4 minute read
Chef Mark Merano James Avenue Pumphouse
The first thing you notice about Executive Chef Mark Merano’s enthusiasm for food is his openness and complete lack of pretension. His rise through the ranks from dishwasher at Moxie’s to Executive Chef of James Avenue Pumphouse is characterized by hard work and an eagerness to learn and do what is needed to progress to the next level. When he first moved on to the line in the kitchen, Mark says, it was a matter of “working, grinding, and learning how to be an adult— because the kitchen really shows you how to toughen up. You have to be in the fire.” After a decade of experience at Moxie’s, culminating with the title of Head Chef, he was offered the Executive Chef spot on the opening team at James Avenue Pumphouse. Developing the concept during the pandemic meant that Chef Mark and the team at True Hospitality had the time and focus to develop, test, and perfect recipes, creating a global menu that invites everyone to the table.
Your vision for James Avenue Pumphouse: We started offering global street food, which has evolved into global comfort food. Winnipeg is very diverse, and having a global menu allows different ethnicities to eat food that they are familiar with or try new flavours. Now that people are becoming familiar with our global theme, I want to try to push the boundaries of flavours and techniques more and more. That includes our plant-based menu. A lot of people think vegetarian and vegan food is only health food—just salad or soup. So we wanted to break that perception and offer something a little different.
Your favourite current trend: When we were developing the menu during COVID shutdowns, there were so many trends happening—but one thing no one could do was travel. We wanted people to be able to travel through food. I was excited to learn about different styles and allow people to experience dishes that they couldn’t try somewhere else.
Your favourite cooking inspiration: Right now, online food culture is crazy. You can learn from someone who may not be classically trained but they’re creating these amazing dishes. If you follow one chef, they have one style. But if you’re learning techniques from a lot of people, you can create this fusion of ideas. I am learning from everyone.
Your profession if you weren’t a chef: A year ago, I probably couldn’t have imagined doing anything else, but recently, I have been developing a new love for photography—so probably a food photographer.
Your favourite place to eat on your day off: Sam Po Dim Sum.
The most popular wine on your list: Tempus Two 2021 Silver Series Pinot Grigio.
Your guilty pleasure: I grew up eating a Filipino dish called crispy pata, which is deep-fried pork belly or pig trotters. Think of it as a drumstick, but it tastes like pork belly with crispy skin.
Your dream dinner guests: My grandparents. I would want to see their reaction to old-school versus new-school cuisine. I lost them at a young age, so they didn’t get to see me here now. And it would be awesome for them to try this kind of food with the flavours they grew up with.
Trapped on a desert island, these are your essential ingredients:
Salt and pepper, rice, spam, and eggs. That was something I grew up eating. I would wake up in the morning to spam and eggs frying up—my dad always made it. Sometimes the best things are simple.
