By Kara McIntosh
Growing up as part of a large family in the rural south of France, Michel Masselin of Chez Michel restaurant has lots of experience working in a vegetable garden.
“With so many of us, there was lots of work to be done. My Dad organized the family garden, but each one of us had to take turns and be responsible for watering, weeding and looking after what we grew.”
Luckily, Michel has always loved food as well as being able to grow it.
“The best part, of course, was when it was time to harvest. It was all so good and made all the hard work worth it.”
After immigrating to Canada in 1976, Michel moved out of the garden and into the kitchen, working in the restaurant and catering business in the Toronto area.
Following a stint of travelling and cooking in Australia, he came back to Canada with his new wife, Elinor, and opened his acclaimed restaurant in Craigleith.
In 2004, they moved their family and business to Creemore.
With the purchase of the property behind the restaurant a few years ago, Michel and Elinor built their garden and Chez Michel became one of the first local restaurants to grow their own food.
The Masselins grow as much as they can for the restaurant, including tomatoes, peppers, leeks, potatoes, lettuces, squash, radishes and a variety of herbs. When necessary, they source and buy ingredients as locally as they can. Sometimes, their own customers show up with gifts that they’ve picked or gathered themselves.
While the local food movement has gained momentum and “farm to table” has become a wildly popular trend in the restaurant business, the Masselins’ approach is even more direct – it’s straight to the plate. For Michel, growing the food has become every bit as important as preparing and cooking it.
Michel says that Creemore residents and visitors often poke their heads over the garden fence to see what’s going on, and in the true spirit of community support, a few even roll up their sleeves to help with the watering and weeding.
“The people here, our customers, they are so nice,” says Elinor. “Over the years, we’ve gotten to know each other and the relationships are based around food, community and hospitality.”
Indeed, some of their customers have been coming to the restaurant for 25 years. For the Masselins, it’s all about growing, preparing and sharing delicious French cuisine with their guests.
“I am very lucky to be able to do what I do,” says Michel. “There is a continuity of who I am and what I want to do. In my life, the kitchen extends to the garden and the garden to the kitchen. When customers come to eat here, they can walk around the garden and see where much of their meal comes from and that is very important to us.”