“We just came from three back-to-back buy outs,” says Gather’s Chef Justin Tse, sitting down to talk, but looking pressed for time. That County look.

That’s three weddings in a row, each with anywhere from 80-140 people needing to be fed. Lavishly. The rush came right after the peak season, which runs from June to the beginning of October. “There’s little time to get creative or think things out,” he laments. “We are hopping from lunch through dinner every single day.”

That mapping might start now, in the small lulls between high season, fall weddings, and Countylicious, but only really takes place in the County’s one remaining genuinely slow season, winter.

Chef Tse has been at Wander the Resort’s Gather just over a year. He is from Kingston, though his parents were born in Hong Kong, and has worked at restaurants in Ottawa, Toronto, England, and Chicago. 

He also spent ten years cooking at a resort in the High Arctic from April to October. “Let me tell you, nothing grows there,” he says. “Every single thing is flown in.” 

That experience made coming full circle, to land in PEC, a contrast he could fully appreciate. Here, navigating the harvest is the key to success.

Gather, once a restaurant just for resort guests, opened to the public in September of last year. Chef Tse was hired just a few months before that transition.

“I was walking into something that needed to be developed,” he says. But high summer is not the right time for creative thinking. “The kitchen needs to be prepared to serve as many people as it can, as quickly as it can. That’s the only thing you are thinking about. It’s go go go.”

Gather now seats about 80, and in high season is almost fully booked by outside guests. Those staying at the resort can find themselves out of luck. “We need to decide what to do there. We don’t want to risk leaving tables empty, but on the other hand, our cabin guests don’t know they need to reserve a table in advance of their stay.”

A Juggling Act

As Wander’s Food and Beverage Director and Gather’s Executive Chef, “cooking is now the least part of my day, but it’s the part I love the most.” The rest of the time is spent looking for suppliers for a unique and seasonal menu, and balancing a very tight budget.

“Every time I hear a glass break, I feel it. I am always thinking of the bottom line,” he confesses. “We run on very tight margins. Every restaurant does. It’s the reality of what we do.”

Because the margins are so tight, sourcing locally is a luxury. Tradeoffs must be made. The more common vegetables, beets or carrots or cabbages, can be had at half the price they can be found here in Toronto, where they can be ordered online and shipped immediately.

“It’s less expensive, yes, but you have no idea really what it is or where it is from. That’s the tradeoff. Most people won’t notice the difference with some things, so I do source things there.”

For Countylicious, Gather features roast duck with corn from both Laundry’s and Hagerman Farms. For lunch, Chef Tse prepares a savoury bacon and corn chowder. Keep an eye out for plenty of the County’s latest craze, cucamelons, a bumpy round cucumber-melon blend from Mexico, the size of a fat olive, and available at Vicki’s.

And yet. “I drive by Hagerman’s and Laundry’s every day on my way to work, and Vicki’s is top of mind for me. I feel a sense of social responsibility, about carbon footprint as well as just supporting our community. We get a lot of our produce from those places, of course, to support the community — and because there is nothing like a fresh, heirloom tomato or bushels of fresh corn sourced right here.”  

The chef’s tried and true local favourites include corn and tomatoes. The tomatoes he likes to serve just as they are, fresh, with a bit of salt. With corn, there are many possibilities. Mr. Tse loves buttered corn with a hot sriracha. “Take salt, butter, lemon, and hot sauce. Cut the kernels off the cob. Mix it all up. Delicious.”

He also makes a vegetable broth with the hundreds of cobs the restaurant generates. He just acquired a gigantic, 30-gallon, tilting-skillet soup and stock pot in which he simmers the cobs for just under an hour with fresh herbs, garlic, and peppercorns to create a golden broth, like a consommé. It’s the basis for many dishes and sauces.

“A lot of people would just throw the cobs away. I like to squeeze every last bit out.”

The are challenges. Farm-to-table dining is up against the sheer volume of patrons, a short season, and trying to harvest and store produce. 

“We are so busy, the summer season is so short, we are always struggling to beat the frost deadline.”

Any good chef becomes a hoarder. Finding ways to store up the harvest is a major part of the challenge. Mr. Tse tells me with a smile about his two new industrial freezers, each the size of a large dining table, about 7’ x 4’. He fills these with fresh corn. Vacuum-sealed and then frozen, it will taste fresh six months from now. Herbs are dried and powdered and turned into oils. Peppers get made into hot sauces and vinegars. Basil is bagged and frozen, as are rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, and Niagara peaches, which are also made into jams and chutneys. Apples are cooked into pie filling and jarred.

A Michelin Star

Just like a certain handsome chef on Emily in Paris, Chef Tse is not above hankering after a Michelin Star. 

“That has become more and more reachable,” he says seriously. 

About three years ago, the coveted mark of distinction came to Canada, but just to eateries in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. “It’s about geography, finances, and politics,” he says, “not always cooking.” 

Last year, though, a restaurant outside the GTA, Pearl Morrisette, was awarded a single star. Meanwhile, here in the County, The Royal just earned a Michelin Key, the hotel equivalent of the star.

“They are starting to reach outside the cities. It’s just a matter of time.”

Wander of course hankers after a Key of their own, if not a Star, but it won’t come while the venue is under construction. Eight more cabins are coming, these ones in treehouses. Its Nordic spa is about to open, which will keep the resort busy in winter, too.

“Soon,” says the chef.

I believe him.