Today I have Phil Octavian, who is the brains,
the brawn, and everything that is black magic
culinary. How you doing? Pretty good, yourself?
I'm pretty good. Awesome, awesome. Oh, I'm always
good when we're talking about food. And this
guy can cook. From what I've heard, I missed
that last pop -up you did at the cookie bar.
That was our first foray with the supper club.
Now what is the supper club? So basically it's
what... I saw something like that done in Toronto
where it's basically a surprise dinner. Usually
a special invite at a private location, invite
only, and you make a menu that the people that
are eating the menu... don't know what the food
is until it's served in front of them. Oh my
goodness. And so I had this brain child and it
was something I wanted to do. And I spoke to
Brent and Anna over at Cookie Bar, awesome people.
And they were like, yeah, why not do it here?
And so it became a thing. And how many have you
done? So far it's just the one. We're probably
going to do one in another couple of months or
so. Just don't want to overwhelm it. We want
it to be a food experience, something different
that isn't, that people really haven't experienced
here at Windsor too often. Because it looked
really, really good and a lot of nice colors
and different flavors. Oh, definitely. I was
really trying to push the envelope in regards
to my own comfort and giving people at Windsor
something they... haven't really had before.
One of the dishes that was featured on the menu
was a ube, which is a purple sweet potato, one
of my new favorite vegetables. I've never heard
of a purple sweet potato. Yeah, no, it's really
great. It's a super earthy, but it still has
that sweetness and just the color. Super purple.
I just wanted to give people something shocking,
but familiar at the same time. Yeah, that definitely
would be shocking for sure purple potato. Hey,
why not? Now, how long have you been cooking?
I graduated I'm terrible at math, which is why
I cook That's that's the joke. I say every time
someone asked me that question. I think I'd have
it memorized by now I was done school in 09.
So I've been cooking ever since so that's quite
a while. Yeah Did you always like cooking even
before that? I cooked out of necessity and it
became people like oh, you're actually good.
You're good I was like, oh and then I used to
work at a bank and I would spend in between the
customers you we had the internet on the computer
and I would just be looking up recipes and then
I started realizing that I like cooking more
than I like this and so Decided to make it a
career and do you cook at home? Oh all the time
All the time. The cooking varies, depending on
who I'm cooking for. People would laugh if I
actually told them some of the crazy things that
I make for myself. It all depends on the day,
how tired I am and how much I've already done.
But for the kids, it's more simplified. They
like the good things, but just done right. Like
my son Maverick, he is the critique. He basically
treats every dinner as a cooking show. He'd be
like, chef, what did you make for dinner tonight?
And I literally would have to describe the dinner
and he would give the flavor profiles that he's
picking up on the dish. So it was real cute to
watch him do that stuff. So you need to get rid
of the food network. Yes. Either that or he's
going to become a... People always ask, like,
do you want your kids to follow in your footsteps?
100 % no. No Cooking is a 1000 % labor of love
that you have to you know put your your time
in you know earn the dues and whatnot But I told
my kids whatever you want to do will follow and
follow you and whatever you choose to do now
What is black magic culinary? Is it a restaurant
is it catering? It's a little bit of everything.
Yeah, so Black magic calling curations. I the
quick description is a mobile to you catering
company private chef catering company pop -ups
and whatnot and so COVID it was just basically
doing the pop -ups and everything like that kovat
happened and people wanted more of a You couldn't
really go out. So I decided why not bring it
to them. And so the in -home stuff really started,
and it really took off from there and became
a thing of its own. And so now, as many times
as you see me out in the public... that's as
many times as I'm doing the private stuff. So
I'll take photos, but I don't, of course, I'm
in someone's home, and I respect that, and I
respect their privacy. And so later on, I'll
post a few pictures of the food, if I remember
to take pictures of the food, because if you
- You're busy. I'm busy. I get tunnel vision.
Yeah. I'm very focused on the task at hand, and
so sometimes when I go home, I always say, did
you take any pictures? I'm like, ah, no, but
they loved everything. So, that's all that matters.
I'm like that at an event or even when being
a photographer going on vacation and people are
like, are you taking pictures? It's like, no,
I'm enjoying the experience or I forgot. Exactly.
But it's good to be like that, that you're in
the moment. And that's what I try to do, that
I'm here for these people. So if I happen to
remember to take a photo, awesome. And if I don't,
oh well. Now, do you also do cooking classes?
We've done cooking classes in the past. I started
out, like a lot of people don't know that I used
to be a sous chef at Twisted Apron. And so I
partnered up with them once I left there, did
a few cooking classes, and I do do private cooking
classes in home where I'll come to your home.
and we can do a series of classes from there,
but yes, I do do cooking classes. Like even if
it's a girls' night and there's a bunch of them
and you can do a class, that's cool. Yeah, no,
once, one actual cooking class, these girls decided
to do a, there was a bachelorette party, so instead
of going out and drinking and whatnot, they stayed
home and drunk, but they also had, we did a cooking
class. They ordered specialized aprons. for each
one, it was good. They dazzled and glittered
them up. The bride -to -be had this like luxurious
apron. It was really a great time. That sounds
like a lot of fun. They had a lot of fun. Okay,
so remember that if you want to have a bachelor
party or a shower or something, have a cooking
class. Or a bachelor party. Yeah. Guys can cook
too now. This is true. This is true. Now, what
is your favorite dish to make? Do you have one
thing that's just your all -time favorite? For
me, comfort food is where I go for. That's like,
after a long day, I just want something that's
gonna evoke the memories of when I didn't have
responsibility. I was living life carefree. So
I always go to those. I would probably say, like,
you're gonna laugh at this, some... Barbecue
ribs, mashed potato, corn. Literally, something
so simple like that is what goes for me. Hey,
mine's hot dogs and craft dinner. Nothing better
than comfort food. Oh, definitely. Whatever it
is, as long as it just makes you happy and...
Why not? Oh, no, that's what it's all about.
It's one of the reasons I started this where
I wanted to make food more approachable. And
even when it's just a simple comfort food, if
you when I do my pop ups at, say, the markets
like the night market coming up this Friday.
I'll be there at the Walkerville Distillery District
Night Market this Friday. That's awesome, because
you weren't sure if you're going to be doing
that the last time we talked. Yeah, no, my son's
football schedule runs the house now. And so
the football schedule is open that day. So I'll
be there at the night market. Oh, that's great.
So that is well, this show will not have been
there, but I'm going to be going there this Friday.
This will be a few weeks from then. Yeah, but.
Do you know what the menu is going to be? Oh,
yeah for the most part. Yeah, we do keep There's
usually three stalwarts that stay on there the
black the black magic jerk chicken The black
magic mac and cheese and then the bread pudding
and so the bread pudding varies I know that the
first one I'm gonna rock with is I try to do
ones I've never done before but also the flavors
of people are familiar with so I've never done
a butter tart bread pudding Oh my gosh, you've
just mentioned three of my, other than the cheesecake,
three of my most favorite dishes, mac and cheese
and bread pudding my grandmother used to make
that and butter tarts. Oh, I can't wait. I'm
definitely going to be there for sure. Oh yeah.
The jerk chicken, I try to keep it as authentic
as possible so it does have a good kick to it.
I served it once, I did tame it down a little
bit, and the guy was like, this guy, this gentleman
had it, and he said, I thought it was gonna be
spicier. And ever since, I always tell that story
because that's in the back of my mind that, okay,
the jerk chicken has to be spicy, because after
all, it is jerk chicken, and I have to be respectful
to the namesake. I had never had jerk chicken
because I'm not a spicy person. I don't like
spicy food. But this one New Year's Eve, I went
over to a friend's house and her husband was
Jamaican and everything was spicy and it was
jerk chicken. But I liked it. It was so good.
It has such a wonderful flavor that you forget
the heat. What I try to do to offset that is
I balance it out. I normally serve it with a
pineapple slaw. and a coconut red beans and rice.
So the only actual heat in the dish is the jerk
chicken itself. So if you eat it together, it
kind of cooled the rice and the slaw, cools it
down. Now that's, that's exciting. I want to
go now. Now other than the Caribbean food, what
other foods, like you have a wide variety? Basically,
yes. So in regards to my background and in the
restaurants that I've worked at and then me,
pursuing the flavors that I like and cooking
that way. I lean a little bit Asian, lean a little
bit Southern, and then I just global inspirations
of what's different and new and once I find new
ingredients, one of my favorite things to do
is to go to ethnic stores or the ethnic aisle
of stores and just peruse through and try to
find new ingredients that I've never really tried
before and see where I can go from there. Now,
I know you also support local in your foods and
seasonal dishes. Oh, absolutely. I try to highlight
local and do it in a way that people may not
have thought of and give people like dishes to
go with them. In regards to the pigses like rabi,
gourmet sausage, little foot foods. I've worked
in the past with Halo Heats and just made a spicy
ice cream. Oh my goodness. Yeah, stuff like that.
I've done a few flavors of sausages with Robbie,
and then also with Littlefoot, we've done different
collabs in regards to pierogies. Oh, nice. So
working on a few new collabs for this coming
year, I'm gonna be a little hush -hush, but keep
your eyes open for some new black magic things
in the near future. Now, you've also been on
some TV shows. Yes, I have. I got bit by the
TV bug. So you liked it? I absolutely loved it.
Was it nerve -racking? Was it scary? Was I ready
to jump out of my skin? Absolutely, but I would
have not changed a second of it because I've
grown from those experiences. That's the best
part is that excitement when you're doing the
show. Now we're talking about Fire Masters. You
were on an episode of That. What did you cook?
Oh, goodness, I tried to pay homage to my aunt.
She raised me, and then she started the whole
cooking thing. There was no girls in the house,
so she was like, well, you're gonna learn either
way. I was like, okay, so, yeah. I did a pork
dish with some grits and a marinade for the pork.
I overdid it in regards to, I was a little bit
too ambitious, but I... I stuck true to my guns.
And the judges, they were, you know. They appreciated
it? Yeah, you could say it like that. They were
a bit harsh. The whole behind the scenes experience
was just so great. There was a part where, so
I think I was judge second on fire masses. So
they got up to me, and then the first judge,
he just ripped me a new one. Like I had overcooked
the pork it was on the grill for too long But
the thing was that I remember an episode of like
kitchen nightmares or Hell's Kitchen with Gordon
Ramsay and the guy burnt the steak on one side
and he flipped it over and Gordon was like you
didn't think I was gonna flip this over you thought
I was just gonna come here look at your steak
cut it and eat it without flipping it over so
I was like you know what I'm not gonna hide from
my mistake so I put the burnt side up right so
they can see yeah, and so once he got He got
done judging me. They took a short, like okay,
the directors are talking to them. So the middle,
she's like, so Phil, I'll go a little easy on
you. And I was like, I don't know why I said
it, but I was like, that's okay, no, no. I'm
a big boy, I can take it. Oh, and she's like,
okay. And she gave it to me, and she said that
if I was at your restaurant, I would have sent
this back. That's dumb. It's dumb, but you know
what? I learned, and I grew, and I ended up finishing
second on that show. That's amazing, you were
still second. Yeah, it was because of humility,
honestly. The guy that placed third, he was super
cocky. He had experience and whatnot, but I've
always been the cockiest, humble person. Cocky
enough to know my strengths and know how good
I am But I'm humble enough to know that that
still doesn't mean that I'm the best like there
are other people doing great and amazing things
and The only person I'm in competition with is
myself and so as long as I say to that I think
I'll be just fine I know you did another one
with your wife. That was probably the more fun
one recipe for disasters So the premise of the
show is that they're basically gonna throw disasters
at you if you watch the show They're literally
throwing disasters. It's nerve -racking Yes,
and they said we need you to bring your own disaster.
You need to bring someone that's very close to
you Knows you in and out but cannot cook and
I said babe. You're perfect So she she did not
want to do it She could so in the interview process
the two of you have to interview so she's like
fine. They're not gonna pick you They're not
gonna pick you lo and behold they pick us we
go It was a long day of shooting we did not know
exactly what we're in for and So but we came
out on top and we won. It was great. Would you
guys make? Mac and cheese. The first round was
mac and cheese. We had to make a, so the episode
title is Daycare Nightmare. Okay, that's the
one that's Daycare Nightmare. Which is very funny
because my wife is an ECE and she works in a
daycare. And so they were like, well, the producer
was like, oh, so you're known for mac and cheese.
Funny enough, the first round is mac and cheese.
And so they asked us like, what happens if you
lose? I'm like, I can't show back up. I'm known
for the mac and cheese, so I had to represent
well, and we won that round. It was a two -round
competition. The first round of the mac and cheese,
we won that round. Then the second round was
something fried, but still, like, that would
interest a kid. And so I did vegetable fritters.
Ooh. Yeah. I used to... Granted, they were frozen,
but the, um... They look like chicken nuggets,
but they were vegetable ones and it was really
time. Okay It was like an old thing back when
my son was little but he loved them and it was
one of the only ways I could get him to make
or to eat his vegetables were these little Frozen
look like chicken nuggets, but I think it had
broccoli and carrots and okay cauliflower in
it and and then as long as it has a breading
on it Kids like anything. Yeah. No, no, we did
that I haven't had that too much issue with my
kids so far. As long as it's broccoli, they're
okay. Broccoli and corn, they're fine. They don't
like corn? No, they love corn. Broccoli and corn,
they're fine. That's it. My favorite and weird
is Brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts is like
the new thing. A couple years ago, it just became
so hot, it was everywhere, and now almost every
menu you go to, there's some sort of crispy Brussels
sprout iteration on it. And I'm glad because
I'm tired of you eating soggy Brussels sprouts.
Once people learn the right way to cook it, you
know, I'm a little bit of a sear and steam where
I go with a little bit of butter, a little bit
of oil. Once I get some color, drop a little
bit of like a couple droplets of water. put a
lid on it, you're good to go. I like the soft
crunch. Yeah, I did a, I think I did one once
that actually everybody liked and it was in the
Instant Pot and it was with bacon and all that,
but there was one restaurant that served candied
Brussels sprouts and they were so good and they're
no longer there. And I wish I would have got
the recipe because they were really, really good.
Is there any other TV shows that might be in
the works or something you're? The ultimate show
that I want to go on just for me personally to
like say that ultimately I want to see how high
I can go, how good I am. I've always said that
I love when I did those cooking shows I realized
how much I love competition and not necessarily
to say that I'm the best but to say that I did
it. And so my next show that I would love to
go is Top Chef. As the years go, I'm like 44
now and whatnot, and who knows how long I'll
be cooking. But that's definitely the show that
I try to go for. Have you applied yet? Oh, I
have. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Got super close one year.
Super close, down to like one of the last selections
before the final cut, but didn't happen. But
you... I'm pretty good at being like I've learned
over the years like once you do get accepted
to be quiet So you never know I could be accepted
now. I don't know and that's okay. That's okay.
I never ask people to give the secrets because
Surprises are fun. Yeah people like how are you
so why did you care? I'm like, yeah, you know
you film the show and then there's probably anywhere
from nine months to a year and you're just quiet
you sign the NDA and You know forget about it.
Yeah until you get an email from a producer.
Okay, here's some stuff for you to share on social.
Oh yeah, I forgot about this. Now, do you do
any competitions around here, like barbecue competitions?
I know they have a bunch of ones. I respect barbecue
competitions. I've judged a few because of my
cooking prowess, but no, I would love to. I consider
myself an amateur barbecuer because during COVID,
I taught myself how to barbecue on a charcoal
grill. Coming from the states, so I've spent
about 10 years in the US between Florida and
Georgia the term barbecuing means something different
than it does over here and so with my wife not
trusting me with propane I Had to figure out
something else. I'm like, okay, but it bought
a Weber and watch some videos on YouTube and
Blew up the first grill. Oh my goodness. I let
it I just let it run. It was like running full
tilt the entire time, which is not good. I learned
how to temper my flames and whatnot, the airflow
and everything like that. Got a second grill.
And I still have that grill. Good. I have a grill
out there and it's just too stinking hot in my
backyard and it's sitting there. But I used to
love barbecuing on my Weber grill. I learned
from somebody how to do the indirect heat and
the whole bit and it was a lot of fun. I used
to enjoy it but now I just want to die in the
heat outside. I absolutely love it. My wife will
not come outside because the charcoal smell will
filter into your clothes, your hair, and everything.
She's like, I don't want to smell that charcoal.
So there's a rare occasion if I'm busy and she
has to grab something off the grill, she'll do
it. But most of the time it's just me, the grill,
and whatever libation is in my hand. I actually
like the smell of barbecue. Even on campfire,
but I'm kind of like her. We're showering before
bed. I don't want to clean the bedding because
you wake up in the morning, you go back in the
bedroom. I'm so used to it. But now we went from
one. Now I have three charcoal grills in the
backyard and just absolutely love it. Do you
have you used a smoker? I basically turn one
of them into a smoke. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Nice. Love
smoking meats any time I get. Yeah, that's something
I always wanted to learn and something I eventually
will figure it out because I love smoked meats.
The next thing I want to do is maybe for one,
well not the night markets because the amount
is too much, but maybe a smaller pop -up is actually
doing a mac and cheese completely on the smoker.
So like, instead of just smoked cheese, the actual
entire mac and cheese is smoked itself. Oh, that
sounds really, really good. And what meat do
you put in that? I wouldn't put any meat. No,
just as is? Just as is. I would simply just like
the indirect, just cook it there. But it probably
has to be something smaller, not the big pans.
So something smaller, more intimate. Oh, I've
never, ever thought of doing that on the barbecue
or a smoker. Yeah. No, that's my biggest thing
is I like to think outside of the box and try
to push. the envelope, flavor envelopes and whatnot.
I just saw this thing for pickle grapes and it
intrigued me a lot because I was trying to think
of the different ways I could use that on a dish.
So who knows, for the next supper club, pickle
grapes might probably pop up on the menu, but
I have to test it out. So I'll make a batch and
I'm gonna share it with my pickle buddy, Jen
Tailgate Takeout. Yeah, I love Jen. Yeah. I'll
be basically... I have this love for pickles
and we're constantly just sending one another
stuff on Instagram. Oh yeah, I could see that
in a mousse bouche or in a salad. I just discovered
pickled eggs. I'm, you know, I'm not chattin',
but I love pickled eggs. Oh, yeah. I used to
get them back when I lived in the States. It
would be at the corner store, and on the counter,
they would have a jar of, like, the pickled red
sausages, and then a jar of pickled egg. Yeah,
I just was at Costco and came home with this
big thing because they had the samples, and it
was really good. Yeah, you wouldn't expect that.
It's something different. Yeah, and then it...
I got stuck in the back of the fridge and I forgot
about it. They went back because, okay, pickled
eggs do go bad after a while. They're not one
of the things that can last forever in the pickle.
No, and then I just basically learned about so
you could pickle either you could pickle hot
or you could pickle cold. Oh, with the spice
or without? No, in regards to like your pickling,
the temperature of your pickling liquid. Oh,
I did not know that. So say if you see pickles
that are... like they still look like a cucumber,
those have been pickled cold. I prefer those,
and for the aesthetic reason that when I'm doing
my dishes, it looks more pleasing than, say,
the yellow brownish, yellow greenish of the pickles
that are normally pickled hot. I had no idea
they were pickled hot. Yeah. Wow. So that's when
you can see the difference. So if my pickles,
they actually still look like a cucumber. But
then you eat them and be like, oh, this is a
pickle. Yeah, because I just, I would boil my
brine. and then put it in the container that
it's gonna pickle in and just stick that in the
freezer for a couple hours and then put that
in and then add the whatever I'm deciding the
pickle. I found a recipe once a few years ago
and it was for pickles but just the ready -made
ones and I had tons of cucumbers and within a
day or two you could eat them out of the fridge
and They were really good. You didn't have to
cook anything. And they were, I think, on the
go type stuff, but they were really good. Some
people call that a quickle. A quickle. A quick
pickle. I like that. Because I get nervous when
it comes to canning and all that stuff. You don't
want to get botched, you know. That's the thing
I'm worried about, is that I'm either going to
kill somebody with botchelism or... the lids
are gonna pop off. Yeah, make sure you're clean
and sterile. Yeah, I've only done it once with
apple butter and I loved it, but I'm just, I'm
a chicken. No, I don't have the patience for
it. No. No. No, I don't either. I'm an instant
gratification type person. Somewhat. I'm the
in -between. There's a middle ground in between
like that instant gratification and patience.
I'm in between there somewhere. depending on
the dish. Let's say Thanksgiving. I do not believe
that I should be waiting six, three, four, five,
six hours for a bird to cook. I don't do that.
I don't. I refuse to. I have other things to
do. So what I normally do every year, I de -bone
the bird. I know that not everybody can de -bone
a turkey, but I de -bone the turkey. And so I
have the carcass there. I make stock. How do
you do that? We need a cooking show here. We
need a demo next time. Yeah, you just take your
knife, your boning knife or a really sharp, thin
knife, and you just kind of follow along the
bone and try to be as gentle as you can to keep
as much meat off of the carcass as possible.
And then sometimes a little rough, like break
it through the tendons and whatnot, but yeah.
And we do that every year. My grandmother hates
it because it's non -traditional. Do you stuff
it? No. Okay. I'm a stuffing on the side guy.
Ah, I like them both to be quite honest, but
drove me nuts. My grandmother would get up at
five a .m. It was dry. I'm like read the, read
the package. I literally, I'll have a 20 pound
bird. I throw it in at 11 and it's done by four
stuffed. I've had two, I have too many. bad memory,
trauma, of like you said, of dry birds. So for
the longest, I wouldn't even eat the breast.
But with the charcoal grills, de -bone, put it
on. I've done brick turkey, I've done maple sriracha
turkey, I've done jerk turkey, done straight
smoked turkey, garlic butter and herb, like all
on the grill, easy peasy, and then it makes carving
such a breeze. That's the biggest thing. Like,
I would literally, like, every time we go to
the house, they look at, okay, Phil, you gonna
carve? I'm like, no. Other people can carve,
you know. Just because I'm a chef doesn't mean
I have to carve the turkey every year, guys.
Yeah. Yeah, no, I, um, my mom is the type of
mom, I don't like white meat, and it's like,
I hate to tell you, but you eat it every year
at my house. And she's like, really? And I'm
like... Yeah, because I don't cook it for 12
hours. I just cook it for five stuffed. And it's
awesome. Let it rest, you know, fill it up with
just smothered in butter, let it rest, and you're
good to go. Exactly. Throw on the seasoning.
Actually, I think I've been olive oiling it.
I don't know. Crispy skin. Yes. I can't get that
perfect crisp. What you do is I separate. OK.
So you keep it. Oh. Yeah, put your hand in the
skin and kind of create a little air layer. Oh,
okay. But also, I think a lot of Thai people
overdo it with seasonings. Honestly, mine is
salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and sage. Yeah.
And I think that's all you really need to get
that good Thanksgiving flavor, and you can use
it for anything. I go salt. If I'm doing it on
the grill, I go salt, pepper, fresh herbs, and
sugar. I do sugar, and it's a little secret I
picked up, I'll share. It kind of offsets the,
I don't know if you know, when you're grilling,
there's a little bit of bitterness that comes
from the flame, from the char. But I find that
a little bit of sugar just adds a nice little
touch and creates a new flavor with the char.
Almost like a candy? Yeah, like I got a sweet
tooth. Oh, I do too. I actually, I like that
little charred flavor on... barbecued stuff,
especially if it's a charcoal grill. And you
have your, do you have the little wood pouches
in there with the different? No, I just, I would,
I go to Canadian Tire. I just get the different
ones. That's what I always did. Put them in the
foil. Sometimes I throw them directly on the
heat, depending on the size, or I just take a
foil paper and make a little pouch, poke the
holes and them soak. We got a little tips here.
I hope people watch to the end, but we'll make
grills out of that. Your summer, is it packed
up with? Oh, my summer is packed, so I got the
okay. I'll be at all the night markets. We checked
the schedules moving forward, so I'll be there.
And hopefully we could bring in another Black
Magic cookie bar or supper club. I want to be
there. Definitely you're on the invited list.
I can't wait. I do have like the... I think I
have a wedding this summer. Oh my goodness, you
do weddings as well? I do weddings as well. You
do everything. Basically, yes. I've done from
two people. I've done private dinners for two
people, and I've done events that had 170 people.
Keeps it interesting. It does. My wife always
says that. Well, I get bored very easily. So
it's nice to do all different types of absolutely
and I say for private functions I do have clientele
that have just been with me for years And so
they are always like they're booked in the calendar.
I had these dates They don't think they may fluctuate
in reverse of my availability, but they're also
they're willing and accommodating So once they
call I'm like, okay, they get bumped up the ladder
but the biggest thing for me is that I chose
this because I wanted to have more flexibility
with my life. The cooking industry is hard, and
it's even harder on families. Oh gosh, yeah.
I remember when I first started, my son, I missed
a lot of stuff. And then I got to the point where
I'm like, you know what? Why can't I have both?
Why can't I cook and still be a dad and participate
in things? And so that's when I decided to make
the tough decision of leaving Twisted Apron.
So I worked there helped open it But I decided
that you know what my son was getting older and
I wanted to be there more I wanted to be more
at home Because even they you take work home
with you And so a lot of people don't know that
I have a regular full -time job on top of being
black magic I did not know that either in fact
you probably did tell me and I forgot because
I'm old No, I work as a cook at a long -term
care facility so what I say is That job pays
my bills. Black magic feeds my soul. Oh, that's
a nice thing. Yeah, so it allows me to be free
and do what I want. So I, not to put anyone down
or any other thing, my chef said, you have three
ways you can cook. You can cook the food that
people want you to cook. You can cook the food
that you want to cook. Or you can cook the food.
That you are convinced in the people that they
want to eat and so I've been blessed it I've
been doing black magic. So if I've been I've
been at my job for 11 years now and I started
black magic almost a year afterwards out of boredom
My wife was tired of me coming home angry from
the home because you know, I'm I was tied up
in regards to my creativity and so as Mark Wahlberg
said in the other guys, I'm a peacock. You gotta
let me fly And so, she's like, why don't you
just start your own catering company? You've
been doing catering for all these other people,
just do it for yourself. I was like, babe, that's
a great idea. I was like, what am I gonna call
it? Duh, call it black magic. I can't call it
that. That's risky. People are gonna think I'm
talking about something else. She's like, exactly.
Yeah, get some talking. Exactly, yeah. But I
just... It allows me to be free and creative.
So the menus that I do at the market, I change
it every time. Is it more costly? Yeah. Is that
more work? Yeah. But if I have to cook the same
thing every day, I would die of boredom, and
I would stop cooking. Well, and each time that
people come back to your tent, to your area,
they're going to get a different meal, which
is nice because then they can sample a little
bit of everything that you do. Oh, yeah. I try
to keep it very inclusive as possible. I want
everyone, like if you're a party of like five
or six and you're out in the market, I want everyone
to feel that they can grab a dish. So there's
always a vegan dish on my menu. And this year
I'm making an effort to be gluten -free as possible.
Oh. Yeah. Yeah, a lot of people are getting into
the gluten -free and the vegan as part of their
menu, which is really great for us people that
have issues. Oh, yeah. No, I look at those. I
call them food lifestyle choices. I don't say
dietary restrictions. I feel like it's a little
bit negative. So I just say whatever your food
lifestyle choices. I always looked at that as
a challenge. I remember one time I did a four
-course vegan dinner. First time cooking vegan.
That would be definitely... But I look at that
in my eyes, just like, oh, okay, that's awesome.
It's just another challenge, another way to prove
myself. And so that's a competition right there
and there. I had a dinner that I did for these
girls who was a bachelorette out at Harrow, beautiful
Airbnb. They had a scallop dish on there. They
chose the scallop option. There was one vegan.
I don't like the whole aspect of... If it's five
people, these four people are eating one dish
and you're the vegan, here's your salad. Yeah.
Here's your ratatouille. Here's your filo with
vegetables inside of it. No. So what I did was
I recreated the scallop dish vegan. Wow. I don't
want to out her, but... They were like, the girls
were tasting each other's plate. They're like,
you can't tell that that's not vegan. The king
oyster mushrooms, if you cut it and then you
give the cross marks on it, you sear it, and
the flavor profile, the butter and the herbs
and the monte, it came out looking just like
a scallop. And tasting like one too, sounds like.
Right, and so they were like, oh my goodness,
you could barely tell them apart. And those are
the moments that I go for. Those are the moments
that, because of Black Magic, there is way more
interaction between me and the guests. Because
in the restaurants, I'm in the kitchen. Maybe
if you own the restaurant, you could walk out
and you could, you know, we'd say touch the tables
and talk to people, talk to the guests, what
not. But if you're the cook and the chef, you
don't really get that opportunity. But with Black
Magic, I could see somebody, if they come to
the night market, I could watch them walk over
to their seat They eat, their eyes widen up,
they touch someone like this. Hey, you gotta
try this. Or they're walking back out, and they're
like, you're a fool, you're a maggot. And that's
what it's there for. People are always like,
how do you say thank you to a chef? Show me an
empty plate. You show me an empty plate, I know
that the meal was enjoyed. And that's gratitude
enough for me. I love it, I love it. And I'm
so excited for this Friday, Phil. Thank you so
much for being on here today. Thank you for having
me, it was awesome. Make sure that you follow
him on Instagram and Facebook at Black Magic
Culinary Creations and also his website blackmagicculinarycreations
.ca and if you're in the Winsor Essex County
area, get down here to the markets. get him to
cater any of your meals, any of your events.
From two people to 150. There you go. Weddings
or just intimate dinners. My name is Tracy and
thank you for joining me for another episode
of YQG & Bloom. Make sure to like, follow and
subscribe and I will see you soon.