Despite being such an incredible food city, Toronto does not have much in the way of unique, signature dishes. I hereby nominate Chef Greg Couillard’s Jump Up Soup as one. For a time this was probably Toronto’s most famous dish, inspired by the first Caribana Parade in 1967 – a riot of colour, music and tropical heat that crashed through the stolid grey of downtown Toronto much like Greg’s cooking would do to the restaurant scene in the decades that followed.
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Doubles $7
Greg’s take on a favourite street snack in Trinidad & Tobago; doubles are tender dough fritters sandwiched with a savoury chickpea curry jacked with Jamaican pumpkin and red lentils — even better spiked with Greg’s signature hot sauce!
Jump Up Soup $12
Based on a traditional Jamaican “pepper pot” soup, this hearty, spicy soup features Jamaican pumpkin, sweet potato, chayote, sweet and hot peppers and the complex spices that are Greg’s claim to fame.
Served with Coconut Rice. #vegan #glutenfree
Add jerk chicken thigh +$4
Tropical Trifle $7
Greg’s juicy & colourful mix of tropical fruit, custard, sponge cake, whipped cream and a splash of rum is nothing to be trifled with!
Prix Fixe Menu $25
Doubles + Jump Up Soup + Trifle | add chicken +$4
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It would not be hyperbole to suggest that Greg Couillard is one of the most influential chefs in Toronto’s culinary history. Through groundbreaking restaurants like The Parrot, Stelle, Avec, Sarkis, The Spice Room and many others, his prescient embrace of this city’s multicultural flavours and ingredients revolutionized fine dining in Toronto, and foreshadowed the eclectic, international menus many now take for granted.
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Every week The Depanneur hosts an ‘open mic’ night for culinary talent in TO, where we invite guest cooks, amateur or professional, to come and make their favourite dishes.
