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The high quality and stature that The
Healthy Butcher has achieved is a result of many individuals working together as
a team - not because of one or two individuals.
The following is a little description of the key people
that make up The Healthy Butcher. To contact anyone listed here, either
call the store at:
416-ORGANIC (416-674-2642)
for both stores
Press 1 for the Queen Store
Press 2 for the Eglinton Store
Press 3 for the Kitchener Store
or email:
info@thehealthybutcher.com
your email will be forwarded to the
appropriate individual
We have avoided posting everyone's
personal email because of spam issues.
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Mario Fiorucci and Tara Longo,
Co-Presidents
Lawyer and Investment Banker turned
Butchers.
Former Lawyer and Investment Banker,
Mario and Tara left their large Bay Street Firms to do the unimaginable – open
an organic butcher shop. The Healthy Butcher was born out of their frustration
of the difficulty finding good quality, fresh organic meat in Toronto and the
difficulty of finding good quality prepared foods to eat in the comfort of their
own home when their work schedules didn’t allow for enough time to spend
cooking.
So, they used their business savvy to
negotiate a deal with long-time owner and furniture store operator Sol
Borenstein to buy 565 Queen St West. in the heart of The Fashion District. After
restoring the building to its original 1890 beauty, their goal is to provide
downtown Toronto residents with a place they can trust to sell only the best
organic meats and gourmet prepared foods that will bring a passion for food to
their patrons’ dinner tables.
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Jonathan Abrahams,
Director of Operations & Executive Chef
Trained in England, Spain,
Israel, and Egypt, Jonathan brings a worldly flair to The Healthy Butcher’s
Express Gourmet prepared foods. After cooking at several Queen West
restaurants, Jonathan feels at home in the kitchen of The Healthy Butcher. “More
than anything, I like that I’m preparing honest products, using only the best
organic ingredients and never trying to pull anything over our customers,” says
Jonathan about working with local, organic & seasonal ingredients. Jonathan has
found a passion for experimentation, and loves the freedom to whip up any dish
on zero notice. “In restaurants, menus are created to last long periods of time
and once written it’s the same thing over and over until the next menu is
created; here, whatever is seasonal comes into the door as soon as its ripe with
little notice – at that point, it’s ‘these are for you Jon, do whatever’ and I
have to whip something up.” Jonathan loves the open dialogue with customers
coming into the store and wanting to learn how to cook something for the first
time. “To me, gourmet and organics are one in the same,” says Jonathan, “they
are about using the best ingredients and letting those ingredients shine with
minimal effort.”
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David Meli, Executive Butcher
Dave is in charge of dealing with all of our farmers in
Ontario – currently numbering at over 75 local family farms! He ensures
the animals are raised to our exceedingly high standards, that the resulting
meat is of premier quality, he oversees our dry ageing program, coordinates with
abbatoirs, and of course ensures the butchers under him are butchering to our
impeccable standards.
Dave is not only a Master Butcher, but a Red Seal Chef. A graduate of the George
Brown Culinary Management Program, Dave has cut his teeth working some of the
busiest bistro kitchens in Toronto. He has a mature and sophisticated
understanding of restaurant culture and works closely with the many chefs in
Toronto that represent our farmers on their menus. In 2007, Dave spent time in
Malta learning directly about his parent’s cuisine. There, Dave witnessed a
country smaller in size than Toronto participate in a cuisine solely based on
domestic vegetables, livestock and fish. He brings our team a passion for food
that is rooted in his understanding of local agriculture systems and the
capacity for an ethnicity to present themselves internationally through their
cuisine. With this approach in mind, Dave investigates the local seasonal
offerings in Ontario and builds them into our daily operations, always moving
towards a definition of a provincial personality expressed through food.
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Maxine Knight, Head Chef
Maxine’s culinary experiences spans 9 years of fine dining
including Canoe and Oliver & Bonacini’s Biff's Bistro. She has a flare for
spices comes developed from cooking at high end resorts throughout the
Caribbean. Maxine is also a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Culinary Wellness
Coach, and Cooking Instructor in some of the top schools throughout the City.
From meat, to raw food, to vegan food, Maxine has done it all and she brings her
experience as a Chef and Nutritionist to The Healthy Butcher.
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Mario Fiorucci & Tara Longo receiving the building keys from Sol Borenstein,
long-time owner of this Queen St. shop
Before and after photos of the storefront at 565 Queen St. West.
The
original wooden pillars and colours were restored and a knotty pine sign
backboard was installed bringing the storefront to one typical of an early
1900's Queen St. store.
Compare the new Healthy Butcher store with this
picture of an 1800's pork butcher...
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