Chuck Hughes anointed next big celeb chef by Grub Street, contemplating Toronto restaurant

Montreal chef and tattooed, all-around heartthrob Chuck Hughes could be the next primetime celeb chef, according to New York magazine’s Grub Street. The blog offers a slew of reasons why the easygoing host of Chuck’s Day Off is about to take off: he’s gotten plenty of exposure through the Cooking Channel (Canadians have watched Hughes on Food Network Canada for even longer); the cuisine at his Montreal restaurant Garde-Manger fits in with the current mini-trend of interest in French-Canadian food; he crushed Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America (with lobster poutine, no less); and he’s got a slot on the upcoming Next Iron Chef.

The star’s newfound popularity has meant that Hughes has been turning away far more customers than he’s comfortable with. “I never wanted to be elitist, I never wanted to be special—we just wanted to have a good vibe with good food,” he told CTV Montreal. “It just so happened that we were so small that people keep on calling and they can’t get in.” While Hughes opened a second Montreal restaurant, Le Bremner, to ease the demand, he’s already considering expanding his reach westward to Toronto. Of course, we’re pretty sure it’ll be just as hard to get reservations if he opens up over here.

• The Feeding Tube: Who Will Be the Next Big Celebrity Chef? [Grub Street]
• Montreal celeb chef Chuck Hughes mulling plan to open Toronto restaurant [CTV Montreal]