A few weeks ago the fine folks at Zomato Canada invited me to one of their #ZomatoMeetups at Carmen’s Steakhouse. Zomato is, at it’s core, a local restaurant guide, but, it’s also the world’s largest restaurant guide. Their guides cover over 10,000 restaurants in over 22 countries, yeah, they’re that big! A meetup consists of a group of fellow food lovers who are brought together at a restaurant to have a great meal, get to know each other, and get to meet the chefs behind the food.
I’ve never been to Carmen’s, as a matter of fact I’ve never even heard about Carmen’s before opening my invitation so I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew that I was going to meet some great people, because all food lovers are great people, but I didn’t expect to meet such a young, and immensely talented chef like twenty five year old, Forrest Liu.
Forrest began his culinary journey in China where he worked at Jean Georges Shanghai. Eventually Forrest left the kitchen of the famous Jean-Georges Vongerichten and moved on to Jade 36, another one of Asia’s top restaurants. After his stint there he migrated to Canada and enrolled in the Culinary program at George Brown so that he could “learn the basics”.
After graduation he again gravitated towards the kitchens of some of Toronto’s top restaurants landing positions at two of Susur Lee’s restaurants, Bent and Lee. While putting in some long hours he began thinking, as lots of successful chefs do, about one day opening his own restaurant. Together with his wife, Karen, the couple started hosting dinner parties out of their condo as a way to test his creations. His dinner parties eventually became so popular that on some nights he was serving up to forty guests at different seatings in his condo.
What’s one of your earliest food related memories?
When I was a child in China our house didn’t have gas. People cooked on a small stove outside their house that was fueled by charcoal. We used paper to light pieces of wood then use the burning wood to light the charcoal. It’s that smell of charcoal and of the smoke that brings all those memories back.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
My style is very complicated. I come from a strong Chinese background, which is where I built my foundation. I then went to a top French kitchen where I learned their techniques. I realized one thing: My style of cooking can be unlimited when combined.
What do you do when you’re not cooking?
I play basketball. I was my high school basketball team captain and then I played in different Asian leagues. I also love spending time with my wife. Sometimes we go to the movies then come back home to talk about work. We also go out to eat at different restaurants in Toronto just to see what others are doing and how it’s different than what we are doing.
What’s the one food you cannot stand?
Cilantro
You’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world but what has been your most memorable meal?
Oh, that’s a very good question! In 2007 I had just started my culinary career back home. It was the night that people were celebrating the new year so our restaurant was very, very busy. I got off work very late, too late to meet up with my friends, so I went home but I was hungry. The only thing that was open was the local night market. I went to one stall and ordered pan fried eggs and stir fried noodle, I tasted those noodles and I remembered thinking that it was the best dish I ever had. From then on, it became my habit to go to that stall for the those noodles after work.
I wasn’t expecting that answer, but what made those noodles on that night so memorable?
It was because of the person making that noodle. He probably made over 600 portions of that noodle dish every night from about 5:00pm to 4:00am. Imagine this 60 year old man making that one dish all day, every day. Every single time it’s cooked the same way, it’s all about consistency.
What does food mean to you?
Food means a lot to me and to different people. If you have a lot, you have a meal, it can mean a memory or a celebration. If you don’t have enough it means suffering. For me, food means sacrifice, and making people happy. I want people to appreciate the dish that comes to their table, but also appreciate the people creating this food.
What advice would you give someone who wants to become a chef?
I’ve told a lot of people to think very carefully before you choose. I tell them about my stories and my experiences. First of all you wont get to spend a lot of time with your family, you wont eat properly, you may sacrifice your body, you will be lonely because of the hours, and these are just some examples. If they understand these things it will help them a lot.
Finally, what does the future hold for Carmen’s Steakhouse?
In the short term I want Carmen’s to be one of the Top 10 new restaurants in Toronto and in five years I want it to be one of the best restaurants in Toronto. We have a very young team and we have a new management team but we know what we’re doing and we have some exciting projects coming up. We’re planning to add a bar on the roof and also we’re starting to grow our own vegetables and rear our own animals at one of the owner’s farms up north. So it will definitely be farm to table.
** Special thanks to Zomato Canada for the invitation to the meetup at Carmen’s Steakhouse and for sponsoring the giftcards in the contest **
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He worked at Bent!
He worked at Bent and Lee
He worked at Susur Lee’s Bent and Lee.
He worked at Bent and Lee.
He worked at Bent.
He worked at Bent.
HE WORKED AT lEE
He worked at Bent.
He worked at Susur Lee’s Bent.
He worked at Bent and Lee with Susur!
He worked at Bent
Chef Liu worked at Bent and Lee.
HE WORKED AT BENT UNDER SUSUR LEEE
He worked at Bent!
He worked at Bent
He worked at Bent
He worked at Bent!
He worked at Lee! 😀
HE WORKED WITH SUSUR AT BENT
He worked at Bent.
he worked at bent restaurant
Great interview! Does this mean there’s no cilantro in any of the dishes at Carmen’s? =P
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That’s a very good question and one I didn’t even think to ask in the interview. D’oh!!!
He worked at Susur Lee’s Bent and Lee
He worked at Bent!