Quickfire with Franco Stalteri & Donato Carozza
Get to know the owner's of Charlie's Burgers private dining experience and wine program.
1. How did you come up with the name Charlie’s Burgers?
Back in 2008, when we were discussing the CB concept at Tutti Matti over lunch, someone said, this should not be too serious of a name, given the concept was to execute dinners, wine pairings and service at a very high level. We didn't want to take ourselves too seriously, and the name should be a bit tongue and cheek; stating Charlie’s Burgers as an example. Unfortunately the name stuck.
2. What inspired you to launch Charlie’s Burgers?
We wanted to give chefs a blank slate to create any menu they wanted. We wanted to showcase great wines from around the world at our dinners, we had to find vintages, large format bottles, etc. We wanted to showcase a dining experience that was at the highest level while still having fun with our guests.
3. Charlie’s Burgers has a monthly wine club. How are the wines sourced/selected for the club?
The dinners lead us to starting the CB Wine Program over 10 years ago in 2013. We are about to deliver our 125 consecutive month of deliveries! Guests at our dinner series kept asking how to buy the wines we served. We decided to make things easy and create a monthly delivery program. So, every month, our members receive a mixed case of wines from a different producers from all around the world. The wines showcased are imported exclusively for our members, directly from the wineries. These wines are not available in any stores.
All wines are hand delivered directly to our members with a full write-up. We also feature top restaurants across Toronto, where our members can make reservations, bring CB Wine Program wines and receive complementary corkage. We are the only Wine Club in the world which offers its members complementary corkage in Michelin Star Restaurants (which BTW- we started the Michelin Guide project with the city of Toronto back in 2017).
As the leading wine club in Canada, we've had an amazing journey: 10 years of delivering exceptional wines. 120+ consecutive months of uninterrupted wine deliveries across Ontario. Over 100 featured wine producers from around the world. Over 150,000 deliveries and more than 500,000 bottles enjoyed across Ontario. We travel to wineries around the world every year and taste upwards of 800 a year to make our selections. We know all the producers we feature.
4. What is your favourite wine region and why?
Ohh my tough question. We love all wines, but our hearts are in the old world, specifically France and Italy. As far as regions within these countries, our favourites change frequently, as there is always so much more to discover.
5. What is your go-to wine and why?
CB Champagne Grand Crus, Blanc De Blancs. Our own grower champagne, we have been working with a small producer for over 12 years now. But, we work with over 100 wine producers around the world.
6. What is the most unique thing that you have learned about wine to date?
The world of wine is truly a very deep ocean. The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. We have been doing this over 20 years now, and we have just started scratching the surface.
7. How do you select the chefs that you collaborate with on Charlie’s Burgers dinners?
This is a labour of love. The dinners happen organically. Either we reach out to a chef we really want to work with, they reach out to us, or they are referred to us by other chefs.
8. How do you source the locations for the Charlie’s Burgers dinners?
We like to hold CB dinners in strange and unusual spaces. We have had dinners in underground theaters in China town, museums, art galleries, and many restaurants across Toronto. It really depends dinner by dinner.
9. What’s been your most memorable dinner to date and why?
There have been so many amazing CB dinners. They have all been unique and different. But of course some chefs like Dario Cecchini from Tuscany, or the team form Punk Royale in Copenhagen, Fergus Henderson form St John in London, and at the time when we brought the team from Le Chateaubriand in Paris - it was rated the top restaurant in France and the 9th best restaurant in the world. We have been very fortunate to work with some of the world’s best chefs. Its always a huge learning experience.
10. What’s next for Charlie’s Burgers?
I can tell you, the next CB dinner will be very soon…
Head to Charlie’s Burgers Instagram to view the private dinners they host, the chefs they pair up with, and divine wine offerings.