Victor Restaurant in Downtown Toronto

I was so happy when David Chrystian cooked his way back into the finale of season two of Top Chef Canada. He is my favourite kind of chef. He took interesting chances all throughout the competition and was so exciting to watch. I also really loved his passion for Toronto, which was evident in the final challenge where all his dishes were inspired by a neighbourhood in the city. We decided we had to have dinner at his restaurant Victor in the Hotel Le Germain. He is the executive chef and co-owner. The flavours in the deconstructed chicken noodle soup blew away the judges, and I loved that it was inspired by the farmers’ market at Wychwood Barns. The little triangle of jelly on top of the terrine was very concentrated and had a tasty chicken noodle soup flavour, and there was a dusting of crushed soda cracker crumbs on the plate:

All the plates in the Toronto tasting menu were beautiful and delicious, inspired by areas such as Little Portugal, Koreatown and Little India. The Roncesvalles cabbage rolls were topped with the beetroot horseradish that judge Marcus Samuelsson (owner of Red Rooster Harlem in New York City) said he wanted to take home with him. The corn pudding dessert that the judges also were so impressed by is my favourite kind of dessert, both sweet and savoury and very, very light. Those are truffles rolled in sage beside it:

I nearly freaked right out when David himself came out of the kitchen to visit the table beside us. Our lovely waiter, seeing my unconcealed excitement, made sure to introduce us. David Chrystian is not just an amazing chef, he is also super sweet to take the time to chat with us while he was clearly running a very busy kitchen. I can’t wait to rub my steaks with his Original Toronto Spice Blend, David’s signature spice mixture inspired by the multicultural flavours of the city. 30 Mercer Street.