Nic Prong: One of Mississauga’s most popular chefs

Farm to table, nose to tail, sustainable agriculture – these are terms that aren’t often associated with restaurants in Mississauga. We’re more comfortable with our restaurant chains where the average person can go for a ‘safe’ meal and have the exact same thing regardless of the location, but there are a few chefs who want to teach us about these terms and change the way we think about and experience food in the city.

Nic Prong, Executive Chef at Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar is one of those chefs.

Nic started his career at Marche in BCE Place when he was fourteen years old. He spent a couple of years there, as well as some time at the Square One location, before leaving Marche altogether and moving over to Snug Harbour in Port Credit. It was during his six years there that he started at the University of Toronto in Mississauga (UTM), studying political science, focusing on South American politics, in the hopes of eventually becoming a lawyer. Changes in his personal life made him realize that he was going to school for the wrong reasons and that his real passion was in cooking. With this discovery Nic then left UTM, and his courtroom dreams, and jumped head first into the culinary world.

While at Snug Harbour, Olef Martens, the only Master Chef in Canada at the time, brought Nic to Ten Restaurant for an interview and eventually onto a position in the kitchen. He started in Chef Martens’ kitchen at a big disadvantage, never having attended culinary school, unlike the other chefs. That, however, never hindered him. All of his knowledge and experience has come from his years in the industry working with and learning from other chefs.

Nic absorbed everything thrown at him in Chef Martens’ kitchen from specialized techniques to the occasional frying pan. After just one year at Ten Restaurant, he was promoted to the position of Executive Chef, and in 2010, when Chef Martens moved on from the restaurant, Nic confidently stepped out of his shadow and into the newly vacated spot.

I sat down with the 6′ 5″ chef to chat about his past, his food philosophy, and the challenges of running an 8,000 square foot restaurant in Mississauga.

What are some of the challenges you face in your role?

One of Nic’s biggest challenges is trying to cater to everyone’s tastes, “I’m a huge proponent of nose to tail and farm to table cooking and I’d like to present more of that type of cuisine to my customers but sometimes that just doesn’t fly in the suburbs,” he says. “The average consumer may not know nor care about what that means. They want their food made how they’re used to at the big chain restaurants, and trying to please those people can be difficult at times.”

Another challenge is that while many of the food bloggers who write about the culinary world in the GTA actually live in Mississauga, they mostly write about the restaurants and chefs located in Toronto, meaning Nic’s Ten Restaurant often goes unnoticed. One of the ways he gets around this is by being very vocal on social media, and letting people know about what’s going on, not just at his restaurant, but in the Port Credit area, “It’s all about keeping the suburban dollars in suburbia.”

How did you become such a big proponent of farm to table type of cooking?

Nic was born in the small farming community of St. Williams, Ontario. He remembers his grandmother going out to the backyard and picking fresh vegetables for dinner, and even with all of today’s technology he claims that he has never tasted produce that was as good as that. He agrees that the food that comes from the greenbelt does indeed cost more, but that it’s worth it to spend a little extra money on good, healthy, home-grown food, rather than for healthcare because of a poor diet.

“In Ontario we’re fine with getting produce from Mexico, Florida, California and South America but we don’t realize that it ripens on the truck or it’s picked too early,” he says. Nic believes that if we put our body back in tune with Mother Nature and eat according to the seasons we’ll all be much better off.

What advice would you give a young chef now starting out in the business?

“Do your research and be realistic. It’s not as glamorous as what you see on television.” He goes on to add, “they need to be aware that it’s filled with long days and if they’re looking for that instantaneous stardom and fame and money then most likely it won’t happen. Young cooks also need to set reasonable short term goals and work hard toward those goals. Don’t expect success to come immediately or get promoted too quickly. Passion will get you only so far but you need to know your basics. They have to be willing to sacrifice a lot of things such as every family holiday like Christmas, New Year’s, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. These are the days when the rest of the world expects them to be working.”

How has social media help you grow?

Nic wasn’t on Twitter about a year ago, but he’s seen the power of what social media can do. He definitely thinks that it’s a necessary tool, especially with advertising dollars being as scarce as they are. “People tend to stare at their computers and devices more these days. They don’t read newspapers as much. A food critic in the paper may not have as much influence over you as your friend who has dined in a restaurant and tweeted out a message, or posted an Instagram picture of their meal.”

In the past, Ten Restaurant used to pay out a lot of money to wrap buses with their advertisements, but they’ve shifted away from that and have invested more into their social media campaigns.

Another way Nic has reached out to his customers is by providing his Twitter handle, his email and his direct cell phone number on his menu. That way a guest can provide instant feedback about their experience, something that every chef should value.

What was the inspiration behind the dishes on your new menu?

“The small plates section is an ode to the Toronto dining scene”. Nic adds that chefs in Toronto have taken to American street food with dishes such as BBQ, tacos and lobster rolls. He has played off of those ideas by incorporating similar dishes on the menu to show that you don’t need to go downtown to experience these dishes.

As for the larger plates, they’re all made with Ontario-grown seasonal produce. His pickerel and pork are also from Ontario and his salmon is from the west coast. “The farmers can dictate to me my product, I’m not going to dictate to the farmers the product. I want the ingredients I’m supplied with to create the menu.” Because of this caveat, Nic often modifies a menu item to reflect the availability and quality of ingredients.

Who is the best chef Toronto has produced?

“Susur Lee,” he answers without a moment’s hesitation. “Why have we stopped supporting the greatest chef Toronto has produced? I’ve eaten at Susur and Lee on different occasions and these are some of the best meals I’ve ever had. Because he’s not young, wears a plaid shirt or has a sleeve of tattoos the food bloggers don’t go to his restaurants. That means the average person won’t go because they haven’t seen a blog post or a Yelp review so they think it’s not cool anymore.” He goes on to add, “Instead of going to other places and complaining about them, why not go to the one place that you know you’re going to get a good meal each and every time.” Nic thinks that Susur Lee is underappreciated in this city and it’s a shame that he has to go to other cities to open new restaurants to get the kudos he deserves right here.

What does the future hold for Nic Prong?

“At this point I don’t know. That’s the beauty of cuisine, it’s so fluid, and as a chef you have to be willing to be fluid. I’d like to own my own restaurant but I probably need another ten years of restaurateur experience before I risk one penny of my own. Ideally I’d like to move back to St. Williams and open a small farm to table, whole animal type of restaurant serving the type of cuisine that I’ve tried to espouse on the 905.”