West 50 Pour House & Grille

Big and gregarious, Master Chef Olaf Mertens is talkative, cheerful and not shy in the least.

Maybe it's because of his bi-continental background: he was born in Germany but grew up in Canada.

At age 18, he left the Great White North to apprentice at Berlin's finest culinary academy. He returned to Canada in his twenties, where he became Executive Chef at Rogues Restaurant in Mississauga, which went on to be named one of the "Top 40 Restaurants of Canada."

Still wanting to achieve more, Olaf went back to Germany in 1995 for a season to complete his degree at the Steigenberger Hotelier School in Bavaria, achieving the rank of Master Chef (Küchenmeister).

He is a fourth-generation chef, so it really is in his blood.

He oversees three kitchens and a large catering business through HIP Restaurants and insists that "everything be made from scratch 100%." And because there is such a volume of food (for example, On The Curve Hot Stove & Wine Bar can seat up to 320), Olaf is fastidious about using everything-bones, trimmings, ends-and making them into reductions, jus and stocks. They even make their own barbecue sauce and coconut shrimp, which for such a big operation, is unusual.

Olaf travels back and forth between the three large restaurants-On the Curve, Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar, West 50 Pourhouse & Grille-and don't forget the catering business! That means different menus, different kitchens and different staff to deal with each and every day.

Is Olaf a glutton for punishment?

Well, he has a large kitchen staff which includes high school and college interns. Watching them blossom into chefs is something that he has a lot of pride in.

"That's what keeps me going," he says.

And despite the international kitchen and cuisines he's designed for the restaurant, he is most famous for his schnitzel-a 10 oz. breaded pork cutlet that is tender and juicy and drapes itself over the plate's edges with capers, fresh lemon segments, buttery mashed potatoes and a simple lettuce salad with sweet lemon dressing. It is indulgent and divine.

Olaf started cooking early in life and through his world travels and studies has seen it all. But he remains a down-to-earth, if sometimes strict guy: he is married to his high-school sweetheart and he spends his "free time" creating recipes using beer for West 50.

He released a cookbook earlier this year-Olaf's Kitchen: A Master Chef Shares His Passion. It is described as focusing on recent trends, fresh, healthy cooking and food technology.

It is startling to think about all the meetings he has to take, the food ordering, spending time with the apprentices, traveling to other cities to see what restaurants around the world are doing, the catering, and overseeing 200 employees.

It seems to be a lot to have on one's plate, but perhaps it's like his schnitzel-awfully big, but impossible to resist.