t starts slow with Chris Brown, Executive Chef and Partner at Perigee in the Distillery District; we talk background, family, and the dynamic of the restaurant. First impressions? This guy is humble. Gushing about his kitchen team, he reiterates a few times that I should really be talking to his Sous-Chef, Anthony Davis, ("He's the right half of my body.") and helpers. Without them, he says, he would not be here. Straightforward enough, he's thankful, has humility, and is polite. But when we begin to discuss his Cross Town Kitchens venture, that is when he really opens up.

The Chef began his education at George Brown, where he was miserable. Brown (the man) subsequently went through the usual string of fine dining establishments the way most rising chefs do; Avalon and Splendido among them. After the requisite stint in Europe, cooking in Bologna and the South of France, he returned to Canada. While he had been away, Pat Riley and his father (the two had met through Brown) had been in talks to open a place of their own. Though a life long dream of the young Brown, the desire to be in the restaurant industry was genetic. His father had always wanted to be a chef, but was dissuaded by his mother and uncle, who had had first hand experience with the negative aspects of the business. Perigee came to fruition in 2003 with Riley as Executive Chef, Brown, his father as a partner, and brother as Sommelier and General Manager. When Riley left Perigee in 2007, Brown stepped up as Executive Chef. What Perigee has become is a fine dining restaurant which is consistently well received by the public and the press.

Unique to the restaurant is the open concept kitchen in the middle of the room (Riley's idea). Fishbowl like, the panes of glass that separate chefs and patrons allow for guests to get a behind the scenes look at the creation of their food. Though the restaurant continues to be open concept, the menu is no longer Riley's "we'll make whatever you want" format. The variety of options on the Omakase tasting menu, and the a la carte menu are motivated by the diversity of his staff, which have experience with cuisines from Ireland to Dubai. Their input creates dishes like the Langoustine, topped with wild boar bacon over roasted blue foot chanterelle mushrooms, and Roasted Guinea Hen, with a piri-piri marinade, confit potato and grilled lemon & fennel salad over a green olive sauce.