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Hosted by a Toronto-based sommelier Tasting Notes Toronto explores the people shaping the city’s food and wine culture—from Michelin-starred chefs and master sommeliers to restaurant operators and winemakers. Each episode goes behind the scenes of hospitality careers, restaurant culture, and the decisions that shape what we eat and drink in Toronto today.
I liked it. And I was young, and I had that energy. I was there through my twenties and thirties. Would I do that now at 40? Probably not.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Do you think that kind of work life balance and fine dining are compatible?
Merrin McHugh:No. Maybe. I don't wanna work every Friday, Saturday. Like, I have for twenty years. Like, how do I find a way?
Alex Abbott Boyd:Merrin, thank you so much for being here.
Merrin McHugh:Thanks for having me.
Alex Abbott Boyd:So you joined Actinolite just after the chef decided to throw out the entire original concept and instead cook the Canadian landscape. Yes.
Merrin McHugh:That's true.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What was your first impression when you tried the food?
Merrin McHugh:The food was delicious. I came in with Matt Landry. We worked together before. And so he brought me in to work under him, and he was the GM at that time. And then right away, we got a crazy review in the Globe and Mail calling us one of the places to eat in Canada.
Alex Abbott Boyd:I think it was one of the most essential places to eat in Ontario, if not all of Canada.
Merrin McHugh:It was kinda easing me into the job. And then he was like, never mind. I need stuff. We're so busy now. And our chef, they literally were foraging.
Merrin McHugh:We couldn't take more people because we were literally didn't have enough food because we were foraging because it was a spring. The team couldn't collect that much.
Alex Abbott Boyd:So what was this new philosophy that kind of blew up the restaurant that involved foraging?
Merrin McHugh:It was... Actinolite is where Justin's from, the little town in East Ontario. So he wanted to very much cook what is in season and wild edibles and more going that route and not having a menu, just having the landscape dictate what's on the menu at that time. And so he would go up to act in a light with other chefs and they'd forage. So at first, they weren't working an extra day foraging.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What percent of the food that was being cooked was stuff that they were foraging?
Merrin McHugh:When I started there, everything was local. Not everything was foraged, but it really depends on the time of year. The spring is a ton of orange things. The summer, you get more farmer's market items. And then, obviously, through the winter, there's the sellers and the preserves.
Merrin McHugh:And with fish, you went Canadian, but often local farms for the meat. Everything was... We didn't use lemon. We used fermented white currant juice with our acid. So it was very...
Merrin McHugh:Yeah. Like, what we could get from here. Very strict.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Could you maybe walk me through what were some of the dishes?
Merrin McHugh:Oh my god. It's such a blur to me, honestly. I don't even know if I remember. There's one dish I remember off the first menu that I worked that was a halibut dish with spruce tips and, like, a gooseberry butter sauce. Very delicate.
Merrin McHugh:I'd almost think with anyone else, it feels put on. But with Justin, it's not... He literally come out of the garden, wipe his hands off, and then shake your hand. Like, he's doing the work.
Alex Abbott Boyd:How unique was that sourcing philosophy?
Merrin McHugh:I don't think anyone was that strict and really... You know, it could be farm to table in terms of we're using this farm for the meat. But to be that strict, you're not even using lemon. I don't think anyone was doing that. I'm...
Merrin McHugh:Oh, I just remembered one more dish. We had a crudite, the first radishes of the season in the dirt butter, which was like a whole thing. It was like some technique from NoMa that he brought this other chef. He brought the technique of doing a dirt, a soil infused butters... Radishes and butter is pretty classic.
Merrin McHugh:And so it was like dirt butter of the garden.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Tastes like dirt?
Merrin McHugh:It was really good. Tastes earthy. Not like gross dirt. But I remember the the inspector came because they read that article. And then they came to check and make sure we weren't serving anything that wasn't okay.
Alex Abbott Boyd:And then what was your trajectory there?
Merrin McHugh:Matt and I had worked together at Yours Truly, and that was my intro into wine. I was very much had only worked casual spots, and then that was for food as well and the tasting menu. It's like a food boot camp almost. And then we actually took over there when our manager left, and Matt was doing the wine, and I was doing the staffing and the floor. And then he...
Merrin McHugh:When he left to go to Acton, like, he ended up offering the job as his bartender because he just wanted to give me a position to come in
Alex Abbott Boyd:Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:And basically be an AGM to him, work under him. And I did that. And then when he decided to move to BC, I said to Justin, I wanna do it. You guys know me now. And so I did a lot of w set training and studying while working crazy hours there to try to get up to speed learning on the job, on the floor, on the fly.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What was Matt's wine list like when you took it over? Was there a temptation to be as aggressively local and Canadian with the wine as with the food?
Merrin McHugh:Matt's focus that I took over when I came there was local wines, yes, but also he was doing classic European regions. And I kept that approach. We didn't do Southern Hemisphere, but we did local and Europe. Back in the day, you couldn't get a lot of across Canada wines. Niagara was way really young.
Merrin McHugh:Prince Edward County was really young. So in terms of the quality and the variation you can get locally, it was a lot less. So we were like, okay. With the food being this different and this unique, I can't necessarily pair with that limited to what I can get of this quality. Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:So we were looking overseas a bit. But trying to keep with the same philosophy of small producers with a cool story, maybe grab someone I hadn't heard of or a new way of doing it. And so the same way Justin had that story of his family home in Actinolite and hunting with his dad and fishing and foraging, we wanted to bring the stories of small family producers. Maybe they were in Europe, but they were still a family working on their farm together.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Was it a lot of wine pairings?
Merrin McHugh:It was a lot of pairings. We had a... Not a teeny tiny list, but a pretty small, in the grand scheme of restaurants, a small list. But we'd always have a couple by the glass, and then the pairings, which allowed us to bring in a lot more stuff that people didn't necessarily know. Because when you're doing a pairing, people are way more open to try something.
Merrin McHugh:That's two ounces instead of buying a bottle. So we had 70% of guests doing pairings. So we might have more classy by the glass and a little more out there in the pairing.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Was it very challenging creating those pairings? There's no established pairings for, quote, unquote, the Canadian landscape.
Merrin McHugh:Oh, I know. It was definitely hard. It took a while to get used to that, I think, because I was there by the end almost eight years. Justin and I were, like, very in tune. But I think at the beginning, it probably took me a while to understand his palate and his creativity and what things I'd never tasted might taste like, all these different forage wild edibles that I didn't have any reference point for.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Yeah. And how often did the menu change?
Merrin McHugh:It was a different menu every week, but not necessarily all seven courses. So it would more evolve within a couple weeks. You have two things change and then two things change then.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Okay. Were there certain styles or types of wine that you found just tended to work better than others with the cuisine?
Merrin McHugh:I would say the food often is quite delicate, especially in spring when it's all wild greens. It's very vegetable driven. So a lot of whites a lot of the time. The typical rules of when your parent... When you study that or read about that, it's often which meat and which preparation of meat, which wine.
Merrin McHugh:And we would have menus where dish after dish, there might not be meat. Or it's a secondary. There's a shellfish of some kind that's supporting a vegetable, but the vegetable's a star. And so I'd have to look for new whites. I found orange wine really helpful when there was something that maybe needed a bit of structure to it and more weight, but it wasn't calling for red wine.
Merrin McHugh:You still wanted... Or, a little tannin. I found that really helpful. Definitely high acid whites for sure.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Do you have any kind of most memorable or favorite pairings that that you created over the years there?
Merrin McHugh:I have one. I don't remember the producer, unfortunately. But we had a sparkling red that was a vernaccia de sera patrona that people had never knew. So that was cool because they didn't know what it was. They were like
Alex Abbott Boyd:I don't know what that is. What is
Merrin McHugh:But vernaccia is often Italian grape Mhmm. Went near extinction and came back. But this presentation of it is a sparkling red. So it was way before the days of Lembrusco being as trendy as it is right now. So people were like, sparkling red?
Merrin McHugh:What? And then it was, like, a little bit funky, not faulty, but a little... There was a meatiness to an earthiness to it, a little savory, not all fruit. And I used that with a couple of different dishes that had maybe umami or a body too. It might have been a tartar.
Merrin McHugh:It was, I think, a mushroom dish at one point. Had kelp and stuff. But it was a good parenting tool, and it was often one of the very well received favorite ones of the night when I used it.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Okay. Were there any dishes that were just impossible to pair with?
Merrin McHugh:We did a dinner with Fisk Bar from Copenhagen. And one of the dishes we were doing was, like, something with egg and asparagus, and that was the dish. It wasn't accompanying me. Like, egg was the focus, and it was with asparagus. And I think there was seaweed.
Merrin McHugh:And I was like, what am I gonna do? I think we end up doing an orange wine. He end up... The person coming in to visit end up doing the pairings, but I had to facilitate and see wake ups recommending things. And I was like, we can't get that in Ontario.
Merrin McHugh:So we had to go back and forth. I think it was the Movia, the Lunar orange wine, I think is what we landed on, which was like, it had its own... It needs to have its own character to stand up to all that, basically.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What did a typical day in the life look like at that time?
Merrin McHugh:The kitchen will be in at noon and then prepping all day. And they'd have to come on days off and feed the bread starter and stuff. And sometimes there's foraging days. So five days service and then an extra foraging day. I'd come in around, honestly, pretty early, I think.
Merrin McHugh:I remember the team saying a lot of managers they'd known in their time would come in for a service or later in the day. And I was in before two, maybe one most days.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Okay. And then working until?
Merrin McHugh:And working till... I tried to keep it a ten hour day. But near the end, I had a little more team who could maybe close if I wanted to go. But, usually, I'd be there till close. We didn't have enough people to do a bigger restaurant.
Merrin McHugh:You maybe have shifts of openers and closer. We were all there all night.
Alex Abbott Boyd:How big was the restaurant? I
Merrin McHugh:think it was only 20 something seats. It changed when we moved outside a bit, but I think, generally, 20 sixties or something.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Looking back now, do you feel like the way you and everyone was working was really sustainable?
Merrin McHugh:No. I think we burned out, for sure. In COVID, when things were slowing down, we got rid of our res o system because we didn't wanna pay monthly for something when we weren't open. I was just managing in my hands old school because we didn't know what was gonna happen. When you think of a 20 something or 30 seat restaurant with spacing restrictions, it all feels very manageable.
Merrin McHugh:But in the fall, we started doing... Because we want to extend the season of dining outside. So we started lighting fires in the backyard, and we had fire pits. And the kitchen was cooking on a fire. And Toronto Life came and reviewed us.
Merrin McHugh:And then all of a sudden, had 400 people on a handwritten waitlist where I'm only booking a month at a time or two weeks at a time. So people will call and be like, oh, you say you put me on the waitlist. I haven't heard from you. I was like, it's been a week. You're third...
Merrin McHugh:Three hundredth on the list. Wow. So that, to me, I was having dreams about service and just... That list was a lot to manage. And then also, you're doing that all day, and then you're also working every night.
Merrin McHugh:We're trying to run with less staff and in a mask or in the fire. You're breathing so much smoke in the fires. I remember I had a friend who I went over after work one night. I didn't even use a blanket, but there was a blanket on her chair near me. And she said a week later, it smelled like hot dogs because the smoke.
Merrin McHugh:I was just exuding. By the time you had two days off, you maybe get out of your hair and then you start the week again, which you think, oh, campfire. But when it's all day every day, you don't want that smell.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What was the reason you ended up leaving?
Merrin McHugh:We were in another lockdown and talking about coming back. And I was offered a job with one of our old chefs out in BC at a fishing lodge. And BC was more open than we were. And I did... The job here fell up in the air.
Merrin McHugh:And so I said to Justin, it was just... I have to do something where I know I'm gonna make money, and I can't wait.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:And he was like, I support you. I can't hold your job for you, but I support you. I'm not upset that you're going. It makes sense. So I just left the province for a while.
Alex Abbott Boyd:You ended up coming back to Ontario fairly quickly, though. Right?
Merrin McHugh:Yeah. The lodge was a summer... Like, a summer lodge. So they flew us all out. And then you work, like, a hundred and five days straight.
Merrin McHugh:And then you're done. It's very seasonal work. A lot of university students do it in the summer. And I was like, if I was 22
Alex Abbott Boyd:Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:I had to go back. At 40, it's hard to do it. But...
Alex Abbott Boyd:Today, you're not on the floor full time in in the way you were back in those internal light days.
Merrin McHugh:Yeah. I've had some health stuff, and I had to take a big break. I was still working full time at Sarah when that happened. And I came back after. Adam welcomed me back after, and I wasn't doing the wine at Russa before.
Merrin McHugh:Now I'm more of a operations consult... Wine director, consultant, overseeing, working with the teams, but I'm not on there on a nightly basis.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What was it that happened?
Merrin McHugh:So I had a stroke in April 2023. And so I was out for... Honestly, time feels crazy to me. I don't know if I have a good perception of that. I guess it was April.
Merrin McHugh:August, September, October, November. So maybe nine months around there. I know I started doing work around Christmas for them, consulting, and then that has evolved a bit. But I think the first things I was doing was around then. But, yeah, I had a stroke.
Merrin McHugh:It was a pretty massive stroke in my brain stem. So it happened to be a Sunday morning. And Sunday morning, we were closed. So just happened that no one knew until Tuesday night. So I was alone.
Merrin McHugh:They say you have three hours to get to the hospital, and I was there, like, three days.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Three days.
Merrin McHugh:So the fact that I'm here talking to you right now is pretty amazing. And I can walk and talk in a year.
Alex Abbott Boyd:How did you end up getting to the hospital?
Merrin McHugh:My friend... When I didn't show up at work on Tuesday, I think Benjie, who was the manager, said something to Adam and also texted her going out to friends, and then he went to talk to her. And that's when they realized, because they're not like me in a no show. Adam immediately was like, something's wrong. Merrin's not there.
Merrin McHugh:So I had a friend who had my keys. My firm came over. They called the ambulance.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What was that path to recovery like?
Merrin McHugh:Very long. Hard work. I won't go into details about the early stuff, but I was in the ICU and the stroke ward at Western for a month and have a tracheostomy. I do have... So I'm standing a little hoarse right now.
Merrin McHugh:I have some scarring from... I was on a ventilator and then the trach, So I have scarring. So my vocal cords don't quite close all the way. So I'll always be a little breathier now. And...
Merrin McHugh:But, yeah, I was there for about a month, and then I went to Providence in Scarborough. I did inpatient rehab and lived there in their stroke ward for six weeks. And when you're living there, you can do speech, OT, and physio every single day. So it's a quicker path of recovery than living somewhere else and trying to come in.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Did you know for sure that you wanted to come back into wine and hospitality?
Merrin McHugh:I think, yes. Although, I really went through a lot of phases of wanting to do... You know, I know at one point, I wanted to work maybe in in therapy or in... As a PSW because they really helped me so much. But that's also the very physical work that maybe isn't the most ideal for me now too.
Merrin McHugh:Yeah. So, yeah, I know I had little moments like that. But once I started, I had to learn to walk and speak again. I had... I forget what it's called, but I couldn't...
Merrin McHugh:I knew how to make the sounds, but I couldn't make my mouth do it. So I had to learn. So once I was back to a bit more myself, then I was always thinking about how do I come back? How do I find a way? I was feeling burnt out when I left a bit anyway.
Merrin McHugh:And I was reaching the age of... My parents are aging. My sibling has kids. Friends have kids. People are getting married.
Merrin McHugh:I don't wanna miss everything. I don't wanna work every Friday, Saturday. Like, I have for twenty years. Like, how do I find a way? So when I had that break in the house stuff, it forced me to find another way to do it and be involved without sacrificing that part.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What was the new way forward that you found?
Merrin McHugh:So I'm still working on it, to be honest. I started my own business called Wine Merrin, and I consult. So the food does work. I do their weekly ordering. So I manage their list changes a couple times a year, seasonally.
Merrin McHugh:The pairings changes and staff training every other month. They go in with each team, spend time with them there. So that's a big chunk.
Alex Abbott Boyd:I mean, there's no clear blueprint for going from being on the floor and writing the list the traditional way to to this. How... What was it like figuring that out?
Merrin McHugh:Rasa definitely takes less being on the floor and less management of the list. So getting familiar with what does well there, what do people like, price points, and the season is tweaking. I still rewrite it a couple times a year fully, but more in between just little tweaks. People aren't spending. They're more about value.
Merrin McHugh:And then Sarah takes more management. But even there, there's a little less of wines that I really wanna sell that maybe I could sell on the floor that not everyone could sell on the floor or can talk about it the same way or are passionate about the same way. I've maybe had to take off the list and do a little more wines. People know classic regions. But now we're going back into the pairings.
Merrin McHugh:So that allows me to pour different stuff and interesting stuff.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What services are you offering?
Merrin McHugh:I'm doing the consulting, the writing the list. I can do seller inventory management if you want training. And then I do private events as well. I've been doing a lot of those that my voice is a bit better.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What areas have you enjoyed growing the most?
Merrin McHugh:Originally, I thought writing the list for places would be a bigger part of the business. And I thought I have a little wine club that I do with Acton Light. I thought that would be bigger. But over the years, it's morphed. I did...
Merrin McHugh:I almost threw everything on the wall to see what was profitable and what made sense. I still do that club, but it's definitely more of a passion project than to scale of anything. I started also working with Boire and doing rapping. So that became what I thought would be really part time in the beginning, but that's a lot of my week now. I've really built up clientele and customers and restaurants I work with now.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What does a week look like for you now compared to what it looked like back when you were just working these ten, eleven, twelve hour days?
Merrin McHugh:Working for myself is great for my recovery. Definitely is not necessarily nine to five. Although, I try to kinda stay within those parameters timing wise. But I can do work earlier. I'm often up early.
Merrin McHugh:So I might be on my computer at 7AM, and I can work late. So if I need a break in the middle of the day, if my energy level is low, if I've talked too much or burnt myself out of bed, I can rest. At the beginning, that was vital for... Before I had things I had to do every day. And so it was key for me to be able to move, work around that.
Merrin McHugh:And I had voice exercises and speech therapy I had to go do. But I'm doing these events, so sometimes I might have an evening event. I can do corporate or client private. I work with a couple art galleries in my neighborhood. I do wines for their openings.
Merrin McHugh:I usually do Russ and Sierra stuff on Mondays. I do their ordering Monday morning. They do inventory on Sunday for me. And then bars often the later part of the week. I'm sure you know.
Merrin McHugh:Working with restaurants that usually... That's the time that you get meetings and responses. Lot more place closed Monday, Tuesday. So I'm often out. You'll see me with my little wine cart.
Merrin McHugh:Yeah. I don't walk in the streets.
Alex Abbott Boyd:It sounds like you're doing a ton now.
Merrin McHugh:I like to be busy.
Alex Abbott Boyd:And yet you say that this is more sustainable than just a traditional hospitality GM and wine buying role.
Merrin McHugh:The business is still a baby. Yeah. It's still... I don't know if it's long term sustainable yet, but I have to believe that there's a way to do this and make enough money and live in this city that's not working twelve hours a day. I have a partner now.
Merrin McHugh:They live with me. I have... My parents are aging. I see them a lot. I saw them last weekend.
Merrin McHugh:I'm going this weekend. I see my sibling and their kids. I wasn't really doing any of that before. And I'm finding time to rest when I need to rest, and that flexibility allows me to do that. It sounds like a lot, but I take those moments when I need them.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Okay. Do you think that kind of work life balance and fine dining are compatible?
Merrin McHugh:No. Maybe. There's definitely more places these days that are putting either limits on hours or workdays or things in place, policies in place to make it more sustainable. So maybe that's possible. I don't know if I believe fine dining.
Merrin McHugh:I think it demands a certain amount of attention, a certain number of hours a week. And I don't know if putting those things in makes it profitable. So I'm... I don't have the answer, basically.
Alex Abbott Boyd:You were at Actinolite and it was getting all this incredible press. It was all consuming. Yeah. And
Merrin McHugh:don't get me wrong. I liked it. And I was young and I had that energy. I was there through my twenties and thirties. Would I do that now at 40?
Merrin McHugh:Probably not. So it's a question of as you age and as you... Your parents age and you have kids or whatever, like, how do you incorporate all that in? And I think also trusting the people below you. I know I listened to the one that you did with Bruce, and I know you were talking about needing a song on the floor.
Merrin McHugh:And I agree at a super high level, but, unfortunately, at Sarah, we have launched this new tasting menu concept. And for us to offer it at that price and the pairing at that price, I don't think it's necessarily feasible to have a permanent full time song. But part of the pricing structure now is I'm not on the payroll full time.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Adam Minster, when he was on, mentioned that so much of this new tasting menu concept is the storytelling. And you mentioned just now that you're in there once every two months educating the team on the wines. Is that so far you think enough to get them fully up to speed and able to tell the good stories about the wines?
Merrin McHugh:Some of the producers, they they know. So even if it's a new wine, it might be the same winery story. That that helps bringing in, yeah, people they're familiar with. I do try to send out... There's a group chat for the staff.
Merrin McHugh:So I send them out little highlights of the week or things they should know. We often... Our trainings encompass having a little anecdote and a thing to tell. People don't really wanna hear all the tech stuff. They wanna hear that story and why you love it and why you think it goes with the food.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Because you almost made it sound easy to write a wine pairing for what is still a fine dining tasting menu remotely. Do you think it's because you put in those hours for years at places like Actinolite that you can do it remotely now?
Merrin McHugh:Probably. I mean to go in and taste the menu. And we do that. But I do think they save ten thousand hours or whenever I'm done my ten thousand hours on on pairing. I'm pairing with not super high end classic wines, trying to find something fun and different.
Merrin McHugh:Food news is very... The food is very, yes, flavorful, but also delicate in the same way I accidentally was in that there's a lighter fruitier, high acid bread is gonna work with the food better than something with a lot of age and tannin. And just simple. That's simplified. But that works in our benefit of finding things at a better price.
Merrin McHugh:If I was at a steakhouse, maybe, a, I wouldn't be. But, also, you couldn't maybe do that bearing for that price. If
Alex Abbott Boyd:you could change one thing about the hospitality industry here in Toronto to make it a little bit more sustainable for the people in it, what would that be?
Merrin McHugh:I think there's lots of movement now in terms of applying programs and things for hospitality health and self care and help for addiction or burnout or physical problems. That place are doing partnerships. I know Civil Liberties are a bar, but they had a partnership with a rehab, a sports rehab. So any... When any of their bartenders, they would go in and get serviced Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:And get exercises and stretch things out to work better for them and their bodies. So I think that's on the right track. And I would say we need to implement that way, way more deeply and way more broadly into the system.
Alex Abbott Boyd:If someone was coming up in the industry, maybe they are in their twenties, early thirties. They wanna try to strike some kind of balance, but they don't want to sacrifice their ambitions. Do you think that's even possible?
Merrin McHugh:I think it is. I think... I would say find a good mentor. In COVID, so many of us, my age and older, so many millennials left the industry. So I think there's a real there's a real gap.
Merrin McHugh:I came up with people about me that I was learning from and working with. And a lot of these younger people may not have that. And so I think finding someone to help you along in that that knowledge gap can really be really important. It's not a given these days. I maybe don't enjoy finding that much.
Merrin McHugh:So it's hard for me to even act in a light, even Sarah. It's... There isn't really pretension to it. We're welcoming you in. You're in our space.
Merrin McHugh:We wanna tell you a story. It's not as antiquated maybe as I think a lot of fine dining might be. But I think we're finding a new definition for it. And so I think those places also really stick out in your memory when you go to them. I find I remember when I connect to someone, I connect to the food.
Merrin McHugh:I connect to the wine. And so I would say for anyone young coming in, I'd say for real hospitality to maybe don't worry so much about memorizing these sub service and news and notes and maybe focus on intuitive what your guest needs and focusing on your guest and sharing a bit of yourself as well. People respond to that really great.
Alex Abbott Boyd:How have you liked the jump into sales?
Merrin McHugh:I wasn't sure if it was for me at the beginning because it is a slog
Alex Abbott Boyd:and A 100%.
Merrin McHugh:Really trying to find more balance. So I was like, oh my god, what am I getting into? And I don't drive. I didn't really ever have a license, but they take it away when you have a stroke. You have to repass, and I don't feel comfortable in the city, at least, driving around.
Merrin McHugh:So it's just me on the GTC. But, yeah, I didn't love it at first because it's so much outreach. You barely get anything back, but I feel, yeah, having done it for a year and a half now that I get way more people that know me and know our wines, that they're maybe more willing to take a recommendation or if they had it before, they just order. They don't need a meeting every time. Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:So that's been a lot better.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Now having been both in a wine buying role and in a selling role, Are there things that you wish other salespeople would do and things that you wish all wine buyers would do?
Merrin McHugh:Some people like the job. I go and eat a chat and they... And some people, they see you and they're like, oh, and they don't want you there. So I think learning when to be the annoying little hey, hey, hey, and then when to back up. I think a lot of Asians could learn.
Merrin McHugh:I think the drop in at a small place is really hard. When they're open and it's early in the night for a glass of wine, that's different. But coming before service when they're setting up is really tricky as someone who managed such a wine list with a need for so much attention, but also was, like, mopping the floor and cleaning the bathroom. I didn't have time just to do that. So maybe if you can buy one, but not if you can buy four.
Merrin McHugh:So... Yeah. And then from the other side, I would say the ordering on Wednesday for Friday is not a thing. Or it is, but you might pay a fee or something and it's stressful. I would say that.
Merrin McHugh:I get them in earlier. Also, no news is news. I always tell people. If I'm checking in and you have nothing new, just take one second to tell me that. Then I'll stop.
Merrin McHugh:If it's a no, tell me it's a no. Because if you don't answer, there's stress involved about, did you read it? Do you know it's almost gone? Do I need to worry about that listing? So that'd be my advice both ways.
Alex Abbott Boyd:After all the time you've spent in wine, what are some of your favorite wine regions that you just really love the most?
Merrin McHugh:I do love... Don't get me wrong. I love a Chambliss. I love a white Burgundy or a red Burgundy. I just...
Merrin McHugh:I drink more white these days. And most of my favorites now because of the projects I'm doing day to day and wanting to bring affordable wines to the people, I think that I would say maybe to really explore Canadian wine, first of all. But I think people tried one thing 20 ago and make a judgment on that. And I think what I've been teasing anyway coming out of Ontario and across Canada is really good.
Alex Abbott Boyd:So if you wanted to change the mind of that person who tried something bad twenty years ago, what are a couple of the Ontario wineries you'd point them to?
Merrin McHugh:Thomas Badgelder? I'd say anything from his selections or his portfolio. I was just looking into smaller producers. There's some great, like, joint production. I know you do separate meal, and I think they're at a drink club as well.
Merrin McHugh:And I know main add out of there is gray wines. And I think taking away that initial investment that someone needs to have a whole facility in there, all these vineyards to make something special is nice that's not there. Avoid the big tours and look to the little
Alex Abbott Boyd:guy. Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:Look to what? Ask your servers and somms what they're drinking. Because I find when you... Or a winemaker even, what else are you drinking in the area? When you go visit somewhere, ask them where they would go, and that's your next spot.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Are there any great recommendations you've gotten that way that come to mind?
Merrin McHugh:I think when I've been in the county, I've definitely had people recommend... I'm no exaltat. I think that's what they're called. Really small and out of the main county section. And someone told us to go, another producer.
Merrin McHugh:I don't remember. And the wines were beautiful, and we never would have found them if someone hadn't said, we should drive out there. And they're a little family on a farm. I love the story too. And I actually...
Merrin McHugh:They did a still belong to noir, pinot noir as a white that we used for a long time as a pairing at, actually. And I think that was a big hit as well.
Alex Abbott Boyd:What are some of your favorite lists that aren't ones you're writing?
Merrin McHugh:Archive is probably number one. I don't go out as much as I used to these days, but archive is right at the street from my house, five minute walk. It's always a great list. And they have everything, you can bring any friend with any taste, and they're gonna find something. And Josh is great.
Merrin McHugh:And there's no pretension. Great list. No pretension. A little funny side story is that when I was at yours truly, we used to... Because I was right around the corner.
Merrin McHugh:We used to go after service all the time. Our tartar is great. And we would all want one, so we ended up calling Josh ahead and saying, oh, we're all coming. Five tartars and two cheese plates, whatever. And then we walk over.
Merrin McHugh:Because they diced it to order, so we put them in. So archive is probably number one. I'd be little bit to Oliver. I'd say it's a hidden gem, but now it's, like, all the rage, I feel. But Matt is doing a cool thing there, and it's so cozy and find off somewhere you'll find it.
Merrin McHugh:And I think I love the idea of a list like that where he... You have to converse with him, and he features different things all the time. And it's like, this week, we have this. This week, we have this. And I think for some of the nicer stuff he's promoting, he's not marking it up very much.
Merrin McHugh:So you can go and get something that you wouldn't normally be able to drive by the glass. So that's cool. The extended wait list is always a favorite. They do day burn, man. You know?
Merrin McHugh:So I think the main thing is five or six courses, but you can do three. I urge people to go and make sure there's room because it's so small, but they'll do a neighborhood for you and it's still quite a bit of food. So go by there. Union's always a classic. Classic haunt.
Merrin McHugh:I know I don't remember what date is, but I know they do a half price bottle day. And Henry's is Wednesdays too.
Alex Abbott Boyd:I think so. Yeah.
Merrin McHugh:That's top of my list to go. I wanna go drink some burgundy for half price.
Alex Abbott Boyd:That's the only time I can afford it.
Merrin McHugh:Yeah. Exactly. Me too. That's the thing is that when you go through a big house thing and then it takes you that long to get back to work, my finances are not... I don't have the money to be out all the time.
Merrin McHugh:So I've gotta pick and choose. I often pop in places just for a glass. So that's why I really like these by the glass. Change them up kind of places.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Merrin McHugh:Check out my Instagram, wine my Merrin, my website. I'm doing events all the time. I want coming up with Laura Baden from on Canadian wine. I do a lot of events with the United Contemporary Gallery on to come see on Queen West. So we do art and wine and go back and forth, and they're my neighbors.
Merrin McHugh:We have a good time. Try to make it approachable and bum for everyone. And and I would say to go to the Tasting menu at Sarah because it's a great deal right now, and the wine pairing is $60. And I think it's a fun pairing, and I think it's a nice journey. And they'll tell you so much about the food and the wine as you eat.
Merrin McHugh:And it's not probably marked up the same way other ones are, and the teab is great. So go see them.
Alex Abbott Boyd:Thank you so much for your time.
Merrin McHugh:Thanks for having me.