Patrick Kriss, chef and founder of Alo Group.Cookin
Back in 2015 when Patrick Kriss told people he was going to open a contemporary French restaurant with a blind tasting menu on the third floor of an old building at the edge of Toronto’s Chinatown, he got a lot of confused, almost pitying looks. A restaurant without street-front space was considered a bad idea. On top of that, tasting menus, which had been popular, were deemed passé by the mid-2010s. One person told Kriss his place would last six months, max.
In the seven years since he opened Alo, and its Alo-esque offshoots Aloette and Alobar, his restaurants have ranked among the country’s – even the world’s – best. But then COVID struck. Kriss was forced to lay off staff, and he had no option but to switch gears. At the peak of the lockdowns, he and his team were making 1,200 burgers a week (plus fried chicken, mac and cheese and short ribs) in a bid to keep his restaurants afloat.
Despite the roller-coaster ride of the past three years, the Alo Group has survived and thrives. In September, both Alo and Alobar were awarded Michelin stars, catapulting Kriss to a whole new level of culinary acclaim. During a break in his hectic schedule, the chef stopped to chat about what drives him, who has helped him and how he believes “sticking to a plan” has helped him achieve success.
You started flipping burgers at Lick’s to working at Daniel in New York as well as Régis Marcon and La Maison Troisgros in France. Who was your greatest mentor?
Daniel Boulud had a huge impact on me. He is one of the best-known chefs in the world and yet he is in his restaurant every day. In other words, he’s a chef before he’s a celebrity. I admire that. Daniel taught me the importance of making my staff feel supported and being in house to make sure my customers are happy and having a great experience.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
Someone once said to me, “Above all else, stick to your plan and trust your customers will see a great product and value.” Something I always like to tell my cooks is “Become a great cook or a great line cook before you move into management.” No one can take being a great cook away from you.
The restaurant industry is tough. What does it take to make it in this line of work?
Our main goal is to be busy every day … but it takes a while to get there. Alo, Aloette or Alobar were not instantly busy. It was a grind every day. But as I said before, I stuck to my plan. And we never gave up.
Let’s talk about Cookin, a food delivery app that lets users order meals from home chefs. Why is it important to you to help other chefs?
I think it’s my duty to do that. In terms of my own restaurants, my staff has put a lot of hard work into Alo and it’s important to make them feel part of the team. It’s important they feel part of something that is more than just cooking a decent meal. They need to know they have a seat at the table. As for Cookin, I think it’s a very cool idea. Plus, the people behind it are nice and they care about supporting the cooking talent we have in this country.
Where do you go to eat out?
More casual stuff. I don’t really do tasting menus. I’m going to New York in a couple of weeks so I’m going to eat at Pastis which I love. It’s great people watching and great food service. My friend opened a pizzeria called Mel’s Pizzeria, and I’ll go there. It’s loud and it’s fun.
Food waste is a huge problem. What does Alo Group do to minimize its food waste?
We try never to overorder. However, if we do, we find ways to make sure the food is used. I’m often driving around on Saturday nights dropping things off. I had a whole fish left over recently and I called Rebekah [Bruce, chef de cuisine] at Alobar and said can you put it on special tomorrow? That’s just being responsible.
What are the next steps for Alo Group?
We just opened [the restaurants] in the Ace Hotel so that has been keeping us very busy. We’ve also got a new location for Alobar and we purchased a commissary kitchen in the east end which will hopefully open this year.
Do you ever worry about overextending yourself?
I’ve learned you have to let go and let the people you’ve hired run the show, all while keeping an eye on things to make sure the quality of the food and the experience for customers never slips. That said, I’ll never let go of Alo. I’m usually there at 10 a.m. It’s my baby so I have a good sense of when things are dipping, because things do dip.
What did you learn from your experience through the pandemic?
It taught me to understand what cash flow meant. It taught us to think fast and move fast, and not to overthink things. It also drove home that you have to stay on top of everything because there is always someone behind, in front or beside you who wants your business. It taught me you can’t ever take anything for granted.
We have to talk about Michelin. How does two stars feel?
I’m competitive by nature so of course I’m really proud. But I was even more proud that Rebekah got a star [Alobar’s chef de cuisine] and that [Alobar’s] Chris Sealy won for best wine service. The night we found out we were at the Four Seasons and we drank a whole lot of Champagne. Then went to Alobar where we drank more Champagne until 3 or 4 in the morning.