Profile

Chef Brent Genyk: Harth Mozza & Wine Bar

Chef Brent Genyk

Photos by Ian McCausland

Chef Brent Genyk is a born-and-bred Winnipegger who has come up in some of the city’s favourite restaurants. With a background in the kitchens of Bellissimo, Glendale Country Club, and The Mitchell Block, it is not surprising that his restaurant, Harth Mozza & Wine Bar, is both firmly entrenched in the neighbourhood in St Vital and a citywide destination for its intimate atmosphere, incredible service, and homemade Italian fare.

The secret ingredient in your fridge:

Good Parmesan goes a long way for us. I like a 24-month aged Parmesan Reggiano for its depth of flavour and umami. Anchovies is another ingredient we use throughout the menu. They’re in everything.

The most interesting current food trend:

The biggest emphasis is on sourcing local ingredients— but that’s something we’ve always done here. I think the customers appreciate it a little bit more because it’s a lot more work. I could easily order from a big box place and get everything dropped off at once, but instead, I’m dealing with my tomato guy and my zucchini guy. It adds layers of difficulty trying to make sure you get what you need. A lot of these local guys are organic and run very micro, small farms, so if they have an issue, it can really affect supply. For example, a farmer that does basil for us had bad grasshoppers, and they just wiped out their whole crop. It’s definitely more challenging, but the customers are more interested in where their stuff is coming from now.

What you would be if you weren’t a chef:

I honestly have no idea. If I had to give you an answer, I would be a barber. It’s 40 minutes to do a cut, and then you’re on to the next person. It’s like having coffee with 10 people a day.

Favourite wine:

Journeys End 2019 Bees Knees Chenin Blanc/Viognier Western Cape, South Africa

Beet Tartare with bagna cauda, crispy potato, bottarga (top left) Radiatori with spicy sausage sugo, chilis, basil, pecorino (bottom) Lamb Shank with Wild Mushroom Ragu, Polenta, Parsley Gremolata (top right)

Favourite kitchen gadget:

If you have a proper, sharp chef’s knife at home, your possibilities are pretty endless. That’s what you need to put your money into. At work, we have lots of toys. We have the big hand-crank pasta maker and a huge one that we extrude all the pasta out of with bronze dies. That one is super cool.

Favourite cookbook:

Bocca by Jacob Kenedy. It goes back to all the different Italian regions in line with our style of food. It’s very easy to cook from, but it is hard to find, so I don’t lend it out like I do my other books. It’s approachable, but it’s also very simple, so it needs good ingredients—very Italian.

The first meal that made you want to cook for a living:

It wasn’t ever one dish. It was more the atmosphere of the busy hustle and bustle of the kitchen. I like being part of a kitchen brigade.

Favourite food travel destination:

The last place I was able to travel to was L.A. We went to a lot of restaurants that I follow on Instagram, and I was nerding out pretty hard. That was super cool. But the street food and some of the stuff we just kind of stumbled into was also really good.

Guilty pleasure (food or otherwise)?

I love Drumsticks. Yeah, they’re bad. I have to hide those at home.