TORONTO — Rene Redzepi, the inventive chef behind the top-rated Noma restaurant in Denmark, was in Toronto Oct. 9 as part of the Cookbook Store-organized book tour for his collection of recipes called Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine.

Speaking to a crowd of foodies at the Isabel Bader Theatre at the University of Toronto as part of a Q&A with the store's Alison Fryer, Redezpi provided an overview of his philosophical views about food and what he is trying to accomplish at Noma, recently voted the number 1 restaurant at San Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2010.

Born in 1977, the 32-year-old Redzepi opened the 40-seat restaurant in Copenhagen in 2003. By 2006 it had received its first Michelin star, followed by a two-star rating in 2007. The young chef, who began cooking at the age of 15, found critical acclaim by promoting indigenous food from Denmark in a simplified and unstructured manner. “I started this journey of self discovery in the Faroe Islands,” recounted Redzepi, pointing to products he found there such as seal, whale and sea urchins. “I didn’t even know they existed,” he remembers. “I was used to cooking with a few ingredients but suddenly you step into nature and find out we have 59 edible berries, 150 types of horseradish, 1,000 types of mushrooms.”

TORONTO — The owners of the Japanese supper club, Ame, are upping the ante at the Toronto hotspot, building on its cultural theme with more drink, food and entertainment options.

“After a phenomenal first year, and as Ame enters its next chapter, we have added some exciting innovative elements to the design, menu, entertainment and overall vibe,” says Charles Khabouth, co-owner of Ame and CEO of Ink Entertainment. “We are taking the Ame experience to the next level as Toronto’s ultimate Japanese supper club, and I promise it will continue to be a must-go-to destination on the Toronto culinary and nightlife map.”