Sanjiz Mathews, alias Spice Chef, has family ties to the spice trade going back centuries. His business, Incredible Spice, carries on that tradition with a line of pre-measured seasoning kits, prepared foods and individual spices (vanilla beans, peppercorns, green cardamom) he sources himself. As the Spice Chef, he serves up a prepared-to-order menu of samosa chaat, chicken kathi rolls, and a hybrid of his own creation called the Best of Both Worlds.
Outside of the weekly markets at SickKids and Wychwood Barns, one event Mathews hits every year is the Toronto Garlic Festival. “I have to make it because that’s the festival I joined from the beginning,” he says. “I love garlic, I like to showcase the product.”
And it shows. The first year, Mathews made garlic truffles with salted caramel and Himalayan black salt. “That was really a hit,” he nods. “It’s a bit difficult to make, but everybody loved it.”
Since then, he’s added a new offering every year including garlic coffee – his own spin on an Indian recipe that uses butter and peppercorns – and garlic chutney, as well as garlic popcorn. “I make special things for the garlic festival,” he explains.
Find out what the Spice Chef is cooking at this year's Toronto Garlic Festival on 18 September at Wychwood Barns.
Learn more about Sanjiz "Spice Chef" Mathews in the launch issue of Foodism Toronto on 4 October. Stay tuned for locations and more information...
