Your Mother Was A Hamster And Your Father Smelled Of Elderberries

Like poor King Arthur amidst the taunts and flying livestock of the French, the kings of British culinary artistry have long been stymied by their counterparts to the South. Despite the taunting and silly accents, the Brits have long succumbed to buying up French wine and recreating French classics in their kitchens. Even here in the New World, our greatest chefs delight to French traditions whilst leaving British fare to the lowly confines of pub grub.

Yet despite their inability to take back their own national gift to world sport (their last Fifa World Cup triumph outdates the last Maple Leafs Stanley Cup), there are those of English blood determined to take back their cuisine, and take it to soaring new heights. One has only to look as far as the Queen & Beaver Public House on Elm Street to see that English cuisine has its place in the bellies of the discerning pallette. Now taking this torch to its next height is the newest kitchen in the food explosion taking place in the Dundas & Ossington corridor, The Grove.

Despite his questionable loyalty to Leeds United FC, Chef Ben Heaton has long been one of the most impressive culinary talents in Toronto. After launching Globe Bistro as executive chef, and a brief stint working under Claudio at Colborne Lane, Ben has spent the past 2 years at the helm of perhaps the biggest volume kitchen in the world of fine dining at One in Yorkville. All of this was merely the journey however that has taken him to his first restaurant of his own, The Grove. Based on bringing British cuisine into the upper echelons of quality food, there is nothing like it anywhere in the neighborhood, which sets it apart in a city determined to be the next guy to do what the other guy did. And while its taken a tad longer than anyone would have liked to finally open its doors, my excitement was palpable as I came in for my first taste of Chef Ben's vision.

The front of house team of Richard, Fritz and barman Mike Bradley have created a very hip environment in the tiny dining room. Comfortable and cool, while still maintaining a tip of the hat to its United Kingdomly roots. The wine list is perfectly tailored to the cuisine (pinot lovers will rejoice in having 5 great pinots from the five leading stylistic regions for the heartbreak grape ie. Burgundy, Sonoma, Central Otago, Oregon and Ontario) and the cocktail list mixes well old favourites with creative newcomers.

But really its all about the food, and despite reminding Chef that Leeds had shit the bed on a recent 7-2 drubbing, Ben was all smiles as he asked if we had the room for a tasting menu.

The Parsley root Soup came first and arrived with the thunderbolt of an instant classic. I've delighted before at Ben's Parsley root soup at the 2nd of his pop-up dinners for First Drop Canada, but this was an even bigger smash, adding snail to the bacon and creamy goodness that unleashed before us. Every chef has their signature soup. I am convinced this is Ben's. I cant possibly express strongly enough that this is easily in the top 10 dishes in the entire city of Toronto.

Next of the potato and leeks in cheddar foam, which was perhaps underwhelming, but a true case of having a tough act to follow. Despite its challenging slot in the lineup, no waste went into its execution, as it served as another reminder of Chef's talent for plating.

Next up was char with spot prawn and once again the symphony was in full gale force. the puree, the pudding and the protein each played their instrument in an overture that Rossini would have been impressed by. Like Tiger Woods when he is winning tournaments, every part of the game was in rythym here. Perhaps most impressive was the prawn, which can make or break a dish based on quality and freshness almost more than any component I know. This one was on (nope not taking the bait on a spot prawn pun. Eat me.)

Anyone can hit a home run. Even pitchers manage the feat from time to time. But you dont get to be Joe Carter until you do it all the time and on the biggest of occasions. There is no bigger occasion for a chef than opening week, and with the 2nd of 4 dishes, Chef had done it again. The Duck confit with brussel sprouts and elderberry puree was an absolute game changer. From its supercool plating to the harmony of flavors, this was the TSN Turning Point. Touch em all Ben, you'll never hit a bigger one than that.

The Steak Two Ways was another in a now running chorous of foodie anthems, belting out its break beats with the fluidity of a tribe Called Quest. /the hanger steak was about as tender s I've had from that cut, while the shortribs were, well shortribs (you can subsitute shortribs for pretty much anything worth experiencing in life, from orgasms to Bill Murray cameos in zombie films). Again with sharp but playful presentation and flavours that strike their own chords while never leaving the key. Along with another of Fritz's expert pairing suggestions, our meal was soaring like a Manchester United title run.

The last course came accompanied by these, chips and house made ketchup, which would seem unremarkable enough. But you'd be wrong though, because mark my words, this ketchup is going to be a Toronto foodie talking point for the summer of 2012. The Cumin Ketchup, Chef's tip of the hat to Indian influence on UK cuisine, is wholly overwhelming. I'd spread that shit on toast, or just about anything else I could scrape from my cupboard. They've been inundated with requests to bottle the stuff for sale, and to not answer the call would be a miss-step unrivaled (unless of course you want to talk about that goal the Brits gifted the Americans in the opener of the 2010 World Cup). Its the stuff of legend.

The Pork Two Ways was our final voyage on the savory side, and it was only here, on our 6th course, that we encountered a 2nd component (not dish mind you, COMPONENT) that was underwhelming. A staggering accomplishemnt for a small kitchen on its 2nd night of operation. And while the belly here joined the cheddar foam in the "close but no cigar" category, the dish was still buoyed by the righteousness of the cider glazed loin.

As we waddled, food-babies onboard, into the dessert course, once again, Ben and team marvelled. Pudding, clotted cream and crumble. Nothing quite so British, and nothing quite so delicious. A perfect dessert, yet still not our last.

Another dazzling plating full of color and flavor. Hard to believe we could still eat, but once again, our plates left completely empty.

I cant possibly encourage you with enough vigor to get your ass to the Grove. Its a stunning achievement in vitrually every aspect of the operation. And heading into European Cup 2012, its a good sign for England. Now that their chef's are realizing the potential in their traditions, perhaps their footballers can get that stadium sized monkey off of their back. Then again, we all know thats not going to happen. GO PORTUGAL!!!!!