How Chef Dwight Smith Got His Start
Chef Dwight Smith, Chef De Cuisine at Aloette Go.
We caught up with Chef Dwight Smith, the Chef De Cuisine at Aloette Go in the heart of Toronto’s Liberty Village.
Read about how he got his start, why he’s motivated to keep pushing boundaries, and his best and worst moments as a young chef.
What was the first restaurant you worked in?
I’ve been cooking for about 16 years now. I got my start when I was 18 years old, at Kelsey's in Thornhill. You know, Mom said, “Hey, you know, it's time to start getting the paycheck. Got to support all those habits outside of school and whatnot.” So I jumped in the kitchen, got a job dishwashing at Kelsey's in Thornhill, and the rest is history.
What was your favourite moment and worst moment there?
My favourite moment was when I jumped out of the dish pit and jumped on the line on a hectic night and proved my worth.
But the worst moment was sending out some undercooked wings as an 18-year-old on the wing station on a busy Tuesday night. We did a wing Tuesday at $0.25 a piece.
What was it like growing up in the GTA?
I was born in Scarborough and raised just north of the city in Vaughan. Toronto is for me, the best city from a multicultural perspective. You know, you got the melting pot. Everybody gets to embrace their own identity instead of trying to become one thing and their differences are embraced.
It was always good to have a really diverse friend group. That always meant exposure to different cuisines, styles of food and flavours that you might not necessarily get at home. So that was great and a big thing for me growing up.
Scarborough is a melting pot of cuisines. What is one type of food you enjoy that’s outside of your niche?
It's pretty diverse, but I would definitely say that getting a bowl of ramen is always great. It’s always something that's easy to do in Toronto. The Japanese restaurants are fast and there are really good ones in Toronto, so I highly recommend that.
In terms of comfort food, just some easy pizza. Italian is always easy in Toronto, and there are so many good chefs and places that it doesn't matter what side of the city you're on.
What does Black History Month mean to you?
The biggest thing with Black History Month for me is embracing where we've come from and what our people before us have done to get us in the position we are in now. As well as understanding the struggle that comes with that, and really embracing what they went through to get us to where we are.
With that being said, there's still a lot of work to be done. So it's our responsibility to keep pushing those boundaries, really tapping in on projects that support our youth to build us up, and supporting black owned businesses. That's just scratching the surface, but that's kind of it in a nutshell of what it means to me.
What's next for you?
Right now I’m with Alo Food Group and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I want to continue to build my own brand individually and step outside of my comfort zone, dabble in the private dining spectrum a little bit. I can definitely see myself doing that and some Afro-Caribbean inspired tasting menus. It's something that I want to get involved in. Also branching out and connecting with other chefs. I can only see that being a benefit for me in the future. So it's something that I want to do a little bit more of.
Stay connected with Chef Dwight on Instagram @ChefDwightSmith.