Burritos in Toronto

A chalkboard menu at Ian Jarvie's Toronto food stall and catering company, Saguaro, spells out the specials: whole wheat burritos stuffed with egg, chorizo, potatoes, and pico de gallo; corn and zucchini with arugula and raspberry chipotle sauce; beans, corn, and squash garnished with a maple and chipotle puree.

Image:Courtesy Ian Jarvie and Michael Blecher.

Ian Jarvie strikes a balance between authentic Mexican and his client's tastes in Toronto.

Scratch the "Tex," and label it "Can-Mex"? Whatever you call it, Ian Jarvie is adjusting Mexican recipes to suit the produce available at farmers' markets in his native Ontario.

"It's not easy to sell high-end Mexican cuisine in this city," says Jarvie, who lived in Mexico from 1994 to 2005, working toward an MBA, at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and translating for a construction company along the way. He can name only one restaurant-Milagro-that could be called Mexican gourmet in Toronto, a city of over five million people.

Though Jarvie's mother is from Guanajuato, he attributes his interest in Mexican cooking to travels through Tlaxcala, Oaxaca, and up to northern Mexico and the US Southwest.

When he returned to Canada three years ago, he chose food as "a way to market an aspect of Mexican heritage." However, "we've had to water down our interest in authentic Mexican and cater to what our clientele thinks they want," Jarvie explains.

Setting up shop in a succession of farmers' markets, including the Artscape Wychwood Barns and Evergreen Brick Works, has meant low overhead, and also places Jarvie and business partner Michael Blecher on site at the "epicenter of the local food movement." Jarvie sources ingredients directly from neighboring farmers.

The fact that Canada's growing season ends in November is an inherent challenge in bringing dishes north from southern climes. While Jarvie was inspired by the international Slow Food movement's emphasis on locally cultivated ingredients, he admits that winter forces him to shop for ingredients at major grocery stores.

Chiles are easy to find, thanks to Canada's Italian community. The importer ChocoSol Traders supplies Saguaro with cacao for their café de olla (a wintertime hit). And in Southwestern Ontario, Mexican migrant farm workers grow their own patches of chile poblano, chile merito, and the herb epazote.

Says Jarvie: "You've got to be really resourceful."