At The Pass with Ryan Baddeley
Chef Ryan Baddeley. Photo by Daniel Neuhaus.
At The Pass is a weekly series showcasing Toronto’s best chefs. You won’t find any celebrity chefs featured here. Perhaps you already know these fine cooks, but maybe not. They’re not famous - yet. But it’s time these talented, passionate, hard-working chefs got a bit of the spotlight. Introducing Ryan Baddeley.
🕒 4 min read
Currently
Chef, Pizzeria Badiali
Formerly
Bar Raval, Bar Isabel, Osteria Rialto
Favourite dish to make right now
Burrata with anything summer right now: peaches, marinated zucchini, tomatoes, etc.
Last cookbook purchase
It’s been so long, I think it was Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks by Vicky Bennison. Really great book - highly recommend.
Have you read it/tried any recipes
Yeah I have cooked a bunch, but especially love making the Cappelletti in Brodo in the winter months.
One dish or ingredient you’d like to see gone from menus
Sous vide steak. No bathtub meats please.
And one dish or ingredient that you’re excited about right now and would like to see on more menus
Fresh figs. Definitely an underplayed and undervalued fruit. I love them and would love to see them used more and have access to better figs in general. In Ontario, they aren’t the best a lot of the time.
Biggest influences
Via Carota, Felix Trattoria, Dario Cecchin. These days Chris Bianco at Pizzeria Bianco, L’industrie Pizzeria.
If you could eat at any restaurant in the world
La Cova Fumada, Barcelona.
Last thing you ate
Mistake pizza - Burrata Marinara Pizza.
Pizzeria Badiali Pepperoni: Crushed tomato, whole milk mozz, pepperoni, pecorino, padano. Photo by Aaron Wynia.
Three must-have ingredients always in your fridge
Kimchi, good soy sauce, and grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Guilty pleasure
Chinatown freezer dumplings with soy and chili crisp, beef jerky, Subway.
Top 3 favourite Toronto restaurants
Pho Tien Thanh, Crosley’s, and Dreyfus.
Top 3 favourite Toronto bars
The bar at Alo, El Rey, and Communist’s Daughter.
Go-to drink
Negroni.
Chef Ryan Baddeley at Pizzeria Badiali. Photo by Aaron Wynia.
One habit you have in the kitchen that you should lose, but can’t seem to shake
Pocketing everyone’s Sharpies.
And one habit you have in the kitchen that will inspire young chefs
Respect for peers and employees. Working hard but enjoying ourselves. Respect for the ingredients and the farmers.
Hidden talent
I play the drums.
Best career advice you ever received
Basically, don’t get caught up in modern food trends and really learn how to cook a proper pasta or roast a chicken because those classics are forever going to be what people want to eat. - Chef David Lee while at Nota Bene as a young cook.
Worst career advice you ever received
Probably the student councillor in high school for making me believe university was the right path at the time.
Your advice for a young cook starting out in the business
Don’t get too comfortable, take risks, travel, and challenge yourself.
In order to support chefs during this time, the monthly At The Pass series is now WEEKLY. Know someone in Toronto or GTA who should be featured? Submit their name for consideration. And yes, you can nominate yourself.
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