The Canadian chef and restaurateur on the ‘Holy Trinity’ of soups, salads and sandwiches and making history with the hit TV show The Bear
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“I’ve been putting my whole life up on social media for over 10 years and really been vulnerable and told everybody all my darkest secrets. I’ve put myself out there for a long time. And human connection, that’s the big win. Going and doing these book tours, it’s a nice thing just to meet people, talk to them for a few seconds, and have that moment.”
Matheson adds that writing Soups, Salads, Sandwiches was two years of hard work. He considers going out on the road and meeting his fans as the reward. “People really feel like they know me, and they come up and tell me some wild stuff,” he says, laughing. “Some of it’s like, ‘OK?’ and then some of it is so heartfelt and it really is beautiful. That kind of connection is definitely the coolest part.”
Born in Saint John, N.B., Matheson spent most of his childhood in Dartmouth, N.S. (where he grew up eating donairs — there’s a version in Soups, Salads, Sandwiches with onion, tomato and donair sauce, complete with sweetened condensed milk), before moving to Fort Erie, Ont., where he lives in the village of Ridgeway with his wife, Trish Spencer, and their children, Macarthur, Rizzo and Ozzy.
Matheson opens Soups, Salads, Sandwiches by calling it his “most cohesive book” because he now knows how it’s done. Over the past few years, he’s built a team and infrastructure, which he credits with making it all possible.
Matheson recalls that when trying to sell the book, he was often met with, “OK, but what else?” In his mind, soups, salads and sandwiches stand on their own merit. “There is no what else. This is it. This is good enough.”
The book’s 126 recipes tap into Matheson’s home life, upbringing and travels, all with his light, joyful touch. Each of the three parts covers a lot of ground, with diverse influences and approaches. Take Part 1: Soups, for example. There’s a crispy lamb pho — Matheson’s favourite meal is pho for breakfast — and a minimalist broth of garden herbs with a single chili inspired by an amuse-bouche he had at a restaurant in San Francisco, where they poured water over a bouquet in a teacup. “I believe that the alchemy that we have created is a delicious one,” says Matheson. “The thing is to spark people’s excitement about cooking and to spark people to cook and try something they’ve never tried before.”
Matheson writes that he wants the book to represent freedom and that he made it without ego. “In the moment of cooking, everything has to disappear. It’s like painting or writing a song. Cooking is one of those things that you’re doing for yourself that can truly affect other people.” As with art and beauty, those moments are freedom, he adds. “You’re trapped within this moment in time, and everything can fade away, and you’re doing something that is making yourself be better. To do something that either nourishes yourself or nourishes other people is a really beautiful thing. That moment in time has that freedom that we’re all searching for. You can have those freedoms in many different circumstances and many different times, and it’s just like those clarity moments in the chaos.”
He attributes The Bear’s success to the same human connection he values with his fans. In its portrayal of what it takes to build a restaurant amid grief, challenging family dynamics and a tough world, it depicts a life not often on display, says Matheson.
“Realistically, the show is about a bunch of people trying to make a restaurant. Life is crushing multiple people, and they’re still trying to make a restaurant, and they’re making mistakes — they’re making massive mistakes. And it’s like, ‘Can we get through this together?’ And I think the greater good of that team is always shining, and they aren’t willing to quit each other. They know that the good still outweighs the (bad).”
Matheson joined The Bear as an executive producer and food consultant in 2021. His role soon expanded to include acting and then screenwriting in Season 3.
“I love going to work on The Bear. I get to work with writers, directors, the cast and crew. I’m heavily involved with everybody, and I think it’s so amazing.” He also appreciates not being the boss. “I’m there to work with people and love that. Where, in my world, I’m the boss. I own the restaurants, and I’m my own boss. So it’s very refreshing, actually, to work on The Bear and provide a service to other people. It’s a very different kind of hat to wear, and I really loved going back. I’m like a sous-chef. I’m not making all those big decisions. I’m just bringing options.”
CARAMELIZED MAPLE PARSNIP SOUP WITH SUNCHOKE CHIPS AND RICOTTA
Serves: 4
Prep time: 1 hour
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter
2 lb (907 g) parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup (250 mL) maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 cup (250 mL) brandy
6 sunchokes, thinly sliced or shaved
1 tbsp (15 mL) white vinegar
6 cups (1.4 L) canola oil, for frying
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup (250 mL) heavy cream
1 cup (250 mL) ricotta
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Maldon salt
Step 1
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the butter. Add the parsnips and onions and cook until they begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the maple syrup. Guess what? Keep giving it a little stir here and there. We’re trying to create a super-sticky, fudgy, super-caramelized mixture here. This should take about 15 minutes. Watch this closely; it will burn if you don’t keep moving it.
Step 2
Next, hit it with the brandy. Flambé. It’s a classic. I’m not liable. Let the brandy cook off and then add water to cover, about 6 cups (1.4 litres). Simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 3
While the soup is simmering, let’s make the sunchoke chips. Completely submerge them in water and add the vinegar. Let them sit for 20 minutes.
Step 4
Drain and dry the chips. In a separate large Dutch oven, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat to 360F (182C). Make sure the chips are very dry. Gently lower them into the oil with a spider. Fry these guys in batches. Never fill the pot up all the way. Gently move them within the fryer. As soon as they get golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, pull them out and season them with kosher salt.
Step 5
When the soup has simmered for 30 minutes, throw in the cream. Cook for another 10 minutes, then blend the entire mixture, preferably with a hand blender but a regular blender works too.
Step 6
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta with the lemon zest and olive oil. Add a healthy pinch of Maldon salt and pepper.
Step 7
To serve, ladle the soup into four bowls, add a large dollop of the seasoned ricotta, a drizzle with maple syrup and a few of those delicious sunchoke chips.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BACON, MINT, PISTACHIO, FISH SAUCE, PICKLED PEPPER CARAMEL AND LIME
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep time: 1 hour
1 red bell pepper
1 jalapeño
1 scotch bonnet
2 Thai chilies
2 red serrano peppers
1/2 cup (125 mL) fish sauce
1 cup (250 mL) white vinegar
1 cup (250 mL) sugar
1 cup (250 mL) water
4 lb (1.8 kg) Brussels sprouts, half halved and half shaved
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
4 oz (113 g) bacon
1 cup (250 mL) pistachios, toasted and chopped
1/2 bunch mint, finely chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 450F (230C).
Step 2
Take the stems off the peppers. In a blender, puree the red bell pepper, jalapeño, scotch bonnet, Thai chilies, serranos, fish sauce and vinegar.
Step 3
While the peppers are blending, start your caramel. In a small pot over medium-low heat, combine the sugar and water and reduce until thickened and dark amber in colour. This will take time and you need to keep stirring it pretty consistently. Then add the blended peppers mixture into your caramel and stir to combine. Turn the heat off and remove the pan and let it chill out for a second. Don’t want it to be fudge.
Step 4
On a baking sheet, toss your halved Brussels sprouts and bacon in olive oil and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Roast until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let them cool for 10 minutes. Then cut your bacon into small pieces, about a quarter of an inch.
Step 5
In a large bowl, combine the roasted Brussels sprouts and bacon with the pistachios. Don’t add all the caramel in at once. Add it gradually and toss everything together.
Step 6
Plate the salad on a nice platter. Cover with the shaved Brussels sprouts, mint, and lime zest and juice. Toss and serve to your best friends only, no borderline people, only ride-or-dies.
FRIED SPAM KIMCHI GRILLED CHEESE
Serves: 2
Prep time: 30 minutes
One 12-oz (340-g) can Spam
1 cup (250 mL) your favourite kimchi
1 tbsp (15 mL) grapeseed oil
Four 1/2-inch-thick slices seeded bread
Margarine or butter, room temperature, for buttering your bread
4 slices marbled cheddar cheese
2 slices American cheese
1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise
1/4 cup (60 mL) sriracha
1/4 cup (60 mL) hoisin
1 tbsp (15 mL) gochugaru
1 tbsp (15 mL) garlic powder
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Step 1
Slice the Spam into 4 steaks. Drain the kimchi and chop it up so you don’t pull kimchi out of your mouth and get slapped with a hot piece of cabbage. Make sure you pull out as much liquid as possible by draining the liquid off and pressing a lot of the juice out.
Step 2
In a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and sear the Spam until it’s a nice golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Set that aside and wipe out the pan.
Step 3
Using margarine or butter, butter one side of each slice of bread. Use margarine if you are a margarine person like I am because I never have room-temp butter.
Step 4
Preheat your oven to 350F (177C). The key to a grilled cheese is to also put it in the oven.
Step 5
In the same pan you used to cook the Spam, put 2 slices of your bread, buttered-side down. Top one bread with 2 slices of the marbled cheddar and the other with 1 slice of the American cheese. Put 2 slices of Spam on the American cheese side, side by side, and kimchi on the marbled cheese side. Flip your Spam side onto the kimchi.
Step 6
Put the sandwich on a baking sheet and into the oven. Get it nice and hot. Flip every 2 to 3 minutes for about 10 minutes. Flip flip flip, it’s oozy, it’s cheesy, and the bread is nice and crusty.
Step 7
Repeat by putting the remaining slices of bread into the pan and building your second sandwich. Do this only if you want to share this sandwich with someone. Or, if you want to crush two sandwiches on your own, this will be our secret. No one will know. This is a good one, though, so I hope you share. Put the second sandwich on the baking sheet and into the oven. Repeat the cook-and-flip process.
Step 8
Take it out, and in the meantime, let’s make a little dipper, shall we? In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sriracha, hoisin, gochugaru, garlic powder, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. There’s your dip.
Step 9
Cut each grilled cheese in half, right down the middle. No diagonal fancy-pants stuff here. You want to have a piece of Spam in each half. Get a couple of bites in and then dip it. Or eat half and then eat the other half dipped. Or dip it from the first bite. If I dip, we dip, we dip, dip.
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