Class Act: Chef Murray Zehr opens the 1909 Culinary Academy to share his love of food and learning

“I like to play with food,” says chef Murray Zehr, the owner of the newly opened 1909 Culinary Academy near Ayr, Ontario. It’s a philosophy that is at the heart of everything he has planned for his latest venture.

At the culinary academy, he will train future chefs through a four-month long program. He’ll be teaching members of the public how to really cook (from Thai to sauces and seafood) through tasting and experiencing food versus just learning to master a few recipes. He will feed guests at his restaurant (open four days a week) and presenting menu options catering to the needs of omnivores, vegetarians and vegans. Plus those who are gluten-free.

A major focus for him will be producing as much as his own ingredients as possible. We’re not talking about just pretty pots of herbs on a window sill. He has ambitious plans for his one-acre site. Through on-site aquaponics, Zehr will have hyper-local seafood – shrimp, mussels and fish. He will have inoculated hazelnut trees so he can have his own supply of black truffles – one of the only people in Canada who could make that claim. Plus, there will be a crocus native to Ontario growing on the property, which will be a source of saffron. He also wants to try producing his own avocados, kiwis and citrus fruit some time down the road.

“How is any of this possible in Ontario?” one may ask with skepticism. There’s method to some what might some might view as madness. “The whole point is to show a new generation of cooks and chefs that it can be done,” he says. “Demonstrating what is possible open their minds as they come into the business.”

Zehr sees his 1909 Culinary Academy as a food laboratory of sorts. And he isn’t afraid to try something that is very new or unconventional. He’s already reached out to the farmers who own the land near the Academy. One of them will attempt to grow quinoa in his fields with Zehr cheering him on from the sidelines. “Why not?’ he asks. “Everything I try might not work, but those failures are an opportunity to learn. What went wrong? Was it the pH level of the soil? Was it the amount of moisture? We won’t know unless we do it.”

The learning component that is central to everything Zehr does is no coincidence. He spent more than 20 years teaching in Toronto and the Halton region – high school, college and university students. All the while, he was running restaurants as many as eight at one time. He’s also worked as back-up chef on TV’s Chopped Canada, cooked for big names like Gordon Ramsay and Prince Charles, worked for former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty and raised two kids. “I don’t sleep much,” he laughs.

He craved a new challenge – something in a more rural setting where he could grow food himself and shares his “support local” message. A trip to Oxford County provided him with the inspiration to set off in a fresh direction. “I visited stops along the Cheese Trail,” he explains. “I was blown away by the bounty of the area. It was the perfect eco-system and I wanted to be part of it. Then I was introduced to the school house about a year ago. It was sitting vacant. It was in rough shape, but I saw potential. The minute I stepped onto the property, I knew this was going to be my chef school.”

The historic building constructed in 1909 needed a major overhaul just to be operational – let alone be ready to serve as a culinary school and restaurant with a full kitchen. After many months of hard labour, the doors opened in January 2020. The former school house has been transformed into a modern-day education facility, yet maintains its past charm with pressed-tin ceilings, chalkboards and an old-fashioned school bell. It is now welcoming students again – for the first time in 60 years – who are seeking to learn more about creating and enjoying good food, and how it fits into the big picture.

There’s a knowledge gap that Zehr is trying to fill through the programming of the 1909 Culinary Academy. “We’ve lost a generation or two because of convenience foods and microwaves,” he explains. “I’m trying to get that back with what we offer. Our grandmothers taught how to cook, to jar and to preserve. That’s been lost.”

Simply put, he wants to change the future of food not just in Canada but further afield through education, innovation and experimentation. While that might seem like a lofty goal, remember Zehr’s core philosophy: Play with your food. “At the end of the day, it’s about fun and bringing people together to break bread around the table.”

This article was written by Michele Sponagle.