Miss Ava Cado and Chef Jose Hadad #LuvMexAvocado

I grew up eating avocados in Trinidad.  My grandparents had a tree in their back yard that bore some massive avocados, and if we were ever caught picking my grandfather’s prized fruit, then heaven help us.  I think that Miss Ava Cado knew of my love for this fruit when she invited me to a special avocado themed, four course dinner at Frida Restaurant and Bar prepared by Chef/Owner Jose Hadad.

Chef Jose Hadad of Frida Restaurant

At the start of the dinner we were told a story about when Chef Hadad was 8 years old.  His grandmother asked him to prepare a snack for her, so Chef Hadad got some melon and wrapped them in ham.  When he took it to his grandmother she looked at the little boy, then looked at the plate and exclaimed, “This boy will become a chef!”.

Even though his grandmother predicted his future career, it was a chance encounter with a childhood friend, when he was 17 years old, that led him towards his culinary path.  His friend had enrolled in culinary school and was on his way to a restaurant to start an apprenticeship in the kitchen.  Jose thought it was very interesting and asked if he could tag along and also try his hand at an apprenticeship.

In the beginning, kitchen life was very tough. His complete lack of cooking skills along with the constant ribbing he got from other chefs made life pretty difficult.  He didn’t allow these things to stand in his way though, he knew he wanted to cook and did all that he could to eventually succeed.  His friend, the culinary school student, realized that he couldn’t take the pressure and quit after a week and a half.  Jose stuck with it and after some time, the same chefs who were giving him a hard time were the ones who took it upon themselves to teach him their techniques.  His love of cooking was so strong that Jose worked in the kitchen for almost a year for free and loving every second of it.

After that year he moved on to different restaurants.  Money wasn’t a big deal to him, it was all about the learning and the art of cooking that was important.  Eventually he decided that he wanted to go to culinary school.

In 1999, after working for little or no money, he left the sun and warmth of Mexico and headed north to Alaska to earn enough money, in U.S. dollars, to pay for his tuition.  His first job was in a salmon cannery and then he moved on to various shifts at different restaurants.  By 2001, Jose had earned enough money for his education. He left Alaska and came to Toronto to enroll in George Brown College.

By 2004 Chef Hadad had graduated from George Brown and worked his way through a couple of chef positions.  An opportunity to work with Chef Mark McEwan at Bymark prompted him to take a pay cut and join the team. After leaving Bymark he spent some time with legendary chef, Michael Statlander at his farm/restaurant, in Singhampton, where he was involved in everything from the farming of the vegetables to the rearing of the animals.

On his return to Toronto, Chef Hadad started up Mad Mexican selling some salsas at a small stall in St. Lawrence Market. He was so successful with Mad Mexican that in 2008 he entered into a partnership with the then owner of Frida where he is now putting his own modern spin on classical Mexican dishes.

Chef Hadad started the night off with some delicious guacamole and house made chips then moved on to the fun stuff.

Ceviche de Atun con Aguacate

First up was his Ceviche de Atun con Aguacate which was yellow fin tuna and avocado ceviche with tomato, coriander, arbol chili oil and homemade potato chips.  What I really enjoyed about this event was that Chef Hadad was very engaging with all of his guests, not only did he take the time to talk to us, he showed us how to create this dish from scratch.

Chef Hadad in the midst of his cooking demo

Mini Tacos de Carnitas

The second course was Mini Tacos de Carnitas which were gently braised duck “carnitas style”, topped with fresh guacamole and pico de gallo salsa.

Filete al Albanil con Huitlacoche y Aguacate

For his main course Chef Hadad prepared Filete al Albanil con Huitlacoche y Aguacate.  This was medium rare veal tenderloin with a Mexican “Bricklayers” style sauce topped with Huitlacoche (also known as Mexican corn truffle or corn smut) and avocado.

And for the final course of the night, Chef Hadad brought out his ice cream maker and showed us how to create his version of avocado ice cream.

Makng avocado ice cram

I’ve never had avocado ice cream before but after tasting Rose Resman’s brownies and frosting made from avocados at the previous #LuvMexAvocado event, I was more than ready to give this a go, and it didn’t disappoint at all.

Churros de la Casa with Avocado Walnut Ice Cream

This dessert consisted of Chef Hadad’s award winning churros filled with goat’s milk caramel, blueberry culisand berries, topped with housemade avocado walnut ice cream.

All in all, this event was one of the best ones that I’ve had the opportunity to attend.  I have to thank Miss Ava Cado,  for the invitation and Chef Hadad and Frida Restaurant for being so welcoming and treating us so well.