Talking with Chef Chris Mills at Joey Eaton Centre

The days before a restaurant opens can be incredible frenzied and stressful. But Chef Chris Mills, out here to make sure the kitchen of Joey Eaton Centre is working flawlessly, is a picture of calm. It seems like the more pressure, the more steadied h gets. I witnessed this for the first time back when he was in Toronto doing a practice run at The Burroughes for a James Beard Dinner in New York and again, a couple of days before opening day, Chef Mills seems like a man without a single worry.

He and the beautiful Britt Innes, Director of Marketing for JOEY, give me a tour of the new space, which is where a J.J. Muggs stood many decades ago (remember the winding brass and wood staircase and golf green carpets?). A collection of reclaimed woods juxtapose the urban setting and dark furniture.  We walk through a kitchen is jam-packed with chefs proving their skills while the dining areas alight with beautiful servers practicing the art of serving.

We finish the tour in the Wine Mezzanine upstairs (I’ll have a whole separate write up on that here on Friday), where we sit down to talk about the menu and of course, eat.

Despite being in the industry for decades, Chef Mills is passionate about food. He is excited about the menu, which already has a huge and dedicated following on the east coast. There is a charcuterie plate that features local cheeses, thinly sliced cured meats served with marinated olives, candied pecans, quince paste & hand-pulled flatbread that is part of the “globally-influenced menu,” that he’s created while using as many local and seasonal ingredients as possible.

Mills says that the menu has “one-hit-wonders of the world,” with Indian Butter Chicken, and Fish Tacos from Mexico and California and a strong Asian presence as just a few examples. Argentina even makes an appearance with a chimichurri sauce that accompanies a steak.

A lot of practice goes into these dishes. In fact, Chef Mills spends his weekends baking bread and recently he worked on the Butter Chicken dish at home “Twice on Friday and two times on Saturday, making a slightly different version every time.” Playing with evaporated milk , dried fenugreek and green cardamom,” he is trying to perfect the dish even further.

“For every one dish, there’s 200 that don’t make it. There are 6,7,8 dishes I test a week.”

This is just one of the many reasons why the food here is spectacular. When Chris Mills isn’t in the Joey kitchen, he’s in his own kitchen working to bring you something even better.

p.s. He next project? A steak house concept with wood-burning BBQs. I’ll keep you posted.

p.p.s. Their Blueberry Mojito is amazing. I would have had 6, but I didn’t want to be impolite.

p.p.p.s. Check back here on Friday when I tell you all about the amazing wine experience JOEY offers.