67-year-old Toronto restaurant owner cooks up to 600 meals a week for the city's homeless community
Just before 1 a.m., Danny Adiev arrives at his restaurant in Toronto’s east-end to start chopping. But he’s not preparing for the loyal brunch crowd at Chew Chew’s Diner, he’s cooking for Toronto’s homeless community, nourishing up to 600 stomachs every week.
At 67, Danny navigates the kitchen well past the break of dawn all on his own. “No one is there, no one bothers me. I just cook, cook, cook,” Danny told CTV News Toronto.
Some days, he dedicates 10 hours to cook 25 lasagnas. Pulling four trays out of the oven at a time while subbing in the next round of raw pasta. “It takes time,” he said.
Every week, he changes the menu, from shepherd's pie to spaghetti and meat sauce to cheese and potato stuffed pierogis.
His dedication to wholesome, hearty meals is rooted in his Macedonian upbringing, where he grew up before coming to Canada in the 1970s.
The mass meal-making began in January. Saint Luke's United Church, right across the street from Chew Chew’s at Carlton and Sherbourne, asked Danny if he could make a couple hot meals a month for an outreach team to distribute to Toronto’s homeless community.
Owner Danny Adiev of Chew Chew’s Diner cooks up to 600 meals a week for Toronto's homeless community. (CTV Toronto/ Hannah Alberga)Some weeks, his aluminum take-out containers ended up in the hands of people evicted from encampments in Trinity Bellwoods and Lamport Stadium. On others, his macaroni and cheese was handed out at churches and synagogues across the city.
At first, Danny was making a couple meals a month, splitting the workload with another restaurant.
“But they didn’t like their meals…they loved my dad's meals,” said Alex Adiev, Danny’s son. Due to popular demand, Danny increased to twice a week.
Owner Danny Adiev of Chew Chew’s Diner cooks up to 600 meals a week for Toronto's homeless community. (CTV Toronto/ Hannah Alberga)Meanwhile, Danny and Alex continue to run their east-end diner, serving all-day breakfast with weekly specials under $7 and bursting veggie omelettes with seasoned home fries and buttered toast for less than $12.
“Alex is in the front, I’m in the back,” Danny said. “Always in the back.”
Owner Danny Adiev of Chew Chew’s Diner cooks up to 600 meals a week for Toronto's homeless community. (CTV Toronto/ Hannah Alberga)While Chew Chew’s is the fourth restaurant Danny has owned since coming to Canada, he remains deeply dedicated to the back-of-house, indulging in the gratifying role of cooking the food that comforts Torontonians.
“I’m 67-years-old and I still like my job,” he said. “I like to make people happy.”
His most recent endeavor, feeding Toronto’s homeless community, is a striking testament of just that.
ABOUT TABLE TALK
Table Talk is a weekly CTV News Toronto series that explores the people who shape Toronto’s food scene, published every Friday at CTVNewsToronto.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Rates of cancer declining in Canada, but more work needed to save lives: projections
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Canucks hold off Oilers for 4-3 win in Game 3
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise's disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.