Chef of Chef Works - Chef Joel Gray

Each month we feature a Chef of Chef Works®. If you’re a fan of Chef Works gear and are interested in being featured, email marketing@chefworks.ca. This June, to celebrate the World Ocean Month, we’ve teamed up with Ocean Wise Seafood to feature Chef Joel Gray, Co-founder of Sumac & Salt. Pictured above is Chef Joel in his Berkeley Bib Apron.

Chef Works: Tell us “a-ha” moment when you wanted to be a chef…

Joel Gray: I worked at a few larger corporate restaurants early in my career. I was definitely at a point of feeling burnt out and passionless towards restaurants because of the environment I was in. It was when I started working for a small independent restaurant that I felt that spark and connection with this career. They shared a huge passion for supporting small scale local producers. It was the first job that I felt there was a purpose behind the food and ingredients. It opened an entire world of creativity and connection to food.

Chef Works: What’s the most rewarding part about your job?

Joel Gray: I find the most rewarding part of our project is sharing the stories about our local farmers/producers and connecting our guests with where their food comes from.

Chef Works: How would you describe your cooking style? Are you a technician? Or do you prefer to improvise?

Joel Gray: I think any great chef is a technician but when you use only small-scale farms you have to be able to improvise as well. You never know what will be available. Our food style is pretty simple Farm/Forest to Fork.

Chef Works: You can only have breakfast, lunch or dinner food for the rest of your life. Which do you choose and why?

Joel Gray: Why choose one when you could choose pizza?

Chef Works: What’s something about you that would surprise people?

Joel Gray: Something that may surprise people is that my partner and I are opening a restaurant out of farmhouse here in Grey County, Ontario. We a striving to change the traditional narrative of what a restaurant is.

Chef Joel and his partner at Sumac & Salt

Chef Works: What does being a part of Ocean Wise’s sustainable community mean to you?

Joel Gray: The Ocean Wise family has always naturally fit with our business. To us, using ingredients sourced in a sustainable way is the only way. We deeply care about supporting businesses that tend to our environment and the future of food.

Chef Works: How do you think being a member of Ocean Wise will impact your customers and employees?

Joel Gray: Being a part of Ocean Wise is a sign to our guests and employees that there are conscious ways of consuming. To actively seek out Ocean Wise products and really put your dollars towards initiatives like this is truly a huge step to ensure we have these amazing products for the future.

To learn more about Chef Joel Gray and Sumac & Salt, visit his profile online:

Website: http://www.sumacandsalt.com/

Facebook: Sumac + Salt

Instagram: @sumacand_salt

To join the Ocean Wise Seafood movement and their activities for Ocean Month, visit their profile:

Website: https://seafood.ocean.org/

Facebook: Ocean Wise Seafood

Instagram: @OceanWiseSeafood

Meet other Chefs of Chef Works:

Year 2021