Distillery Restaurants Corp. offers connoisseurs a chance to learn a few things about haute cuisine from their favourite Canadian chefs

Likening the current state of Distillery District to a ghost town is not that difficult to picture. The 19th-century streets sans Toronto’s gourmands, distilled beverage connoisseurs, and art enthusiasts definitely seems quite unbecoming of the usual liveliness of the place. Distillery Restaurants Corp. has taken it upon themselves the responsibility to broadcast the spirited vibe that the cobblestone alleys emanates onto busy bylanes of social media thronged by city dwellers staying safe from the pandemic. 

The brand has taken to Instagram to keep sharing the culinary experience they offer in a format fit for current times. Swipe into the pages of restaurants Madrina, El Catrin, Cluny Bistro and Pure Spirits to catch their Chefs offering cooking and cocktail classes alongside some insights into their produce gardening methods.

“In building our shows, we try to leverage social listening to find our guests’ favourite items from across our family of restaurants. Our team of Chefs are on a mission to help our audience recreate those dishes at home. While it’s definitely important to us that we inform viewers about different cuisines and new recipes, these shows are primarily designed as a space for people to connect and be entertained; same as our restaurants,” says Elisabeth Bottomley, the Marketing and Recruitment Manager for the Distillery Restaurant Corp. So, bring out your calendars and mark the dates for El Catrin’s Taco Tuesday, Madrina’s Sunday cooking lessons, Cluny Bistro’s guided Saturday Brunch, and Pure Spirits’ Wednesday cooking class, all on IGTV. 

The liveliness of the Distillery District is not complete without its share of incoming visitors exploring the space, and the brand seems to hit the spot with this one too. “While these Instagram lives have been a great way to connect with our local community, we’ve also had the opportunity to ‘host’ guests from around the world as well. We’ve already had viewers tuning in from the USA, Mexico, the UK, Brazil, India, Spain, and Germany,” informs Elisabeth.

Fresh on the charts

Learn to cook from your favourite Canadian chefs on IGTV and Instagram Live via Stellar Dishes. The first episode of the program features El Catrin’s famous Baja Fish Tacos by Executive Chef Olivier Le Calvez and is hosted by Natasha Gargiulo. El Catrin x Stella Artois || Stellar Dishes Home Edition Episode 1 airs on Thursday, May 7th at 5 pm EST on Instagram Live @elcatrinca

Beyond the screen  

As the City of Toronto has announced the liberalizing of stay-at-home measures, Distillery Restaurant Corp also has no plans of being left behind. Cluny Cafe is now open for takeout and will soon have a grocery unit where customers can pick up produce packs, dairy kits, baking essentials, and home essentials such as sanitizer and soap. El Catrin and Cluny Bistro’s cafe will also soon throw their doors open for order via Skip the Dishes.

Emergency response

Closed restaurant doors have not just affected diners but also charities like Mealshare who depend on them. To lend a helping hand during this crisis, the Distillery Restaurants Corp. (DRC) is currently donating 20 meals to residents of Eva’s Shelter for every $100 gift card sold at their outlets. Let the warm weather be a reminder for Torontonians to extend an equally warm gesture to help the homeless youth of the city while also supporting the local restaurant business.