Dear reader,

It was around this time during the first pandemic fall that I moved on from my tomato sauce–making phase to my soft pretzel–making phase, after which I slid comfortably into my Doritos Cool Ranch phase (not making, just eating). Lockdown hobbies everywhere lost their lustre and were tossed aside or shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten like so many sourdough-starter babies. In today’s newsletter, however, you’ll read about one ice cream–obsessed Torontonian who didn’t give up on his pandemic project. Instead, when air travel was an option again, he enrolled at Gelato University in Bologna, Italy—yes, ice cream college is a thing, and why am I just learning about this now?

Plus, everything there is to eat and drink at the fancy new food hall inside CIBC Square and a look inside the home kitchen of chef David Schwartz—who was just last night presented with the Michelin Young Chef Award. 

After his film-industry career came to a screeching halt during the pandemic, Miles Caswell used his newfound free time to fiddle around with his father’s old ice cream machine. Instead of growing bored with it as lockdowns dragged on, Caswell was hooked, and he started brainstorming ways to turn his hobby into a business. As soon as he could, Caswell enrolled in Bologna’s Carpigiani Gelato University, the college of every kid’s dreams. He used his super-cool diploma to start Smilk, a line of gourmet ice cream bars in decidely grown-up flavours. (Anyone old enough to remember Dickie Dee will be delighted by Caswell’s recent acquisition.)

Table Fare and Social is CIBC Square’s new gathering space, entertainment venue and patio, featuring a full-service bar and a collection of fast-casual restaurants—just don’t call it a food court. Here, everything there is to eat and drink at the fancy food hall.

Somewhere in between running two restaurants—Sunnys and Mimi Chinese—working on another top-secret project and winning Michelin awards, chef David Schwartz found the time to give us a tour of his Kensington Market kitchen. It’s stocked with ingredients like barrel-aged fish sauce, Chinese vinegar, Maggi seasoning and spicy chili oil—plus a whole lotta ice cream, dill pickles and more than six jars of peanut butter. Snoop around for yourself.

Robert Konashewych was a police officer with expensive tastes, two girlfriends and a mountain of debt. Heinz Sommerfeld was recently deceased with a large unclaimed estate. In our October issue, read the story of a crooked cop, a dead man and an $800,000 estate fraud. Plus, the general contractor from hell, Toronto’s best farm-to-table chefs, a Q&A with new Raptors coach Darko Rajaković, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.