ARTS

Rida Chaudhry Senior Arts Editor

Food is our sustenance. We consume to nourish ourselves, but the enjoyment we derive from the right flavour profiles hitting our taste buds keeps us coming back for certain cuisines. Like the albums we can’t stop listening to or the movies that hold a special place in our hearts, food is an art for our senses.

For this week’s column of deciphering the excitement people draw from various artistic mediums, The Journal caught up with Tango Nuevo Chef Eric Lavryssen and Fadel Mugizil, the owner of Ali Baba Kabab. These two men specialize in vastly different cuisines and atmospheres yet find parallels in their love for delicious food.

“I started my culinary journey rather young; my dad worked long hours and my mom wasn’t very connected to food which left me to often cook for myself and them,” Lavryssen said.

Lavryssen went to university to study kinesiology and psychology, but realized post-grad he had more creative aspirations for his career, leading him to getting a job at the keg ten years ago.

“My list of role models is ever evolving and extensive at times,” Lavryssen told The Journal, though he narrowed it down to a few he feels most inspired by today.

Richmond Station’s owner Carl Heinrich, and Chef Hayden Johnson come to mind from his time living and working in Toronto. Zach Keeshig, an Ojibwe