Fired up: Flame + Smith in PEC

There’s something about wood fire cooking at Flame + Smith that is exciting - the smell of fire and spice, the communal, almost primal, feel of enjoying a meal there. A true art, the palette-awakening food at the unique Bloomfield restaurant is quality-focused and sustainably-minded every step of the way. 

No matter if seasonal seafood platters are on the menu or their signature grass-fed Prince Edward Island beef, Flame + Smith is embracing and elevating woodfire cooking and the supportive community that surrounds it.

Husband and wife co-owners and team, Chef Hidde Zomer and Sarah Soetens are realizing their culinary dream at Flame + Smith. Sarah said it all started with the simple idea - a restaurant preparing dishes using elemental techniques and served in a warm, attentive but unobtrusive style. Each dish paired with phenomenal wines and beverages to bring out the flavours and elevate the food. 

“My husband (Chef Hidde) and I wanted to open our own place. We were in the city and we were looking to start something in the countryside. We toured around various regions in Ontario but just always wanted to come back to PEC,” she said.

The restaurant itself is a welcoming space that feels at once both rustic and lively. The atmosphere fits perfectly with the food, as woodfired cooking brings with it an intrinsically social edge. Wood beam ceilings make way for a large circle bar, vintage-look lighting and an open kitchen which, of course, showcases the flame oven. 

Crafting kitchen magic

Indeed, their passion is wood fire cooking, naturally bringing smokiness. Soetens said woodfire cooking lends itself well to the “Maillard reaction”, the delicious caramelized surface that proteins develop under high heat.

“We’re known for our dry-aged tomahawk steaks, but we’d like people to know that we love our fish and vegetables easily as much,” Sarah said. With good reason: the tomahawks are dry-aged in-house for about 35 days, meaning they have tons of flavour and tenderness. At two inches thick, they range in size from about 25 ounces to 45 ounces and are cooked low and slow.

Crafting the menus at Flame + Smith, Hidde never gets bored trying to keep authenticity top of mind. He’s meticulous in his preparation, but wherever possible aims for simplicity in presentation. “He always wants things to taste of themselves,” Sarah said.

Local ingredients are also a focus at the restaurant. 

In the same vein, Flame + Smith took an unconventional approach to deepen their connection to the environment and started Mill Pond Gardens to grow their own food for the restaurant. They noted that a lot of kitchen inspiration actually comes from their backyard, growing vegetables, fruit, edible flowers, herbs and more. 

The menu evolves and changes depending on sourcing and what’s available. It could be rotisserie chicken, cooked slowly over hardwood coals to attain the crispy skins and juicy flesh, and served with fried and smashed potatoes, herb aioli and buttery collard greens. Or guests might find pristine cherry stone clams roasted in the wood oven with herb butter, crispy guanciale, and toasty brioche crumbs. The menu could have beautiful chops from the famous pigs of Iberrico, Spain, roasted gently and topped with a black garlic jus, served alongside roasted Delicata squash and Savoy cabbage-wrapped ball of creamy potatoes and sauerkraut. It goes on - one mouth watering entree after another.

Overall, Sarah said they are hoping that people take away something simple, but what keeps them striving for the best experiences.

Find out more about Flame + Smith at flameandsmith.com or follow along on Facebook @FlameandSmith or on Instagram @FlameandSmith