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The Drake Hotel, The Harbord Room, THR&CO, Flock Rotisserie and Greens. If you are a foodie, you will certainly recognize all of these restaurant names. Aside from all of these establishments serving delicious food, they also share one more thing in common with each other: Brantford native Cory Vitiello has been the chef at all of them.
Vitiello, 39, is one of Brantford’s biggest culinary success stories and one of the City’s 2019 Tourism Ambassadors. Born and raised in Brantford, Vitiello began cooking at age fifteen and started his own catering business out of his family home. Vitiello explains, “I have always loved the world of food and restaurants, even from a very young age. My Italian paternal grandparents taught me the importance of cooking meals at home as a way to bring the family together. They made everything from scratch and grew most of the produce they used year-round in their garden. This was, without my knowing at the time, my biggest influence. My family was overly supportive in my young endeavours as a kid wanting to become a chef in Brantford. Their support and selfless nature in allowing me to have that education was all the inspiration I needed at a young age.”
Vitiello went to Cedarland Public School, and graduated from North Park Collegiate High School. “When I was in high school, I took two years of professional cooking in the [Tollgate] Magnate Program that allowed me to take a half day from North Park and pursue this. I met a teacher, Mark Milletich, who was instrumental in my early chef education and who gave me all the tools and confidence to thrive as a young chef,” Vitiello recalls. “When I was just 17 years old, Donn Zver Pottery and Cafe located in Troy, just outside of Brantford, gave me an opportunity to run his new restaurant for a short period of time before going to chef school. That was truly a unique experience for a young inspired cook and I’ll always be grateful to him for trusting me in that role.”
Graduating from the esteemed Stratford Chef School, Cory Vitiello did his apprenticeship at Scaramouche Restaurant in Toronto. He says, “my goal was always to cook and learn from the best in Toronto—thankfully I had the opportunity to do just that a young age.” Keith Froggett, the Owner and Head Chef at Scaramouche, was yet another important mentor in Vitiello’s career: “No one has had a bigger impact on my style of food, or the way I conduct myself professionally more than him.”
Chef Cory then went on to train overseas, landing at Cecconi’s in Mebourne, Australia, where he took up the position as Sous Chef for one year. He then returned to Ontario where he took on the opening of The Drake Hotel in Toronto, where he held the position of Chef De Cuisine for three years. Vitiello made waves in the culinary industry at a young age by taking these big, bold chances. He advises, “You have to look at the people and places you are surrounding yourself with very closely. If they are not inspiring you to reach your goals, make a change. Brantford is not a small town. It offers so much for every walk of life and experience. Don’t just limit yourself to your immediate surroundings.”
Most notably, Chef Cory has founded, owned and operated the award-winning restaurants “The Harbord Room” from 2007-2017 and “THR&CO” from 2012-2015. During this time, Vitiello and The Harbord Room gained national and international recognition from top news organizations, including: En Route Magazine 3rd Best New Restaurant in Canada, CondéNast Magazine Worldwide Hot Spot List, Top 100 Best Restaurants in Canada List, and now Magazine Chef of the Year to name a few.
Vitiello’s on camera appearances are vast, including regular spots on NBC Today Show, Canada AM, Stephen and Chris, etalk Canada, ET Canada, Global Morning Show, Marilyn Dennis Show, and Cityline. He also starred in two seasons of Food Network’s “Chef in Your Ear.”
Vitiello has been famous in the culinary world for over a decade, but his frequent television appearances have made him known in the celebrity circuit as well. All of this attention has never gotten to Vitiello’s head. His parents and close friends still live in Brantford, and he visits the city often. Vitiello adds, “I have always loved the real sense of community in Brantford. From a young age I was taught by my parents to be as involved and active in as many different programs as possible. Looking back, after living in Toronto for 20 years, the weight I put on community and neighborhoods activism here was instilled from a young age from living in Brantford. There are so many great experiences and organizations available year-round to tap into. It’s also a very accessible city—given its proximity to the highway and surrounding cities—everything is easily available.” Vitiello played basketball through his pre- and teen years and adds, “All of the great youth sports organizations gave me a real sense of community, namely Briers Basketball, which was a big part of growing up and learning the importance of volunteer work.”
Vitiello frequently uses his celebrity for a good cause, working closely with: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Centre, Canfar, Stop for Food, Restaurants for Change, Sick Kids, Mount Sinai Hospital, Project Sunshine, Homes First, and Canadian Art Foundation. These causes mean a great deal to Vitiello, who is also very involved on a regular basis with Camp Oochigeas. “[Camp Oochigeas is] a camp for kids who suffer from childhood cancer. This is by far, for me, the most important organization I work with and gets the most of my time.”
Vitiello knows that the secret to a stronger economy is supporting local businesses. Local independent businesses generally keep more of the money spent with them within the community than corporate chains (45% for independent vs. 15% for chains), so shopping with local businesses leads to a stronger local economy.
Chef Cory currently owns and operates “Flock Rotisserie and Greens,” which is set to open its sixth Toronto location in the Spring of 2019. Vitiello has also taken a corporate position with Cactus Club Restaurants as the head of Culinary Development in Toronto and partnered with 10Tation Catering Company to bring his cuisine to life on a larger scale.
To learn more about Cory Vitiello you can follow him and keep up with him on Instagram.
Visit the Eat Flock website to find out more about the restaurant and choose a location to dine at.
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