ABOUT

Chef Owners

A pair of husband & wife chefs with a desire to share our love of great food.

Chef Anthony Zolkiewicz

Anthony is a veteran chef with over 25 years of experience working in various food establishments, including banquet halls, hotels, bistros and fine dining restaurants. Most recently, he’s been sharing his culinary prowess with students of varying ages and backgrounds as a Chef Instructor. From teaching young children how to hold their first Chef’s knife during summer kids camps, to training hungry teens to compete in Jr Chopped Canada on the Food Network, Anthony’s passion for the culinary arts is fueled by his belief that the younger they start – the better!

That’s not to say it’s ever too late for adult food lovers to expand their gastronomic skills, and Anthony has spent the latter part of his career teaching culinary arts to college students by day, and passionate home cooks and foodies by night. Pairing years of culinary experience with his incredible talent for uniting people with jokes and camaraderie, Anthony thrives on bringing laughter and tasty food to the table. Most come for the cooking, but all leave with a lighter heart after their kitchen experience with Anthony and his boisterous approach to food.

Through Gastro Market, Anthony’s goal is to bring his fun-loving culinary vision to life so that every food lover may learn how to become their own chef at home and to experience tasty, beautifully crafted, homestyle meals and ingredients from his talented team of chefs.

Chef Justine Wilk

A self-proclaimed “jack-of-all-trades,” Justine never dreamed that her love of food would take her on the journey it has. Formally a public relations specialist, she used her gift of gab and penchant for writing to excel in her career in marketing and communications on Bay Street.

Despite enjoying her job, Justine always felt like something was missing and found that cooking helped to fill that void. Having a food engineer for a mom meant that she got to know the ins and outs of gastronomic science and enjoy the delicious outcomes of countless culinary experiments. Such creations led to catering gigs, which eventually grew into a steady weekend job that Justine enjoyed more than anything.

Growing weary of the day-to-day chaos of downtown Toronto, she traded in PR for culinary school and quickly found the hustle and bustle of the restaurant kitchen to be her match made in heaven. Busy earning her chef ranks, mastering desserts and pastries, and eventually teaching culinary arts, Justine met Anthony (another match made in heaven, you could say) – and the roots of Gastro Market were planted.

Today, as Anthony’s partner (and better half), Justine shares his culinary mandate of food for all and teaching foodies how to cook with the confidence of a chef.