inthekitchen
inthekitchen
Secrets of the Sauce
The city’ s toniest steakhouse shows us how a dedication to quality ingredients and detailed preparation keep the classics fresh
by Joelle Kidd
Behind the hiss of searing meat and the sounds of knives chopping, the kitchen at 529 Wellington moves like a wound clock, each small part turning perfectly to keep things running smoothly. Since opening more than a decade ago, the steakhouse has held a consistent place on lists of Winnipeg’ s best restaurants— most recently on USA Today and The Huffington Post— no small accomplishment in the lightning-fast world of food fads. Executive chef Fraser MacLeod, who has been with 529 from the beginning, knows first hand that this is more than a stroke of good luck. The restaurant has become the city’ s standard for excellence for premium steakhouses with its dedication to consistency.
“ That’ s a very challenging goal,” says MacLeod, of reliability and consistency. These very things are what 529 Wellington has always strived for: top quality ingredients, prepared clean and simple. The restaurant is built on the cornerstone of customer expectations— and those expectations are high. There is little margin for error, and the standard must be constantly met.“ It’ s a bit like theatre,” MacLeod explains.“ You have to perform, put on the same show flawlessly, night after night.”
It also requires intricate systems, which MacLeod sets up with gusto. With 25 staff running a 150 seat restaurant( plus 40 seats on
14 ciao! / oct / nov / two thousand fourteen