Type that headline into a google search engine and you’ll be inundated with blogs, articles and videos attempting to answer that question.

The reality is, you need more than a software program to excel in the design process. We can all agree though that good design communicates an idea clearly.

The Sudbury Design Society knows a thing or two about good design.

And so does Sudbury-based creative types who make a living as designers, artists, photographers and architects.

Terra MacPhail of Terra Designs spearheaded the Verdicchio rebranding campaign and generally oversees all things visual when it comes to the restaurant’s marketing.

She along with 18 other creative professionals are being recognized at the Sudbury, Design to Art exhibition and awards ceremony May 23 at the Open Studio, 93 Cedar St., third floor.

We sat down with Terra to talk about the design process from concept to outcome:

The concept.

“The concept behind the new logo was to not relinquish the past but to modernize it. The grapes and wine that are a symbol of Italian culture and cuisine just needed a modern facelift and clean new type to compliment the new name. The colours were chosen to emphasize the literal meaning of the grapes so to not lose that connection completely.” –Terra

The logo. 

“In the past the restaurant was known as Ristorante Verdicchio, now the logo clearly emphasizes the key word – Verdicchio and we continue to emphasize that verbally to extend brand awareness at all levels in the community. The rebrand is just one part, albeit an important one, that symbolizes a new era for Verdicchio as it grows and expands into a central hub for fine dining, server training, special events, conferences and wedding celebrations.” ­­– Terra

The design process.

“The design process for this project was fairly straight forward because a totally new concept was not required as it would undermine the purpose of modernizing but not throwing away the rich history and brand equity that Verdicchio has already established over the past 20 years in business. As a result, we created a simple yet effective solution without need for anything extra or superfluous.” – Terra 

The outcome.

“This simple yet effective rebrand has garnered several awards, including the recent Good Design award presented by the Sudbury Design Society. The new logo has been easy to apply to the Verdicchio in-house product line as well as the private label of Italian extra virgin olive oil. We think that this new identity will continue to serve Verdicchio for many years to come and hopefully stand the test of time.” – Terra

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There’s much wisdom and excitement in Stuart McCall’s voice as he gives us a tour of his Garson farm.

A retired chemical engineer with a local mining company, Stuart turned to farming full-time in 1996 when he purchased five acres of land on Goodwill Drive.

Three years later McGrows Farms and Garden started selling organically grown vegetables, herbs and bedding plants to the public. You can find Stuart’s produce at Eat Local Sudbury during the growing season.

Stuart is serious about the organic process, even getting his organic soil tested. He uses water from a natural pond to nourish his crops and uses only heritage and heirloom seeds.

“We specialize in tomatoes,” Stuart said showing us the seedlings, “so we have almost any type of tomato you can possibly think of.”

And a few more…

His ground cherry tomatoes are a big hit with customers and his orange banana and half banana tomatoes are great to make sauces.

The reason we’re at McGrows Farms and Gardens is to talk to Stuart about the initial stages of a partnership between the farm and Verdicchio.

Stuart is eager to provide Verdicchio with as much produce as he can for the season. Since, we’ve always made buying local a priority, the partnership is a perfect fit with our philosophy. Stuart has even offered to start growing vegetables for us that he never did before.

His produce has received top honours with the Sudbury Horticultural Society.

From fennel to broccoli, cucumbers, beans, spinach and a rainbow of herbs, McGrows Farms grows anything and everything that can flourish in the northern climate. The season is slow starting this year – about two to three weeks late – because of our weather. But Stuart expects some produce to be ready next month. He started germinating seeds in January and through the use of his greenhouses, plants are thriving.

Cinnamon, lemon and purple ruffle are just some of the different types of basil that Stuart has germinated in his basement nursery. Just think of all the possible mojito recipes!

His operation is well thought out and truly amazing.

Stuart grew up on a farm and tells us he remembers his father getting him out of bed at six-years-old, at the crack of dawn, to turn soil.

Farming is in his blood and his job as a chemical engineer enabled him to purchase the necessities to start his project. His career also gave him a scientific background to compliment his work ethic. Farming started as a hobby for Stuart but has turned into a business, as he continues to expand his crop offering.

We plan to visit the farm weekly with executive chef Alejandro Winzer to be kept up to date with crop development, to anticipate produce availability and incorporate them into the restaurant menu.

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At first glance they don’t look very pretty.

You’d probably overlook these dark root vegetables among the colourful displays of peppers, zucchini and tomatoes at the supermarket now that spring has arrived.

But black radishes, popular in Eastern European cuisine, are rearing their scruffy heads on supermarket shelves. Well, actually they are still relatively hard to find in Northern Ontario but recently available at Eat Local Sudbury.

These particular dark beauties come from Pfennings Organic Farms in southern Ontario. This is pretty amazing seeing the main producing countries are China, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands.

At Verdicchio, we decided to incorporate black radishes into our tasting menu. Most of the ingredients on this 6-course delight are sourced from local farms. Local nowadays for us means small producers within the province of Ontario.

We decided to pair the vegetable with our slow cooked oxtail medallions. We thought the slightly exotic flavour of the black radishes paired well with the oxtail as a puree.

The health benefits of radishes are impressive – they are the most nutritious root vegetables out there. They are high in antioxidants, rich in vitamin C and contain adequate levels of folates, vitamin B-6, riboflavin, thiamin and minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper and calcium.

According to a popular Chinese proverb, “Eating pungent radish and drinking hot tea, let the starved doctors beg on their knees.”

Unlike their sister radish, these type of radishes are best cooked, much like  turnips, either roasted, pureed or creamed.

Back radishes are more peppery and flavourful then their white counterparts.

Peel away the black, tough skin and a snowy white flesh is revealed.

These neglected vegetables have a very distinct flavour due to its high sulphur content so they are best cooked. Unless you’re the type of person to eat a raw turnip, munch away!

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We salivate over reality cooking competitions like kids and many adults do over a bowl of ice cream drizzled with chocolate.

The back-stabbing and emotional outbursts of contestants makes us believe that yes, this is reality television at its finest.

And even if you don’t agree with Gordon Ramsay’s approach, you can’t help but respect the guy.

But if you think this is what really happens behind the line, you’re half way there.

The pressure to put out food that is consistently good is definitely something most restaurants can relate to. But far from the camera lights and television ratings, chefs, cooks and prep cooks are the backbone of any restaurant. These dedicated bunch are what can make or break a restaurant. The industry is complex and volatile so the pressure for perfection is felt from everyone involved in the business from the owner to the kitchen team and to the servers.

But it’s the small details that are just as important. Maintaining a clean and sanitary work station, ensuring items are stocked and simply labeling products  are all essential duties when it comes to the kitchen operation.

Do you think you have what it takes to become a Red Seal cook?

Red Seal designation represents a standard of excellence for the industry in Canada. Apprentices are trained under the guiding eye of the kitchen executive but the real value is the hours spent behind the line.

We’re currently looking for the next great apprentice. Do you have what it takes?

Learn more about the Red Seal program at http://www.red-seal.ca.

For more information about apprenticeship opportunities at Verdicchio contact

careers@verdicchio.ca

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A simple scoop of the net would reveal a jackpot –if we were lucky, hundreds of the silver things.
Upon our return home Nonno and Nonna would help clean the smelts. If we were old enough, we’d each take turns removing the heads and slitting their underbelly to get ride of the guts.

To eat them we dusted them with flour and fried them…perfection. Even for someone like myself who doesn’t eat much fish, smelts were a highly anticipated treat. And part of the fun is knowing we helped catch and clean them.

It’s that time of year again – smelts are running!.

I’ve heard their spawning in our neck of the woods.

You do need a fishing license to go smelt fishing and other than that all you really need is a simple scoop net, dip net or seine net and a bucket.

The water temperature, length of daylight hours and warmth of the sun encourage the cold-water fish to spawn. Often smelts start running when there is still ice in the water.

The best spots to find them are usually along a shallow sandy shore and typically the best time to catch them is in the dark.

While I’ll probably wait a few years to take my own kids who are now two and almost four years old, it’s a tradition that I carry on in another way. Smelts will be featured at the restaurant this week, during lunches and in our tasting menu!

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After a good wash, I chopped them up, added some diced carrots and a few surviving arugula leaves, tossed with some olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper.

I was surprised about how flavourful this last-minute salad was but doubted the nutritional value. Belgian endive is no green leafy vegetable and its pale like celery so I thought its nutrients were as unimpressive. But a quick Google search proved my assumption incorrect. Belgian endive, also known as “White Gold” in food circles, can be eaten raw or cooked. The vegetable is a good source of Vitamin C, folate and fiber among other benefits.

A member of the chicory family, growing the vegetable is a little labour intensive. It’s grown twice; once for the roots and a second time for its yellow and white leaves.

Belgian endive was apparently accidentally discovered by a farmer whose chicory roots had sprouted in his cellar over the winter.

Interestingly enough, its roots can be dried and ground to be used as an addition to or in place of coffee
I like to use them instead of a cracker, topping them with cheese and other delicious bits.

Here are some tips for choosing and storing Belgian endive.

• Choose endives that look fresh and are spot-free. The leaves should be tightly closed and the endive should feel firm.
• Wrap each endive in a damp paper towel and store in the refrigerator vegetable crisper.

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 When I started bartending at Verdicchio 3 years ago, I was not expecting it to be something that I would truly take an large interest in. Thanks to owner Mark Gregorini and chef Alehandro Winzer as they push me to truly learn the craft and appreciate the balance of a finely crafted cocktail, and to learn the history of imbibing and the production of spirits. It also pushes me to continually study cocktail recipes and spirits from books new and old so that all of our customers get a proper cocktail, with the occasional question such as “why is there no grenadine in my singapore sling?” or “aren’t cosmopolitans are supposed to have lime cordial?” being met by the answer from me of “that’s not how Dale Degroff would do it!”

Living in Northern Ontario we face an upwards battle with light beer and Bloody Caesar drinkers set in their ways but through this blog I hope to connect with as many people as possible and to get across the message that its okay to embrace flavour. I  plan to post recipes that I have developed as well as classic cocktails, and reviews on spirits that are behind the bar at Verdicchio, as well as tasting notes on as many wines as I can from Verdicchio’s extensive cellar. Most of all this blog will serve as a journal for me of sorts of my nights at Verdicchio and the trials that every bartender must face to give as complete of service as possible to every customer in the restaurant.

All in all, I guess my true journey as a bartender starts now. I hope you enjoy the show.

Sincerely, Devin Lapierre

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Picture to come soon!

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