Famed Toronto-based chef Susur Lee loves a cold glass of Ontario milk on a hot day, and fuels up with a jam-packed power smoothie after his daily workouts. These are a few facts we just learned about the beloved culinary legend.
We caught up with Lee – who’s now just as known for his viral food-focused social media antics with his son, Jet, as he is for his longtime celebrated restaurant, Lee – at the Toronto premiere of Milk Masters last week. Lee makes a colourful appearance as a guest judge in the second season of the high-stakes cooking show.
The three-part Bell Media and Dairy Farmers of Ontario series sees top Ontario chefs go head-to-head as they battle it out for a chance to secure a $10,000 donation for their favourite local food charity. While their backgrounds are diverse, the common denominator is that the dishes are all inspired by and created with that creamy Ontario dairy we all know and love. This means the province’s fresh, locally produced milk and cheese that finds its way into everything from our breakfast cereals and morning coffees, to comforting dinnertime pastas.
Using high-quality, local Ontario dairy, five chefs elevate everyday meals and reimagine nostalgic favourites —showcasing just how integral milk and dairy products are in delicious dishes (and offering inspiration for the rest of us). This season’s chefs include Matt Basile, Vanessa Gianfrancesco, Christine Flynn, Dwight Smith, and Tawnya Brant. Their comforting creations are judged on taste, presentation, and integration of Ontario dairy.
Host Jess Allen (The Social) and judges Claudio Aprile (celebrity chef, author, and personality) and Erica Karbelnik (winner of Top Chef Season 9), with the help of guest judges – who, in addition to Susur Lee include Mary Berg (MasterChef Canada) and Nadège Nourian (fourth generation pastry chef and owner of Nadège Patisserie) – decide whose dairy-filled delights cream the competition. Each of the three episodes features a different challenge: holiday apps or sides (episode one), virality (episode two), and sweet childhood desserts (episode three).
Given his TikTok fame, it’s not a surprise that Lee served as the guest judge for episode two, where chefs were asked to create a dish that had the potential to go viral and “take the internet by storm,” as Allen says. In order for a dish to go viral, Lee says a dish must be creative, original, fun, and entertaining. The episode saw him judge a flakey and buttery dill pickle and cheese galette with hot honey; a chicken alfredo mac and cheese stuffed in a prosciutto-wrapped brie wheel; and a creamy white corn “mac” and cheese with pulled pork in a blueberry sweetgrass barbecue sauce.
“I’ve been doing this for many years, and I can be a little hard because I look at our category of chefs, their training, their culture, and their beliefs,” says Lee, on what goes into judging a cooking competition. “Sometimes, I like that kind of judging, as opposed to just judging a beautiful plate. I often learn things when they explain their dishes and share their knowledge.” With over 40 years in the business, Lee says that he’s always learning, whether from fellow chefs or his travels.
“Other times, you have home cooks, who are also very knowledgeable, but technically – because they don’t practice all the time and don’t have the experience of repetition that you get in a professional environment – their cutting or understanding of things like serving hot food on hot plates, for example, isn’t yet there,” Lee continues. “Sometimes, when you share your knowledge with them, they appreciate it. I like the wholesome part of it because it gives me a light spirit, but sometimes I give a bit of criticism and professionalism, so they understand and can learn.”
Of course, everyone’s taste buds are different. “To share that deep love of taste with everyone is very hard, when you think about it,” says Lee. “I could make a dish for 10 people that I think everyone will love, and just one could love it. Yet, I think it’s the most beautiful dish. Making a dish comes from the heart, and I think that’s the most important. I always look for that kind of spirit when the chef is cooking.”
Lee is no stranger to popular cooking shows, having appeared on series like Iron Chef Canada and MasterChef Asia. But he cites how Milk Masters is unique because it puts Ontario dairy in the spotlight like never before, reminding us of the goodness produced in our own backyard.
“The focus is on Ontario dairy products and I just learned more about different cheeses – I love our parmesan and ricotta,” says Lee. “When I first came to Canada, I don’t remember tasting a lot of the local cheese. Now, I’m very proud of what the Ontario farmers are producing. It’s gourmet-tasting and, throughout the decades, immigrants have also brought techniques and knowledge to using it. The show is really educational.”
When asked how he last incorporated Ontario dairy into his own cooking, Lee cites a (completely delicious-sounding) sandwich he recently made at home forJet. “It was a toasted sesame seed bagel with Ontario butter, beets, homemade pickles, grilled chicken, and Ontario havarti cheese,” says Lee. When using Ontario dairy into his homelife, Lee likes to keep things simple. “I don’t use heavy cream sauces when I cook at home; sometimes, I just rely on a little cheese and butter,” he says. As for his power smoothie, he uses Ontario milk and yogurt, in addition to wild blueberry preserve, spirulina, sesame seed, walnut, honey, and peanut butter – all blended.
Pre-screening, Lee admitted he hadn’t tested the dairy-focused dish he created for the event. “But I imagine it’s going to be perfect,” he says, confidently. He made a chicken supreme with a crust and cheese, with homemade gnocchi and fresh Ontario parmesan and sauteed mushrooms (and we can confirm, it was indeed perfect).
Of course, you can taste Lee’s cooking for yourself at his restaurant, Lee, which moved from its longtime King Street location in July 2023, opening up shop in a sleek new spot in the Waterworks building and bringing most of its existing staff along. “We brought all the good elements from the King Street location,” says Lee. “Now, after a year – after a little trial and error – we’re building exactly what we wanted.”
We can expect new fall menu items at Lee in the coming weeks, as well as a few aesthetic upgrades, with materials currently en route from other countries to help this cause. Lee says he’s also discovering more Canadian products and producers – whether BC oysters or Alberta beef. Of course, local Ontario dairy is now a given.
You can catch Milk Masters at CTV.ca now until November 3rd on CTV.ca.
