Scratch

It started with one steak sandwich in Ricky Barrientos’ backyard.When Aki Erenberg couldn’t stop thinking about it, the two friends turned that craving into a Sunday pop-up, serving friends and family while still working their 9-to-5s. Then a stranger placed an order, an article went live, and suddenly they had to figure out how to turn backyard chaos into a real business.Aki and Ricky share how BEAR grew from 300 sandwiches every Sunday to a Toronto brand built around three principles: simple, unique and delicious. It’s a story about friendship, knowing when to take the leap, and having the discipline to become really, really good at one thing.

Adam Minster was on his way to becoming a lawyer. Chef Lia Silva finished university unsure of what came next. Both eventually found their answer in the same place: feeding people.Their paths led to RASA, SARA and Chop Hop, three very different concepts connected by a shared philosophy around hospitality, trust and knowing when to let talented people run in their own lane. From creating a neighbourhood restaurant they’d happily visit every week to rethinking the tasting-menu experience and turning a much-loved chopped salad into its own concept, each restaurant reflects a different chapter of their journey.Adam and Chef Lia share the risks that shaped them, why hospitality starts with employees, and how giving people the opportunity to grow has become one of their greatest measures of success.

David Schwartz’s cooking was never about one cuisine - it was about understanding how cuisines are built.Raised eating both Cantonese food and Eastern-European deli classics, David grew up noticing something unexpected: these food worlds shared the same backbone. Both emerged from necessity. Both relied on smoking, curing, salting, fermenting, pickling, and coaxing deep flavour out of what was cheap, abundant, or leftover. The difference wasn’t the technique, it was the expression.That realization shaped everything David went on to build.From childhood trips through Chinatown with his dad - hunting for rose apples or encountering sticky rice–stuffed chicken wings that left him completely shook at eight years old - David became obsessed with the idea of food that looks simple but reveals immense complexity once you look under the hood.That obsession lives across his restaurants today. MIMI was created as a peer to the independently owned Chinese restaurants he deeply admires - a place grounded in regional specificity, tradition, and respect. Sunny’s Chinese emerged alongside it, not as a pop-up turned permanent idea, but as a distinct concept born from the need to compartmentalize creativity. And Linny’s became a full-circle return to his own heritage, where deli culture and steakhouse tradition finally met, priced and presented with the care they deserve.As one of the leaders in the Toronto food scene, David talks about technique as a cultural connector, why representation starts with sourcing and restraint, how hospitality is just as much about the employee experience as the guest, and why designing a restaurant always begins with someone sitting at a table. This is a conversation about curiosity, trust, and choosing the harder road, even when it would be easier not to.(And yes, when David cooks at home? He feeds everyone else… and orders a cheeseburger.)Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTokFollow Sam Jen on Instagram

Dining at O’Noir starts with losing something - your sense of sight.But for Dr. Jaren R. Feng, what you gain is far more important.Jaren first experienced dining in the dark as a guest. What struck him wasn’t just the novelty of the concept, but the people behind it - particularly the servers, all of whom are blind or visually impaired. Their ability to navigate the space, memorize guests, and deliver service with precision and confidence challenged everything he thought he understood about ability, perception, and hospitality.Years later, he stepped in to help grow O’Noir into something larger - refining the concept into a system and expanding it into one of the largest dining-in-the-dark experiences in the world.At O’Noir, the experience is built entirely around the servers. They carry multiple plates at once, remember the layout of the room and the names of their guests, and guide diners through a space where fear, curiosity, and vulnerability often show up all at once. For many guests, the experience begins with hesitation, but quickly becomes something transformative.Dr. Feng reflects on what it means to trust your other senses, why discomfort is often the first step toward growth, and how the restaurant has created a space where guests and servers meet on equal footing. He shares how the concept challenges assumptions, builds empathy, and reminds people that what we take for granted is, in fact, a gift.This is a story about perspective, courage, and learning to see differently - even when you can’t see at all.Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTokFollow Sam Jen on Instagram

Portuguese culture in Toronto can feel frozen in time, but that’s not the story William Oliveira wants to tell.Raised in a deeply Portuguese household, William’s early memories were shaped by family trips back to Portugal and a community in Toronto that preserved those traditions almost exactly as they were decades ago. The bakeries, the flavours, the rituals - they all felt consistent, familiar, and rooted in what his parents knew when they first arrived.But growing up in Toronto meant something else too.Surrounded by a multicultural city, William was exposed to a world of food beyond his own - flavours, techniques, and perspectives that slowly expanded his understanding of what “home” could be. What began as a singular identity became something broader, more fluid - a space where cultures overlap rather than collide.That perspective now defines his work at Café Belém.While many Portuguese restaurants in Toronto reflect a version of the past, William is interested in something different: expressing what Portugal looks like today. Not through strict authenticity, but through what he calls reminiscence - using familiar flavours and ingredients to evoke a feeling, rather than replicate a fixed tradition.His path into baking was just as unplanned. During the pandemic, what started as a hobby turned into a deep obsession with fermentation, sourdough, and the quiet, meditative process of working with dough. That instinct to explore, experiment, and understand food from the inside out quickly became central to the café’s identity.In this conversation, William reflects on working alongside his father as both family and business partner, how Portuguese culture continues to evolve, and why food doesn’t need to be defined by authenticity to feel true.This is a story about identity, expansion, and building something that feels like home - even as the definition keeps changing.Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTokFollow Sam Jen on Instagram