Tucked away on Niagara Street in Toronto, just off bustling King Street West, sits Edulis, a small old-fashioned restaurant known for its European-inspired seasonal tasting menu created by husband-and-wife owners Michael Caballo and Tobey Nemeth. Last year, Edulis was awarded One Star as part of the inaugural MICHELIN Guide Toronto launch, making it one of the first Michelin-starred restaurants in Canada.
Hailing from Edmonton, Caballo attended culinary school at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and worked in a couple of kitchens before moving to Toronto. Nemeth, on the other hand, attended culinary school at George Brown College and spent the first of couple of years after graduation working in various restaurants before landing her first serious cooking job at now-shuttered Avalon Restaurant in Toronto. It was there she met Caballo.
Eventually, the couple married and embarked on a four-year culinary journey, starting in Spain to explore Caballo’s family heritage. They also worked in remote Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands); in Vancouver during the Olympics; in the Chianti countryside in Italy; and in Panama as part of an opening team for a hotel and restaurant. In Panama, while debating their return to Toronto, Caballo and Nemeth received a message from a friend who had heard Anton Potvin, owner of Niagara Street Café (now Edulis), was considering selling, marking a moment that changed their lives forever.
“Previously, Michael was the chef at Niagara Street Café and it was also a restaurant I had been going to for more than 20 years with my girlfriends,” says Nemeth. “It has always been my dream restaurant. It’s the perfect size and tucked away on a side street, which makes it feel like a secret.”
Since its opening in 2012, Edulis has gained critical acclaim. In addition to its Michelin-star rating, Caballo and Nemeth were also the MICHELIN Guide Toronto 2022 Service Award winners. Most recently, Edulis was ranked number four in Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants for 2023.
“Michael and I, as well as Brett Healey and Philip Shaw, our front-of-house staff, have the hospitality gene in our DNA. We genuinely love what we do, and it’s a great feeling to be recognized for that,” says Nemeth. “We’re not a restaurant for everybody; we’re kind of hard to find, we don’t provide a menu ahead of time and we’re a no-tipping restaurant with pre-paid reservations.”
The name, Edulis, translates to edible in Latin and is also linked to one of the finest mushrooms, boletus edulis (also known as porcini mushrooms), and is featured as the restaurant’s logo. With seating for roughly 24 diners, the restaurant offers dinner service ($200 per person) from Thursday to Saturday and lunch service ($100 per person) on Sunday. Its multi-course set menu showcases the best ingredients of the moment, with an emphasis on mushrooms, seafood and vegetables.
“We have an affinity for mushrooms,” says Caballo. “I’ve always been a mushroom nerd. In the past, I was a big mushroom forager, so I always liked the idea of bringing that back to the restaurant.”
“We cook naturally with what we have – no sous vides or modern techniques. We’re open to learning about those things, but we gravitate towards a slowness. Everything is laborious and careful and we enjoy that process,” says Nemeth. “We encourage our guests to put their phones away and lose themselves in time.”
While some ingredients are supplied from overseas, Caballo and Nemeth also work closely with a small group of Canadian suppliers, including Toronto-based Hooked Inc., Newfoundland-based Foggy Shoals Fish Co., Fort Erie, Ont.-based Blue Goose Farm and Hamilton, Ont.-based The Packing House Inc. This summer, white asparagus, porcini mushrooms and spot prawns are a few ingredients guests can expect to try.
“[We have deep, meaningful relationships] with everyone who’s involved in what we do at Edulis. We work with small farms and fishing companies and let them do what they do best. In turn, it gives us the freedom and inspiration to do what we do best. We like to be at the ground level with those things,” says Caballo.
Interestingly, Caballo and Nemeth avoid using buzzwords such as sustainability, local sourcing or slow-food movement. They say establishing and maintaining relationships with farmers, foragers and fishers is most important.
“We don’t have the power to make sweeping changes in the industry, as much as we’d love to see those changes. We simply have to do what’s right for ourselves,” says Nemeth. “We’ve worked as cooks for a long time and witnessed a lot of imbalances within the industry that have frustrated us over the years. Suddenly, you realize that you’re in a position to do things better yourself, which is such a relief.”
For aspiring chefs looking to break into the industry, the husband-and-wife team offers a slice of advice: “Read, read, read,” says Nemeth. “Have respect for this industry and spend every dime you can on eating out and travelling wherever you can, whenever you can.”
“Be patient with your career. Put in the hours and the work and don’t be in such a rush,” says Caballo. “Take the time to develop yourself personally and professionally. These days, that’s hard advice to follow, because everyone craves immediacy.
BY NICOLE DI TOMASSO
