Chinched Bistro, St. John’s, NL

“To chinch: to caulk or fill the seams in a boat; to stow stuff or pack tightly. ”  Dictionary of Newfoundland English, University of Toronto Press, 1982.

Chinched Bistro is real jewel of a place with some cocktails that even urban Vancouver restaurants would envy. The tag line is that it “specializes in contemporary Newfoundland bistro cuisine.” But it’s more than that. The food at Chinched is proudly made from scratch by two very talented chef/owners Shaun Hussey and Michelle LeBlanc.

Pastry Chef/ Owner, Michelle LeBlanc, a native of Cape Breton, graduated from the Culinary Institute of Canada in Prince Edward Island then spent eight years working in Nantucket as Chef de Cuisine at Oran Mor, and Sfoglia.  While working at Oran Mor, Michelle had the opportunity to travel to New York City for “A Nantucket Christmas” at the James Beard House.  She also worked for a winter as Sous Chef at Saratoga Restaurant in St. Maarten.

Coming home she joined the Shorefast Foundation on Fogo Island as a Consulting Chef, working on a variety of projects aiming to place Newfoundland Cuisine on the world map.  Michelle helped the Shorefast Foundation open Growlers Ice Cream Shop, which specializes in handcrafted ice cream showcasing regional Newfoundland flavours.  At Chinched Bistro she does the daily baking, including Eric’s Red Sourdough Bread and greeting guests at the “front of the house”.

Chef/Owner Shaun Hussey happily returned home, like Michelle, after some excellent out-of-country culinary experience.  A native of Chamberlains, he also is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Canada in Prince Edward Island and began his career in Nantucket Massachusetts. Shaun was the Chef de Cuisine at American Seasons Restaurant for five years before hitting Fogo Island as the Chef at Nicole’s, one of my fave restaurants in the country! 

They use the ingredients, cultivated and foraged, of the Avalon Peninsula.  The stinging nettle soup with a buttery seared scallop, a thin slice of house-candied orange peel and a small pea shoot was absolutely spectacular.  The roasted carrot bisque (left) is prepared with puréed oven roasted carrots, onion and a touch of cream.  There’s great pulled pork (above right) with buttermilk battered onion rings.

Chinched Bistro makes all of its unique Charcuterie in-house by hand and from scratch (right). Rather than serving the squid as rings, the tentacles are opened lengthwise and then cut into stew sized pieces (below left). They are then added to a mixture of sautéed chorizo sausage, mirepoix and tomatoes. Red wine is then added and the squid is braised until the red wine has been reduced.

Chinched Bistro is one of about 250 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

Chinched Bistro est l’un des 250 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs. Contactez Chinched Bistro directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

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