Chef Julian Bentivegna has always been progressive in his culinary endeavours. He’s at the helm of the Michelin-recommended Ten Restaurant, a veggie-forward, multi-course eatery in Brockton Village that offers a seasonal tasting menu bursting with flavour and creativity. But, since he was young and inspired by his mom’s cooking, food has been about community for Chef Bentivegna. And, carrying on that idea, he puts his talents to good use, working with a local charitable organization and creating his own ways to combat food insecurity.
Chef Bentivegna’s work with The Stop
Ten Restaurant celebrated being open for five years in March and, to commemorate the milestone, Chef Bentivegna wanted to do something other than a dinner. He wanted to celebrate the community that welcomed him, the community he’s spent the last five years becoming a part of.
“I have a couple of friends that are working with The Stop right now, so it just worked out that I got connected with them, fell in love with what they’re doing there and really just wanted to shine a light on all the good they do for the city,” Chef Bentivegna explains. “So I just decided that the funds we would have spent on an anniversary party would be better spent contributing to them.”
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Chef Bentivegna was also responsible for the birth of the community fridges in Toronto, now called CFTO. The first one was outside Ten Restaurant, and the idea was to emulate the initiative that was growing in New York during the pandemic. “We’re always just looking at ways to connect our guests, and also my staff and myself, to find ways to give back. And food insecurity is such a huge issue right now,” Chef Bentivegna explains. So the natural next step, he says, was to work with The Stop. “It’s kind of a symptom of a larger problem of affordability in Toronto. So we’re just trying to figure out creative ways to deal with it – and also just getting more chefs involved in that, because I think they go hand-in-hand.”
The Stop has been a part of the community for over 40 years, feeding local, healthy and creative meals to community members in need. It aims to increase access to healthy food in the city, running “extensive emergency food access and social service programs, aiming to address the effects of systemic poverty: food insecurity, social isolation, unequal access to land, and difficulty navigating health and government systems,” according to its website.
For his part, Chef Bentivegna took his vegetable-forward approach to food to take part in crafting a menu for over two hundred guests at The Stop, preparing a salad and other vegetable courses to serve. He also donated the funds that would have otherwise been spent on a party to The Stop’s efforts – the organization serves an average of 431 meals a day, with 40% of the budget going to buy fresh produce from local farms. What’s more, it doesn’t operate using a charity model, instead empowering the community and giving them tools and building skills to learn and grow – getting involved directly in the process.
Chef Bentivegna’s work with The Stop also includes advocacy, encouraging other chefs who want to help across the city to take part in the program, reduce food waste and combat food insecurity. “Other chefs want to do this kind of stuff, too, but they don’t really know where to start. So that’s where I see my role in this going forward – kind of being that middleman. And then also still going back once or twice a year, three times a year, to do my own thing with them.”
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He says that other chefs have already reached out to get involved and that the momentum can only continue. “We’re trying to create this framework that other restaurants can follow. And ideally, just creating the standard that, if you’re a fine dining restaurant, if you’re a restaurant in the city, that it should be your goal to give back as much as you get.”
