The arc of her restaurant’s growth has been based on a theory of simplicity that she studied at the school. “I learned some amazing things from Neil and Bryan [veteran SCS instructors and former Rundles and The Old Prune chefs Baxter and Steele, respectively], and I always start with those fundamentals and building blocks…”
Both Alumni and SCS Faculty, Randi and Mike are also the Chef Team creating delicious and gigantic from scratch submarine sandwiches this summer at Somewhere A Restaurant’s innovative new pop up sub shoppe in downtown Stratford, where they make just about everything themselves.
“I approach and see my work as art and not just food. I want guests to really like it, but I also make food that I really like and that conveys a message that I want to deliver.”
In our weekly update: Alumni Feature: Tom Giannakopoulos, Class of 2017 | Rave Reviews for Open Kitchen @Home | Program Updates, and more.
After his first year at the Stratford Chefs School, Tom Giannakopoulos (Class of 2017) said “I now know what I don’t know.”
Tom had cooking experience gained through his family’s restaurants in Stratford, the city in which he grew up. “From the time I was 13 years old, I’ve been working in restaurants,” Giannakopoulos says, adding that attending the School was a natural progression from what he’d already been doing.
#BlackLivesMatter | Alumni Feature: Adam Brenner, Class of 2006 | Learn with Open Kitchen @Home Meal Kits | Program Updates, and more.
When The Waterlot closed in 2016, I began renting the kitchen and building my catering business. Within a year, I began selling prepared foods out of the kitchen, and had the grand opening of The Garden Stand in 2018 in downtown New Hamburg, where I continue to work alongside my customized catering business…
From the Stratford Chefs School, Tim Otsuki’s culinary career has taken him around the world, evolving with each dish and each cuisine, from Hong Kong, to the Caribbean to Toronto, and back to Stratford; Chef Otsuki is eager to share the cross cultural fusion of freely adapted recipes from his own experiences at his restaurant The Common, where the motto is: Eat Without Borders.
Launching Today! Open Kitchen @Home | Chef-prepped meal kits with Video Instruction to finish and savour at home! | Updates on our Programs, and more!
I wouldn’t say I followed the traditional “path of a Chef”… It was more of an evolution, starting as a way to pay university tuition, then developing into a passion for the industry as a whole…
Launching Soon: Open Kitchen @ Home | Alumni Feature: Mike Lurz, The Local | A spring recipe from Chef Eli and more, in our weekly update!
Stratford Chefs School Alumnus Mike Lurz (Class of 2009) recently joined The Local Community Food Centre in Stratford as the new Community Chef and Volunteer Coordinator. After more than a decade working in restaurants and running his own food business in Kitchener-Waterloo, Mike now leads the community meals program…