Fred Morin is co-owner and chef of Joe Beef in Montreal.Christinne Muschi/The Globe and Mail
Fred Morin, 36, is the co-owner and chef of Joe Beef, a Montreal steak and seafood restaurant. The gastropub made headlines earlier this year for its Foie Gras Double Down, a riff on KFC's breadless chicken monstrosity. Globe Life caught up with him while he was multitasking in British Columbia: on both a vacation and an impromptu book tour for his first cookbook, The Art of Living According to Joe Beef. Even during a family holiday, the affable chef couldn't step away from the kitchen. We asked him what he ate this past Saturday.
8 a.m. – I have two young sons, one is 2 1/2, the other is eight months old. So in my head I want to wake up at 9 a.m., but the kids want to wake up at 6:45 a.m. So I get up and I make them a lumberjack breakfast: a tiny egg, a tiny hash brown, a tiny pancake and a tiny cup of beans. They love it. But as a way to legitimize evening wine intake, I make myself a smoothie. I put flax oil in it, pumpkin seed butter, probiotics and frozen blueberries – so at least I think I'll feel better. I also have a bowl of gluten-free Chex, which is awesome.
12 p.m. – I make a little hamburger for my sons. I take the rim of a wine glass and make a tiny bun out of a piece of bread. Then I made a nice little patty and I cut a little slice of cheese. I make it like a picture perfect burger for him. I have two patties of meat, but no bun. I can't have the gluten.
5 p.m. – After waking up from a nap with my sons, I started to [slice] a leg of Serrano ham because we were celebrating my father-in-law's 70th birthday. I'd also had a quarter of parmigiano cheese shipped out, which I also sliced up. I had a little bit of ham. I also poured myself a tall glass of Handley Cellars' 2007 Late Harvest Riesling. That wine has been "Daddy's little helper."
6:30 p.m. – During the party, all of us drank a hefty amount of wine and we ate lasagna that my sister-in-law made. She made it with brown-rice pasta and shredded veal. She also made this incredible simmered, real ragù sauce, not that watery tomato stuff. Oh it was very, very good! We also ate the ham paired with Okanagan cherries and the parmigiano with some local blueberry honey. Oh, and I didn't think twice about eating the mascarpone cake I made earlier. In order to not use instant coffee I had to go to Starbucks and order six double espressos to use in the cake. It was plain, but very delicious.
2 a.m. – My wife and I were still up. I was drinking straight Campari, with big chunks of ice, while we blasted out some tunes. I think that made me a bit ill the next day.
This interview has been edited and condensed
Madeleine White