Long known as a great place to grab a bite to eat on campus, Michael’s restaurant in Somerville House has received a new look, and a new name.
The Green Leaf Café @ Somerville opens Monday, Sept. 16 along with its neighbour across the hall, The Garden @ Somerville. Led by new Great Hall Catering head chef Rob McLaughlin, the space got a long-overdue makeover, increase its patron capacity and introduce a new pasta bar.
“People have always told us they love the food, but you always have to freshen things it up to make it exciting,” he said, perhaps to get away from what he called the idea of ‘exclusivity’ of the popular lunch spot. “We have a number of other ideas as well to add, but we’ll see how things go at first.”
McLaughlin, born and raised in northern England, brought his chef skills to Canada in 1978, working in western Canada for a number of years. He made his way to southwestern Ontario, where he would spend time working at the Ben Miller Inn near Goderich before making Western his new home.
And that relationship has flourished for the last 20 years.
“I thought at the time, it might be time to take a break from the stressful life of the hotel business, only to find the challenge remains,” McLaughlin said. “The customer, no matter what shape or form, demands your best and that’s what I’ll always strive to do – to make our company the best it can be.”
Don’t expect the menu to drastically change, McLaughlin said, but you will begin to see a more structured menu, such as Fish & Chip Fridays, so “people coming in have more of an idea what’s going to be on the menu.”
“We want to be where we’re sold out,” he added. “We’re not right now, but we’re busy all the time. We want to be where people are having to make reservations.”
While there are too many dietary restrictions to tackle them all, McLaughlin said there will be a new focus on gluten- and lactose-free items.
Still ‘on the menu’ will be focus on local products when it comes to food suppliers and ingredients. Ongoing for a number of years, McLaughlin said dealing with companies such as Arva Flour, Petit Paris and Capital Food Wholesalers, Western is making a solid dent toward its carbon footprint.
“It’s one of our biggest mandates, which we have already been doing in a number of ways,” he said. “But there are also opportunities to take it to another level. It’s about using southwestern Ontario products as much as you can and helping out local businesses.”
An existing rooftop garden, already producing peppers, lettuce and a variety of tomatoes, will literally ‘spice things up’ this year with the addition of numerous herbs and spices.
“This is as local as you can get,” said McLaughlin.
Along with numerous weddings and catering opportunities, McLaughlin said the kitchen is always open.
“There’s always anxiety in this job, but I’m confident in myself, and my team, to pull it together,” he said. “There’s always the pressure of the job, but you’re only as good as the people you work with.”