Quizine


	INTERVIEW with Chef SUTHAN RASA of Alioli Ristorante
	interview LORI McLORN photo STEVE UHRANEY

	Where were you born? I was born in Sri Lanka. How long have you been in Canada? I moved here about 20 years ago. Did you move directly to Mississauga? No. I actually started off living in Toronto near Yonge and St. Clair. When did you first take an interest in the cooking profession? When I moved to Toronto. So you never thought about entering the culinary industry before then? Not even while growing up in Sri Lanka? No. I was looking for work when I first arrived in Toronto and my first job opportunity was working in a restaurant. I started in the kitchen on pasta-making and then graduated to salads and then eventually over the years worked up to Sous Chef. Where did you work in Toronto? I worked at Pronto as the Sous Chef, but that was before the Mark McEwen days. Where else have you worked in the past? I had also worked at several other well-known restaurants in the downtown core at that time that have changed owners or concept over the years. Did you go for any formal training? No, but I worked under the direction of some great executive chefs. I was given tremendous support and mentoring by them. I really learned a lot. Why Italian? I started off in an Italian restaurant and continued to develop an appreciation for Italian cuisine – so it was easy for me to find myself at Alioli. How long have you worked there? I have been here for 11 years now. How many cooks are with you during peak periods? There are five of us in the kitchen. How many covers would you do on a typical busy night? Usually 180-200 on a weekend night, but sometimes we do that on a week night too. Is there a lot of prep work involved before a lunch or dinner shift? Oh yes. Some of the cooks start very early to prepare, because everything is made fresh daily here. What are some of your most popular ingredients used in your recipes? Definitely garlic, good quality olive oil, tomatoes and fresh basil. Are the pastas, breads or desserts made fresh in-house? We make six fresh pastas like linguini and capellini. Our decadent desserts and our breads are made fresh here too. Who develops the recipes for the menu? The owners Massimo, Gianni, Alireza and I all have input in creating the menu. We try different dishes and judge them on taste and quality. What are the most popular dishes? It has to be the Linguini Pescatore. It’s the number one dish. We use fresh linguini noodles combined with lobster meat, shrimps, and scallops in a white wine sauce with dill. The Osso Bucco does very well too. And for dessert, the Crème Brulee is still a popular choice and the Chocolate Bomb which is a warm chocolate soufflé. How often does the menu change? We change the menu every six months—basically a summer and winter menu to reflect local, fresh and seasonal produce. Do you have a large following of regular clientele? We certainly do. I can’t always get out of the kitchen to see them, but I do recognize the orders when they come in. Has Alioli won awards? Over the years Alioli has won many awards including The Wine Spectator Award and Mississauga’s Reader’s Choice Awards. Just for fun. What’s the most important tool you cannot live without? That would have to be my tongs. I use them constantly. If I was to check inside your fridge at home at any given time what would I find there? (Laughter) Not much. Wine, garlic, fruit and pasta. If you were to go out for dinner on a night off what type of food would appeal to you? If it was dinner, I would want a steak. If it was lunch, it would be a salad with chicken or salmon. When you’re home what is your favourite comfort food? Again, it would be steak and spaghetti carbonara. Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself here but still learning. In this business there is so much to learn all the time. GL		For more than 15 years now Alioli Ristorante has been serving up exceptional contemporary Italian cuisine. Their menu displays some of the finest soups, antipastos, fresh pastas, seafood and veal dishes. The ambiance of Alioli is warm and inviting in an upscale casual setting, which continues to flow onto their intimate 60 seat patio. Unique to Alioli is their chef who is not Italian, but has an immense, unstoppable passion for the cuisine. Chef Suthan Rasa came to Canada and quite innocently discovered that creating classic Italian dishes was to be his forte. His boundless enthusiasm has remained his inspiration while exploring every aspect of one of the world’s most popular culinary domains.