Red Canoe Bistro, Burlington

After deciding at a young age what he wanted to do, Red Canoe Bistro’s chef Tobias Pohl-Weary wasted no time getting started. By age 12 he was assisting chef Jamie Kennedy during a New Years Eve meal at the Palmerston Restaurant, by 17 he apprenticed under chef John Higgins at the King Edward Hotel, and by 18 he'd apprenticed under Chef Michael Stadlander at Eigensinn Farm. After managing some of Canada’s finest restaurants, chef Pohl-Weary decided to pour his considerable knowledge and experience into Red Canoe Bistro.

Favouring a hyper-seasonal menu, Tobias builds dishes that give voice to regional Canadian ingredients, wild edibles, and local game. Diners might feast on naturally raised beef and pork belly burgers with wild leek aioli, chuck steak chili with local habaneros, or pan-seared scallops with a spiced carrot puree and goat’s milk yogurt drizzle. Local ingredients mingle with flavours from India, Asia, and Italy to create robust entrees that helped earn Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for 2012 and 2013. Tobias and his team of culinary savants are always willing to change their recipes to accommodate vegans, and people with allergies or specialty diets upon request.