Gnocchi are the magical lovechild of pasta and dumplings, versatile enough to be rustic and homey comfort food, or delicate and elegant special-occasion fare. Their secret lies in how easy they can be to make from scratch, once you know how. Laura Guanti will introduce you to some of the many varieties of gnocchi, start with the simplest: a rustic, hand-shaped pasta of semolina flour and water formed on special press board. From here you’ll move on to the more famous classic potato gnocchi but with a few interesting variations: regular white potato gnocchi, a green spinach gnocchi, and black squid ink gnocchi!

For thousands of years Jewish people have been gathering around the table on Friday nights to celebrate a humble but ancient ritual, the sabbath meal. The lighting of candles, the singing of simple blessings and the breaking of bread have been the unifying thread that has connected Jewish life across centuries and continents. In this multi-dinner series, Alissa Kondogiannis explores Shabbat dinners as they have evolved in Jewish communities around the world, e.g. Ashkenazi in Eastern Europe, Sephardi in Spain and North Africa, Mizrahi in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Alissa grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa with a Canadian mother and a South African father. Her father's mother owned and ran one of the leading catering companies in the Jewish community and Alissa remembers lavish Shabbat and holiday meals that always had the flavours of South African Jewry at its core: a mix of traditional Lithuanian and the spices and tastes of the Portuguese and Malaysians that settled in early South Africa.

Chef Taylor's sophisticated tasting menus celebrate local and foraged ingredients, and a deep connection to First Nations foodways, to our land and our shared heritage. Each meal showcases a range of wild ingredients native to Ontario. Weather, timing, season, and the caprice of Mother Nature will determine exactly what will be shared with us. Whatever comes to the table, you can be assured that it will be crafted with remarkable skill and creativity of a veteran fine-dining chef.