Starting your own restaurant can be an abundantly rewarding experience, but it can also be daunting, frustrating, and harsh. Teo Paul has already learned this lesson the hard way, and his restaurant hasn't even opened yet. The Toronto-born chef has spent the better part of the last decade cooking in a restaurant called Somo in Paris, but he's all set to open his first restaurant. In fact, he's been all set to open it for the last four months. Originally slated for a September opening, Union has been delayed and delayed and delayed some more.

Now in the home stretch (he's aiming for an opening in the second week of January), Teo is able to talk candidly about the whole experience. "I underestimated it completely," he tells me. "I was probably a bit too wide-eyed and ambitious. I've always had a great vision for Union, but I've had to wait for permits, deal with contractors, put in venting and drywall. It's just one thing after another." This is a realization that every young restaurateur has to go through; you can dream big about cooking and designing, but you're also going to have to deal with a ton of details in between.

The kitchen is like a stage and the whole restaurant is a production. It's a risk, but everything is a risk.

Even despite the setbacks, Teo remains cautiously optimistic: "I've got a really good feeling about the place. I'm at the point where I no longer need to learn from anybody else. I never went to school, and I've learned a lot working in kitchens in Paris, but now I need to learn on my own. The kitchen is like a stage and the whole restaurant is a production. It's a risk, but everything is a risk." The plan is to forge a real niche with Union, to turn it into a place with a real identity, an individualistic venue unlike anything else in the city. Opening on the ever-so-trendy Ossington Avenue, it's certainly in the right place to do it.

The restaurant is modeled after a place in Paris called Le Petit Fer à Cheval (translated: 'The Little Horeshoe"). "I spent about five years of my life there," Teo admits. Like its Parisian model, Union's action will centre around the horseshoe bar. In between regular restaurant hours, the bar will continue to serve wine and beer, along with casual food items like charcuterie, sandwiches, and baked goods. The idea is make the place as laid-back and welcoming as possible, despite the stigma of gourmet cooking.