Joe Thottungal

Ottawa is known among major Canadian cities for having a very tight-knit restaurant community. Everybody seems to know everybody else and there’s a real sense of respect and admiration between restaurants. The warring camps that other cities have are nowhere present here. Acting as a spokesperson for this community is chef Adam Vettorel. He’s already well known as chef-owner of North & Navy, as well as the brand-new Cantina Gia. But did you know he has his own podcast?

“I think it was a Sunday,” says Adam Vettorel, looking back at the day everything changed. “We’d been watching the news that morning, and I went in to assess the situation. We knew we’d have to close soon. But that day, within 12 hours, it went from having to close soon to ‘we’re closed now.’”

Joe Thottungal’s new book, named for the restaurant, is a joyous celebration of the cuisine of Kerala, the state in India where he grew up.

Great Canadian Theatre Company has partnered with six chefs to present a pop-up restaurant for one night in the run of each play this season.

Six celebrity chefs are volunteering their time to train a team to cook their high quality dish under competition pressure.