Wednesday, August 17^th 2011

I spent my morning at Eatalia with Hamilton Mens Magazine ‘HMM’ photographer and five of our downtown Burlington chefs, or as we refer to them ‘The Ampersand Whites’ who are being profiled in the next issue of the local magazine. I knew it was going to be an interesting shoot when I received a phone call from Eatalia’s Chef Jake Rujevic the day before, “Lisa, do you mind if I bring a pigs head to the shoot?” If you meet Jake you soon realize this was a serious and legitimate question. The guys start to show up one by one, I had arrived there early so I could brief our photographer Brian, oh and to warn him about the pigs head, but he assures me that he himself is a little bit of a rebel and did most of his work in the seventies so he’s into it. Back in Eatalia’s kitchen SB Prime’s sous chef Daniel Pascoa riffles through the box of pig parts that have just arrived, to which he quickly refers to as “the Portuguese kit” then carries on to tell us of the time he ate a whole pigs head, this should have been my cue to leave. Meanwhile the much more conservative (well at least he is in front of me) Dickens’ Pub chef Ritchie Ife marvels over the cost of the pig’s head and each individual part as he commentates the meat invoice while we kill some time before the shoot. Chef Jake Rujevic arrives and the espresso starts flowing, the pig is laid on a butcher block and the guys finally sit down in the dining room ready for their group shot, somehow cans of Molson M and a bottle of Heineken have made their way into the scene. Rude Native Chef Derek Gowland sits centre as the guys laugh and comment on him owning the shot like a boss. The newest chef to the group Callen Clancy of SB Prime goes along with it, either he thinks we’ve gone too far or he’s just found his new home. The only thing more entertaining than the photo is the conversation that went with it. This is what happens when you put five chefs (and a pigs head) in a room together. Needless to say there are two sets of photos from the day, the ones that will make the editor happy and the ones that belong in Rolling Stone.