Three years in, Charlie’s Burgers brings Le Châteaubriand—the world’s ninth-best restaurant—to Toronto

By Renée Suen | March 2, 2012

By Renée Suen | 03/02/2012

One hundred and thirty-four hungry (and excited) guests gathered for Charlie’s Burger (Image: Renée Suen)

Charlie’s Burgers, the original Toronto pop-up, just celebrated its third birthday in February, six months after the Globe and Mail revealed its elusive leader’s identity. Having already collaborated with chefs from Canada, England and France, the “anti-restaurant” decided to bring cutting-edge Parisian cooking from Le Châteaubriand—number nine on the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list—to Toronto for a two-evening dinner engagement on Sunday and Monday this week. Sous-chef Agata Felugga and Delphine Zampetti, wife of Le Chateaubriand’s chef and owner, Inaki Aizpitarte, put together a menu using deer and partridge that were hunted and aged especially for the event, as well as vegetables and other produce sourced by chef Jonathan Gushue of Langdon Hall, itself a sometime member of the World’s Top 100 restaurants list. We dropped by the dinner at L’Unità to check in on one of the biggest food events of the season.

Despite the growing international recognition, and even branded bubbly (Champagne Charlie Burger, Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs), Franco Stalteri (a.k.a. Charlie Burger) tells us the mandate of his underground dining club is unchanged. The focus remains on pairing fine food with fine beverages and giving talented sous-chefs carte blanche in the design of their own menus—all the while generating a little illicit buzz. Of the many events he’s hosted, Stalteri tells us that this one drew the most interest from the city’s chefs. Craig Harding of Campagnolo told us that Le Châteaubriand’s ability to create celebrated, refined foods in a downscale setting (and a small kitchen) have long been a source of inspiration for his own restaurant. Matty Matheson (Parts and Labour) recalled the exceptional time he had celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday at Le Châteaubriand last October and was anxious to relive the experience closer to home. Zampetti tells us she relished the chance to work with new ingredients, in particular partridge and trout.

Although Stalteri remains frustratingly mum on future events, Harding shared with us his fantasy Charlie’s Burgers dinner: “If CB can do this then I’d like to challenge him to convince Ferran Adria to cook the French Laundry cookbook front to back—at Campagnolo of course.”

Check out the meal, presented to a total of 134 guests, in our slideshow »

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Poached red anjou pear with beet jus and cow parsnip.
Served with: Hennessy VSOP, Cognac, France

A special plate consisting of two French cheeses (Saint-Nectaire and a Tome de Chevre) chosen by Zampetti, served with a slice of pain de seigle prepared Poujauran-style. According to chef Felugga, the breads served were baked at Langdon Hall based on a recipe from the bakery that supplies Le Chateaubriand and other top tables in Paris.
Wine pairing: Podere Rocche dei Manzoni 2006 Barolo DOCG, Roche, Piemonte, Italy

Confit partridge leg and sous-vide partridge breast served with salsify, black trumpet mushrooms, fresh celery seeds and black truffles.
Wine pairing: Domaine Ligneres 2003, Le Signal, Montagne d’Alaric, Corbieres, France

Pan-seared lake trout draped with fine slivers of pancetta, rosebuds from France, horseradish and grassy brussels sprouts.
Wine pairing: Santa Lucia 2010, Fiano, Gazza Ladra, Puglia, Italy

Smoked whitefish and turnip bouillon: silky cold-smoked Lake Huron whitefish, pickled shallots and a medley of turnips: gold turnip, red meat turnip, white turnip and turnip broth lightly infused with ginger and lemon grass
Wine pairing: Château la Baronne 2008, Montagne d’Alaric, Corbieres, France

A volley of amuse-bouches included (clockwise from top left): trout roe with fresh pecorino (made at Langdon Hall), olive oil and pepper; gnocchi, brown butter and sage; deer tartare (aged 30 days) seasoned with vinegar-soaked mustard seeds, chives, shallots and a quail egg yolk that’s been soaked in soya sauce; and a light salad of beet greens, sunflower sprigs, rocket and mustard leaves tossed in a Meyer lemon vinaigrette with sunflower seed powder. The gnocchi was a crowd favourite and featured potatoes cooked sous-vide, butter from France and sage. Amazingly, the dish had also once been a staff meal at Châteaubriand

Champagne Charlie Burger, Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs. Produced just outside Oger in small batches from chardonnay grapes, it’s a blend of wines from the 2000, 2001 and 2002 vintages, which is then cellar-aged for five years

The 10-course menu featured artwork by Toronto illustrator Katherine Patton on its back

Special delivery: five wheels of cheese flown in from France, as chosen by Zampetti. There was also a beautiful block of French butter that was used for the gnocchi course

Preparation for the double dinners was made possible by assistance from chefs from Toronto and the surrounding area

The menu was a first-time collaboration between Felugga and Zampetti

The chefs had a chance to dine at a few Toronto restaurants during their short stay. Felugga gave props to Acadia’s Matt Blondin for his cooking techniques and for the personality that came through on every plate. Due to her recent obsession with corn, Felugga tells us that Parts and Labour’s corn dog and Acadia’s grits and cornbread were particularly noteworthy. Both chefs also loved the rosarito taco (sautéed shrimp with refritos, avocado and crema) from Milagro

Chefs Agata Felugga (Le Châteaubriand), Jonathan Gushue (Langdon Hall) and Delphine Zampetti (Le Verre Volé). Gushue helped supply many of the ingredients used on the evening’s menu

134 hungry (and excited) guests gathered for a meal cooked by Agata Felugga of Le Châteaubriand and Delphine Zampetti of Le Verre Volé

3 thoughts on “Three years in, Charlie’s Burgers brings Le Châteaubriand—the world’s ninth-best restaurant—to Toronto”

Well Paid....Not Wealthy says:

March 8, 2012 at 8:13 am

I was fortunate enough to attend this CB event, it was done to perfection it was an evening of great food lovers and the host were fantastic. The food out of this world and worth every penny.
Janne says:

March 13, 2012 at 11:57 am

Its a simple but nrspiniig blog.I learn`t a lot from it.The main thing is simplicity and purity in these places. thumb up for your work.
hivernat says:

March 17, 2012 at 8:04 am

we juste want to rectify this article.

These two nights in Toronto with Charlies Burger and Fulgurances was not driving by ” le Chateaubriand” but by Agata & Delphine who took some days off to come and express their own cuisine and creativity.
The idea of the dinner was based on a project named: “the seconds are first” that Fulgurances manages in Paris. The concept is to allow the sous chef to express his creativity, his own unique talent, in an original location .
During this night the second become first, because they will be the ones to determine future gastronomic tendencies.

Certainly the cooking of these two chefs was influenced by le Chateaubriand or any other restaurant who Agata & Delphine worked but it was definitly their own cuisine and not a low cost of le Chateaubriand.

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Three years in, Charlie’s Burgers brings Le Châteaubriand—the world’s ninth-best restaurant—to Toronto

3 thoughts on “Three years in, Charlie’s Burgers brings Le Châteaubriand—the world’s ninth-best restaurant—to Toronto”

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