Scrumpdillyicious: Greg Couillard's Persian Chicken & Golden Rice

Long-time Depanneur favourite, Chef Greg Couillard, chose an interesting time to return to Toronto from his winter home in Mexico. After weeks of isolation, he returned to the kitchen of this popular College Street food venue for his 2020 Toronto debut, with a delicious Persian-themed dinner. A showcase for culinary talent in Toronto, Depanneur celebrates the incredible diversity of culinary talent we have in Toronto by hosting hundreds of pop-up food events such as cooking classes, drop-in dinners, table talks, supper clubs, and a weekend brunch. It’s also the birthplace of Newcomer Kitchen, a non-profit social enterprise that helps create social and economic opportunities for Syrian refugee women through food-based projects.

Due to COVID-19, all of their supper clubs and cooking class have understandably been cancelled, but they do offer an inspiring line-up of guest chefs preparing themed pick-up dinners, such as Greg's fabulous 3-course dinner, featuring an aromatic Kale and Leek Soup with Fennel, Persian Chicken with Golden Rice, and Coconut Cream Pie. It would not be hyperbole to suggest that Couillard is one of the most influential chefs in Toronto’s culinary history. Through groundbreaking restaurants like The Parrot, Stelle, Avec, The Spice Room, and many others including Blue Ocean and Sarkis (where I first met him and fell in love with his culinary palate), his prescient embrace of this city’s multicultural flavours and ingredients revolutionized fine dining in Toronto, and foreshadowed the eclectic, international menus many Torontonians now take for granted.

After several years as Chef at a small boutique hotel in Mexico, Greg has returned to Toronto as the Executive Chef of Bellwoods Addiction Treatment Rehab Centre, where his decades of experience contribute to a holistic approach to recovery and wellbeing. How delighted I was to find that in addition to being a guest chef at Depanneur and contributing his enviable culinary skills at Bellwoods, Greg also sells some of his signature dishesonline at Fox Market in Toronto, including his famous Jump Up Soup. One of Greg’s latest project also includes a new line of hot sauces called No Refund Hot Sauce — Too Hot? Too Bad!