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Behrooz Moazen,
Il Gusto,
Toronto, Ont.
By Gary Lipovetsky, President of MenuPalace.com
 On College St. in bustling, multicultural Toronto, Italian food is king. And with good reason — the lively strip is smack-dab in the middle of little Italy. In fact, there is a good chance there’s a higher concentration of trattorias, gelato shops and espresso bars here than in any other place outside of Italy, save maybe New York.
And for the next 30 days — when the World Cup kicks into high gear in South Africa — College St. will swell with Azzuri fans and other soccer-lovers from around the world. This time around, Il Gusto’s Bruce Moazen will be ready to feed them all.
MP: Tell me a bit about your background.
BM: I studied graphic design when I came here in 1994, but I was also working part time in a restaurant. When I eventually started work as a graphic designer, I didn’t like it. All I was doing was working on my computer. I wanted to engage and communicate with people.
And I love cooking. I used to cook at home, and I would invite friends over all the time. They used to say “You should be a chef.” They kept coming back, too. I also wanted to have my own business, and create my own little community, choose the people around me and the place where I was going to work.
MP: Do you have any culinary school training?
BM: No, I’m self-taught. But either way, you have to love cooking, because it is a tough, tough job. Personally, I don’t cook because it’s my job. I do it because it is my passion. I have passion for every plate I put out. I always make sure each dish tastes great and looks nice.
MP: What do you enjoy more, being a chef or owning a restaurant?
BM: Being a restaurant owner is a lot of pressure and it’s a lot of work. I love cooking. Sometimes I wish I could just focus on the kitchen. I do my best at them both, but I definitely like cooking more than I do managing my restaurant.
MP: You have Persian heritage, but you’ve chosen to create an Italian concept restaurant. What made you go this route?
BM: I worked in an Italian restaurant when I first came into the business, and I thought Italian food was very interesting. I liked it because I could prepare the dishes as the orders come in. Nothing is pre-made, it is always fresh. And more people like Italian food. Persian food is great, obviously, but not everyone likes it. Everyone likes pasta.
MP: You don’t have Persian food, but you do have hooka pipes for customers to use.
BM: Yeah, most people that come in don’t really know what they are, but a lot of people are interested in trying it.
MP: Can it be smoked by the whole table?
BM: Sure. It is $15 plus tax to use it and it lasts about 30 minutes to an hour. It’s something people can smoke on the patio while they’re relaxing, having a drink and enjoying some nice conversation.
MP: How long has Il Gusto been open?
BM: We’ve been open for four years. I bought it without having any experience as a restaurateur, and it was tough to get going. I had some ideas, but I wasn’t really able to cook the way I can now. I struggled at the beginning, but as time went on I got better.
Right now, things are good. My food is great and I make my own sauces. In fact, everything is homemade, except my gnocchi. I get someone I know to make it, and they do it by hand. But my sauces are very good quality.
MP: What are some of your customer’s favourites?
BM: I have a dish called Gnocchi Heaven’s Door — it’s a cream sauce with egg yolk and gorgonzola cheese, which is really tasty. When you taste it, you feel like you’re in heaven.
MP: Do you always use fresh ingredients?
BM: Everything I cook is fresh. Because when you’re cooking, especially pasta, if it’s not fresh it shows right away in the taste. Everything I have here is fresh. Always.
MP: What do you love most about your job?
BM: Some of my customers have become my friends. I have an open kitchen, and when they come in, they see me cooking and say hello. And I go out and chat with my guests all the time. The best satisfaction I get is when I see my plates come back clean. I love when they have been wiped of every last drop of sauce. Then I know I’ve done my job.
MP: The World Cup is around the corner. You were open during the last world cup, right?
BM: Yes. It was so busy, I couldn’t believe it. At the time, we had just opened, and I didn’t know all that much about restaurants, so we had to close every other day because we kept running out of things. But we’re totally prepared right now. We have the menu, staff and drinks ready to meet the World Cup crowd. We will be opening for breakfast every day and serving drinks at 10 a.m. We’ll even have a TV outside on the patio. It’s going to be great. |