Published in Foodservice and Hospitality, August 2007

Small plates of tapas-style food doesn’t begin to describe what Aprile concocts – rare tuna with liquid-nitrogen flash-frozen soy sauce, airy wasabi foam, seaweed, lake trout roe, avocado and crunchy nori, for example. Or vanilla-glazed ocean trout with salsa, aloe vera, warm lemon custard and wilted greens. An amuse-bouche of a mini plastic basting syringe filled with yellow tomato soup that diners squirt into their mouths after eating the buffalo mozzarella cube, Thai basil and half grape skewered onto the end: he’s not kidding about “original”.

Colborne Lane is a joint-venture with Hanif Harji (Blowfish, Kultura) tucked in behind Toronto’s King Edward Hotel. With its opening in February, Aprile, 38, stepped onto centre stage after a six-year stint at Senses, whose owner Henry Wu remains a “huge supporter” of Aprile’s talent and cooking. Aprile has also travelled widely, spending time in London (at Sugar Club) and Thailand, always paying attention to the food – and to other chefs. North of Barcelona is El Bulli, run by chef Ferran Adria and considered by many to be the best restaurant in the world. “I dropped in for a visit,” says Aprile. “It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot.” Another hero is London’s Marco Pierre White, who Aprile calls a “rock star”. Toronto heavyweight Mark McEwan, who runs Bymark and North 44 (where Claudio apprenticed) is also a mentor.

Aprile has a loyal following, so there are already plenty of regulars. Toronto food critic and writer James Chatto raved about Colborne Lane, writing recently that Aprile’s simple confit of chicken wing “may be the most delicious thing I’ve eaten all year”. What sets Aprile and Colborne Lane apart is not just novel ingredients and combinations, but new techniques. With technology like immersion circulators, liquid nitrogen and thermomixers with twice the pulverizing power, Aprile and his team get busy reconstituting familiar items into delicate foams, crunchy bites or frozen sauces. The humble beet, for instance, is transformed into a perfect red cube of gelatin which tastes exactly like a beet, only much more fun. And Aprile’s not shy about showing off: the compact kitchen downstairs has a glassed-in dining room for customers who like to watch.

The restaurant is stylish and sleek, with bare brick walls and supporting pillars in a high-ceilinged 125 or so year old building. Huge windows at the back look onto fire escapes, dumpsters and graffiti, just to keep things real. The music is loud, but the increasingly lively diners soon drown it out as the waitstaff drop plate after plate at the tables, including a long communal table where strangers are seated together. Four plates per person are recommended and there are lots of wines by the glass. But, with plates ranging from $12 to $28 and wines at $11-15 a glass, it’s not for the light of wallet. The wine list is small but appropriate, with a few Alsatian aromatics and even that rare Spanish treat, Albarino – great for the seafood and strong flavours.

Cooks prepare individual items but Aprile puts each plate together. That means a 70-80 hour work week for him, serving 120 covers in the 50-seat place Tuesday through Saturday, plus private parties. “I see my cooks more than I see my wife and son,” says Aprile, who left cooking school after one year so he wouldn’t end up with the “same sensibility” as other chefs.

Aprile’s concept is not for everyone – American and European visitors usually “get it”, he says, but the unfamiliar menu structure and sometimes shocking combinations of flavours and textures mean it can take some hand-holding to get more cautious locals on board. The vibe at Colborne Lane is slick yet relaxed. The place is full, staff is cheerful and it all feels off-the-cuff as the music plays, but there’s discipline behind it – waiters come in early because they want their sections perfect, right down to the carefully balanced cutlery, and the service is excellent. “Nothing in here is an accident,” says Aprile. “The music’s loud because I want it loud. The plates are small and there’s lots of them. I don’t like precious things. You don’t have to put on a suit and speak softly. There’s life here.” Plus amazing food.

And as if one hot restaurant is not enough, Aprile is at it again: Bar Crudo is scheduled to open in September near the Drake Hotel on “Queen West West”. Theme-wise, “it’ll have a more Japanese slant to it, but a lot of Mediterranean too,” says Aprile, who smiles for the first time when the interview ends.

The man is serious, and a seriously good chef.

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