Staff Profiles

	About Chef Carmichael
	"Some of my favourite memories of food surround my granmother. She grew up in Calcutta, India, so she new how to make these amazing curries. I loved standing beside her at the stove at our family cottage, watching her make this incredible fish chowder. She would place a dollop of rice in a bowl and ladle the chowder over top. I would eat bowls and bowls of this stuff. Another of my favourites was chocolate chip pecan cookies at Christmas with white sugar sprinkled on top. She would layer them between wax paper in old tin boxes. Amazing memories, and food was at the core." Inspired by the close alignment of food with culture, Matthew wrote his thesis at the University of Ottawa on the role cuisine can play in a country's tourism product. This led to a 3-year consultation stinit with the Canadian Tourism Commission into the product development opportunities in Canadian cuisine. It was through this that he had the opportunity to meet the players and taste the product of many of the chefs and regional producers that define our Canadian food culture today. Matthew Carmichael was a protege of Domus Cafe's John Taylor from 1996 through 2001. Within this apprenticeship, he learned the value of sourcing out and working with the best possible seasonal, regional and domestic products available. This uncompromising philosophy led him to seek out and work for "One of the hottest chefs alive, along the likes of Pierre Gagnaire and Ferran Adria" - Food & Wine Magazine. He relocated to Toronto and began a four year stint with world-renowned Hong Kong born chef Susur Lee. Helping Lee achieve such accolades as "A culinary genious - food nothing short of dazzling" - Zagat Magazine, "With his kind of vision, there are no boundaries" Gault-Millau. Following this was a 2 year stint as sous chef to Chef David Lee of Splendido, helping the restaurant climb to #2 in the city according to James Chatto of Toronto Life Magazine. He went on to work as sous chef for Malaysian Chef Kei Ng, at renowned restaurant Kei for one year. Relocating back to the Ottawa Valley he took a position as chef de cuisine of Perspectives Restaurant in Kanata's luxurious Brookstreet Resort under the tutelage of executive chef Michael Blackie. Currently he resides over the stoves at restaurant 18. Matthew brings world class cooking technique, flavour combinations, and brilliant colour and presentations to the plate. He coins his food "Canadian Free-style Cuisine", drawing inspiration from local producers and influenced by our country's multi-culturalism. His love of food is contagious and inspires a young, talented boisterous brigade of cooks. His goal every day is to strive for, in his mind, the unachievable - perfection. His menu reflects the clientele of Ottawa which wants accessible, familiar staples, but at the same time, exciting old and new world influences with feminine and masculine flavour profiles.

Last Updated: Wednesday, September 15, 2010