David Schwartz Fires Up the Charcoal BBQ and Shares His Best Recipes
As a restauranteur in Toronto, David Schwartz’s work is never done.
Between being the co-founder and culinary director of Big Hug Hospitality, the company behind Sunnys Chinese in Kensington Market and Mimi Chinese near Yorkville, and the owner of Linny’s on Ossington Ave., you’d think that, by the end of the day, David would hang up his chef’s apron and lay low. Instead, he often rolls up his sleeves, sharpens his knife and gets cooking — for his friends and family.
David, his wife, Lee-Tal Hatuka, and their one-year-old son, Sid, live in a cool converted loft in Kensington Market that’s decorated in a warm palette of wood tones, creams and considered pops of colour. Lee-Tal is an artist, and her contemporary abstract paintings take centre stage. The couple enjoys hosting, especially in the summer, when they can pull out the charcoal barbecue.
For the first time, David is sharing his best barbecue recipes. His summer menu is a subtle nod to the food at Linny’s, a deli steakhouse dedicated to his late mother that serves refined, pared-back dishes. At home, he sets the table with the same meticulously shined silver that can be found at Linny’s, along with crisp linen napkins, elegant candlesticks and simple white plates. “My approach to cooking at home has some of the same routes we take in our restaurants, although it’s less thematic,” says David. “I start with ingredients and then work my way from there. In the summer, it always begins with the best vegetables I can find.”
Runner Beans finished on the grill, tossed in a silky Brown Butter Vinaigrette and topped with thinly shaved Comté cheese are tasty and toothsome. David’s Cabbage Salad with Radicchio, Sunflower Vinaigrette and Nigella Seeds has a flavourful punch that cuts through some of the richer dishes including Slow-roasted Lamb Shoulder with Grilled Vegetables and Potatoes with Yogurt and Berbere Spice. “A slow cook in the oven breaks down the lamb and results in a super-comforting texture,” says David. “Then, I finish it on the charcoal grill alongside peppers and onions.”
When David talks about food, his eyes light up. He’s built a career by offering great Chinese food. The atmosphere at Sunnys is playful and high-energy, and Mimi is its higher-end counterpart. “It’s a tale as old as time: chefs turn away from their own food culture and dive into another one,” says David. “I went down the Chinese food rabbit hole and became completely enamoured with it. I really do think it’s the most historically deep and diverse food culture that exists.”
Despite finding major success at a young age — this 34-year-old chef opened his first restaurant at just 29 — David still gets asked what a Jewish guy from Toronto is doing running fancy Chinese restaurants. The truth is, Chinese cuisine has an emotional tie that has drawn him in from a young age. His mother, Linda (Linny) Pach, passed away from cancer in early 2003 when David was 10, and some of his earliest memories are meals spent with her at Chinese restaurants, crunching into delicious egg rolls. For him, Chinese food is comforting and nostalgic.
The rare times that David isn’t in the kitchen, you’ll find him at Restaurant 20 Victoria, Takja BBQ House or Dreyfus — his favourite upscale dining spots in Toronto. For a quicker nosh, he loves Northern Dumpling Kitchen, Kensington Jerk & Pasta and Emmer bakery. Though Toronto ranks high on his list, Tokyo, New York City and Chengdu, China, reign as David’s top culinary cities in the world. “Toronto’s fine dining scene is finally starting to prioritize quality over quantity,” he says. “I think we’ll continue to see restaurants become more focused and mature.”
Here at home, David makes the perfect grilled bite: he tears a piece of bakery-fresh, fluffy flatbread, fills it with gorgeous lamb and drizzles on his Green Herb Sauce along with his favourite fermented hot pepper sauce. The sides — potatoes, beans and cabbage — are an elevated trio that hit all the right notes to round out a summer barbecue: savoury, tangy and fresh.