Joseph Shawana is finally back cooking in Toronto, and he found a wildly unexpected home for his return.
The chef who put modern Indigenous fine dining on the city’s radar at Kū-Kŭm Kitchen is taking over the kitchen at louf, the intimate Palestinian spot on Davenport run by Fadi Kattan. Together, they are launching Giizis, an Odawa-inspired dining series structured around the 13 full moons of the Anishinaabe calendar.
The concept throws out conventional imported pantry staples in favour of ingredients native to North America, using food to walk diners through seasonal shifts and Indigenous storytelling traditions. The first run, starting November 19, focuses on the Little Spirit Moon, an early-winter period dedicated to reflection and community knowledge.
Alongside his longtime sous chef Brad Kurtenbach, Shawana is sending out a seven-to-nine-course menu featuring things you simply do not see on Toronto menus, like seal loin tataki cut through with cedar-fermented blackcurrant and rich elk cheek braised in birch ash with roasted sunchokes.
It is an easygoing cross-cultural pairing between two chefs obsessed with land and heritage, but actually getting in the door is going to be the hard part. The dinners run Thursday and Friday nights through December 31, and every evening is capped at a single table of 12 people. The tasting menu sits at $145, with optional drink pairings for $35 without alcohol or $55 with it.
To snag one of the dozen seats at 501 Davenport Road, you have to bypass the usual booking apps and email [email protected] directly.