Momofuku’s new Toronto concept finally has a name

Since Daishō and Shōtō closed earlier this year, the top floor of Momofuku’s University Avenue complex has been undergoing a top-to-bottom renovation. Other than naming executive chef Paula Navarrete to helm the project, the brand was fairly tight-lipped about what would eventually fill the space.

Now, we know a little bit more: It’s going to be called Kōjin, and there’s going to be lots of heat when it opens later this month. A Momofuku representative tells us the restaurant, designed by Design Agency, will be “a celebration of the hearth.” The menu will combine influences from Navarrete’s childhood spent around many a grill in Colombia with her passion for local ingredients, with Ontario meats and produce cooked over an open flame.

With Kōjin joining forthcoming concepts such as Grant van Gameren’s Quetzal and Prince Edward County’s Flame & Smith, open-fire cooking is definitely trending. Some might even say it’s...hot.