When long-time chef Nicholas Waters first started in 2013, he never expected it to take off.

乌鸦传媒淭o be honest, I thought I乌鸦传媒檇 be doing one function a weekend,乌鸦传媒� he says with a laugh. 乌鸦传媒淚 didn乌鸦传媒檛 think anything of it. Then all of a sudden, it turned into an animal.乌鸦传媒�

Toque grew from just five full-timers three years ago to a staff almost 30 strong today, and the wealth of talent in Nick乌鸦传媒檚 kitchen is enviable.

乌鸦传媒淲e run with 10 to 12 executive chefs full time in the kitchen,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 one of the best teams I乌鸦传媒檝e ever worked with.乌鸦传媒�

About the same time Toque took off, Nick relocated to Metchosin, and the locale has been ideal both personally and professionally.

乌鸦传媒淭he bigger we乌鸦传媒檝e gotten, the more local we乌鸦传媒檝e become,乌鸦传媒� he says.

Toque is booked at least a year in advance, so Nick and his team have been able to approach local farmers well ahead of season to plan out orders, translating to reliable income for the small agriculture sector, as well as premium ingredients.

And though Nick says he doesn乌鸦传媒檛 want to grow too big too fast, there are definitely some new and exciting directions coming down the pipe.

乌鸦传媒淪tay tuned!乌鸦传媒�

The 7 Sins

Envy:

Whose shoes would you like to walk in?

I am on my own journey in life and wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 change a thing, good or bad, but I would love to be Michel Bras in Normandy, France for a day. He has been my favourite chef in the world since I was 18! His book is still better than most out there and it乌鸦传媒檚 almost 20 years old.

Gluttony:

What is the food you could eat over and over again?

That is definitely a hard one, but I would say gyoza. No matter whether I乌鸦传媒檓 at a pub, home or a high-end restaurant, 10 out of 10 times I will order it if it乌鸦传媒檚 on the menu.

Greed:

You乌鸦传媒檙e given $1 million that you have to spend selfishly. What would you spend it on?

I would travel all through Europe and eat and drink and just eat and drink until it was gone. Spain, Portugal, France, Italy 乌鸦传媒� let乌鸦传媒檚 face it, the money would be gone by then!

wrath:

Pet Peeves?

Everything, almost 乌鸦传媒� but the freezers and coolers being a mess has to be the one that makes me think I乌鸦传媒檓 going to have a heart attack.

sloth:

Where would you spend a long time doing nothing?

Spain.

Pride:

What is the one thing you乌鸦传媒檙e secretly proud of?

It won乌鸦传媒檛 be a secret anymore if I say this, but it would be the team 乌鸦传媒� chefs, dishwashers, operations, planners, on-site service staff, rentals and anyone else I乌鸦传媒檓 missing 乌鸦传媒� and the culture we乌鸦传媒檝e been able to create at Toque. I am grateful every day that I get to work alongside a very, very talented group. I actually like working with them all and don乌鸦传媒檛 have a bad thing to say. They乌鸦传媒檝e all become my family.

Lust:

What makes your heart beat faster?

Being on-site when shit hits the fan 乌鸦传媒� like a barbecue falls off the top and an oven doesn乌鸦传媒檛 work, etc. That shit turns me on when you come out of it unscathed and everything went perfectly, except your soul becomes a little darker!

I love the unknown and being able to make something out of nothing. The best was four or five years ago when the guys got me an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. They said, 乌鸦传媒淲ell, it乌鸦传媒檚 on. Let乌鸦传媒檚 see what you can do with this!乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮�媒�