Thus, family and food are deeply intertwined for Amaral. His five uncles used to go up north to a Portuguese farm and kill bulls and pigs. Blood sausage and chorizo would be made to last through the winter, feeding the eighty children between the large extended family which all lived within a couple blocks on College Street. At dinner, his mother put five plates on the table, and he, and his nine siblings, could eat pieces of whatever they chose. This is interestingly not so far off from what is being done at Madeline's now, where several dishes are meant to be ordered and shared, incorporating Amaral's philosophy of "Food and talk, and a little wine." His familial influence becomes even more obvious when the Chef points out dishes on the menu that he had grown up eating. The list is pretty extensive; dorado, calamari, scallops, chorizo, artichokes (he may be Portuguese, but he lived in Italian neighborhood), rapini, anchovies, and tomatoes, and it goes on.

At Madeline's, they say to heck with the Hundred Mile Diet. Instead, they are sourcing the freshest and the best. That means West Coast salmon, European fish, (the squid is from Amaral's mother's hometown); hen and foie gras are from Quebec, and the bison is from Alberta. But produce is still coming from Ontario farmers. With Susur Lee backing your kitchen, you may have fans asking for your autograph, but humbling experiences are plentiful. The other morning at the Ontario Farmer's Market, Lee and Amaral found that at 6am, all the raspberries were sold out, and were forced to go without for the day.