasonal restaurant at EBW, opened quietly just a few months ago. And if you haven't heard, the food is delicious. And it’s in large part due to the skills of chef du cuisine Dan DeMatteis. We recently caught Dan on a rare quiet moment at the restaurant to find out a little more about him and the café.

Where did you come from?

I grew up in Nova Scotia in a family of five. My parents both cook a lot, so food was always a big part of my childhood. For a few years my mother owned a food shop, with prepared foods to grab for lunch and take home for dinner. Growing up they also loved to entertain. There were a lot of dinner parties at our house, so chicken and liver pâté on toast and dates stuffed with almonds wrapped in bacon were commonplace.

Where do you live in Toronto and what are your favourite places to eat when you’re not at the Cafe?

I live off Queen West, so I frequent Kensington and Chinatown. I find myself at Gandhi’s Roti a lot, and one of my favourite spots is Agave & Aguacate in Kensington. It’s tucked away in the back of 214 Augusta Avenue, and the owner Francisco Alejandri is the only chef. He switches the menu every few days and everything is made to order. The food is delicious and breaks some of the conventions of what “fast” Mexican food is. Because he works on his own, you sometimes have to wait a bit but it’s well worth it.

Other than that, I’m always up for a bowl of pho or for a plate of dumplings in Chinatown.

Did you always want to be a chef?

I kind of fell into it. I studied Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy in university, working part-time jobs in pubs, and then moved to better restaurants as I became more experienced.

I started seeking out better teachers and moved to Toronto where I met Jamie Kennedy. I didn’t know how to do a damn thing before I started working there. I started with Jamie in 2002 while he was operating JK ROM, and worked for him for a couple of months as a production cook. Then, after working at Dufferin Grove and for a time in Tuscany, I started working for him again at JK Wine Bar where I became chef du cuisine.

Interior of Cafe Belong (Photo: Melissa Yu)

How did you meet Brad Long?

I shook Brad’s hand years ago when I was still at the Wine Bar and was reintroduced to him after it closed.

When he told me about the project, I was really intrigued by how a restaurant would play out in a space like Evergreen Brick Works—it’s a bit odd but also perfect with all of these social and environmental initiatives that bring people together. I like the idea that it is like a public square, where people come from far or wide and know what the spirit of the place is.

Because of the mandate of Evergreen, I knew that there would be an extreme environmental consciousness in terms of the business operations, buying practices, sourcing and more, and it was a fit with my own mandate so I went for it.

Dan DeMatteis (Photos: Melissa Yu)

And how’s it going?

Great. People are enjoying themselves. I’m constantly surprised and encouraged by how much walk-in traffic we get. The weekend evenings are very busy. In fact, Brad had to play host on Saturday night because we were so slammed.

What are you looking forward to?

We’re releasing a brunch menu soon. So look forward to more pork belly and what Brad coined “tofu perdu.”

What else is on the brunch menu?

Shirred eggs (eggs baked in a ramekin) and house-made sausages. We’d like to do something different—there are a million places you can get breakfast smothered in hollandaise sauce in Toronto.

Beyond that, we’re looking forward to doing more in-house methods of cooking like smoking our own fish, making sausages, more terrines, mousses, patés and potted fish dishes.

Will you share a recipe with us?

Sure. Here’s a recipe for Brad Long’s Brown Butter Vinagrette. We put it on our salads and beloved beans, but it goes well on everything—bread dipped into it, steak, fish, beans. Brad put it in the stuffing for our Thanksgiving special. It’s delicious.

Brown Butter Vinaigrette

Yield
20 oz, give or take, depending on several variables

Ingredients

• 1 lb Salted Butter
• 1 medium Shallot finely diced
• 1 tsp Mustard (Dijon or any but ballpark yellow, please)
• 1 tbsp Honey (raw is best or unpasteurized next best)
• 4–5 oz Cider Vinegar (start with less and work up to balance)
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. Place the diced shallot in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan until the butter foams, falls and the solids begin to brown. This process can vary from butter to butter and unsalted or cultured butters will perform differently and give slightly different results. Don’t walk away from this process, once the butter starts browning it will be all over in a matter of seconds. You can not only see this happening in the pot but you can also smell the distinct hazelnut aroma that makes it so appealing to go through all this fuss.
3. As it fully browns, remove from heat and immediately pass through a fine strainer into the bowl containing the shallot. The hot butter poured over the raw shallot will cause it to lightly cook (the liquid will boil immediately as the butter is several hundred degrees) so they will foam up––beware not to do this too quickly or it will foam over the top of the bowl.
4. When this has cooled a little (5 minutes or so), add the remaining ingredients and season to taste. It is certainly possible that you may need to adjust the acid (vinegar) and the salt to find the best balance.

This vinaigrette can be stored in the fridge but the butter will solidify again so it must be warmed slightly or left at room temperature before use and it also must be firmly shaken or stirred before each use.