Off Duty is a series of lively conversations with influential people, from CEOs to celebrities, on life, work and the art of taking time off.
Matty Matheson speaks with The Globe about how growing vegetables is the most rewarding thing he's ever done.Photo Illustration by The Globe and Mail. Source: Sid Tangerine/The Globe and Mail
I first met Matty Matheson several years ago in Toronto. The renowned chef, restaurateur, and YouTube star was famous then. But since becoming a co-producer and actor on the kitchen-set drama series The Bear in 2022, he has propelled to next-level status.
His portrayal as handyman Neil Fak on the show has contributed to three Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globes, and 10 Emmy wins this year alone. He’s added Cà Phê Rang, Prime Seafood Palace and Rizzo’s House of Parm to his growing restaurant empire. He also penned two New York Times bestselling cookbooks and even launched the Rosa Rugosa apparel line.
No matter how busy the multi-hyphenate is, one constant is his low-key home life on his farm in Ridgeway, Fort Erie.
The Globe spoke to a relaxed, shirtless Matheson about series three of The Bear (currently streaming on Disney+), adjusting to life as a global superstar, his new cookbook (to be released Oct. 22), and how it feels to get out in the world again with an upcoming book tour.
Has your relationship with food changed since becoming a producer on The Bear?
Yes and no. All I know is food. Everything I have in my life comes from cooking, my love of food, serving people, and, hopefully, giving a delicious meal. For so long, I’ve been the boss – like, I own restaurants – and now it’s amazing to go back to being like a sous chef. I’m not the boss of The Bear; I’m just Matty, and I’m there to help people when they need help, give them insight or share a story, and work wherever they need me. I love it. I don’t have to make every decision – even though I don’t make every decision for my restaurants – but it’s nice to get to do a truly different position in a creative way.
Toxic elements of kitchen life are a real focus in The Bear. As someone who has openly spoken out about your own mental health and substance use challenges, has working on the show triggered you at all?
Being in the industry for 20-something years, there are a lot of ups and downs. People are allowed to change and grow, and people are allowed to learn. Falling down and trying to get back up is very difficult. Everyone is coming from a different place and trying to figure it out. Every day, I’m triggered. Life is triggering. Life is not easy; it’s very uncompromising. Restaurants are very different than how they were, and it is an awakening. We can all strive to be nicer to each other, have empathy, not let our brokenness define us, and try to overcome it. It is a never-ending thing. It ain’t over until it’s over. Trying to be more good than bad is all we can do.
How do you like to unwind from the shooting schedule and other work commitments?
Be home. Be present. I ride my motorcycle, hang out with my kids and my wife, get ice cream, swim in the pool, walk through the woods, go fishing, watch the sunset, have a little campfire, and make some s’mores. It’s pretty easy – just come home and try not to look at my phone.
Is coming home to a small rural village like Ridgeway a grounding influence for you?
Yeah, definitely. There’s a reason why I don’t live in L.A. My wife was born and raised in Ridgeway. My kids, Rizzo and Ozzy, were born on the farm. It’s our home. I feel very blessed to have a home and something where I can come back, unplug, and it all goes away. I get to see friends I went to high school with on the regular. It’s cool to come home and have this life with my family.
Do you still putter around at Blue Goose Farm?
It’s the best thing in the world! I’m not physically working on the farm, but I’m out there daily, just looking around, chewing on stuff. Out of everything I do, Blue Goose is the one thing that truly warms my soul on a real level. Growing vegetables is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
Have you convinced the cast and crew of The Bear to visit you in Fort Erie yet?
I’ve been telling them, ‘Get over here!’ When we’re in Chicago, it’s an hour’s flight to Buffalo, and I’m 30 minutes from the airport. I think I’ve made my case. Hopefully, in 2025, we will all come over and have a moment of serenity.
Now that your kids are home for the summer, what typically features on a backyard family picnic?
Kids are very picky, well, my kids are. They all love charred grilled steaks, though. Chicken sometimes misses [the mark] with them for some reason, but they are always down for ‘crispy beef’. They love picking vegetables from Blue Goose, so we’d probably make a nice, light salad. Yesterday, we went and got some beautiful summer squash and just sliced it super thin with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and feta, and that was it. We have a bunch of wild blackberry and raspberry bushes on the property, so probably a couple of handfuls of wild berries to wash it all down.
What Canada-made item is always stocked in your pantry?
Some sea salt from the Newfoundland Salt Company.
How do you balance the various parts of yourself?
Everyone is a lot of things. My YouTube channel is always loud and funny, and it is what it is. I’ve always wanted to keep my books very contemporary and way closer to who I truly am. Books are very precious. You don’t have to perform in a book – it’s a very different version of me. With The Bear, I’m genuinely acting. With the books, this is me, hanging out.
As there are a lot of sentimental recipes in your upcoming book, Matty Matheson: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, what would you be if you were a soup, salad, and sandwich?
Great question. It’d be funny if I said the Giant Meatball Soup in Beefy Tomato Broth! It sounds aggressive, but when you make it, it’s really a beautiful thing. It’s almost like the alt version of a matzo ball soup. My salad would be Matty’s Salad at Rizzo’s. It’s something that I truly love. I eat it every time I go to Rizzo’s and very often make it at home. That’s just who I am: I love fresh, raw vegetables with oil and vinegar. It’s the best version of life: sweet and sour, crunchy, bright and a little bit of tang. The Tuna Melt is so good; it reminds me of Trish [Matheson’s wife] and makes me really happy. Everybody hates cheese and fish, but on a tuna melt, it’s one of those things that you’re allowed to do. You’ve got to break the mould and not listen to all the rules sometimes to get something that’s beautiful.
When Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery came out in 2020, the book launch was very different due to the pandemic. Are you excited about having a proper one this time?
Yeah! I’m doing a world tour. This morning, I was looking at a bunch of dates. We’re [covering] a lot of Canada and the United States. I’m going to Australia, the U.K., France, Ireland, and Japan. I haven’t left North America since before the pandemic, so I’m excited to get back out there and reconnect with my fans, see some friends and meet new people.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
One in a regular series of stories. To read more, visit our Inspired Dining section.