When the Michelin Guide comes to Waterloo region: Jasmine Mangalaseril

When Michelin announced its restaurant selections for the 2025 Toronto and Region Guide, three awards honoured restaurants here in Waterloo region.

Cambridge’s Langdon Hall and Kitchener’s Odd Duck received “recommended” status while Langdon Hall’s wine director, Faye MacLachlan, won the 2025 Michelin Guide Toronto Sommelier Award.

Since the tire manufacturer launched the motorist travel guide in France 125 years ago, it’s become synonymous with the world’s best restaurants.

“The star component of the Michelin Guide is only 10 per cent of the guide,” said Jason Bangerter, executive chef of Langdon Hall. “It’s everything from the best pizza to the best cocktails, where to get local beer, and all the things. At the highest level in culinary, it is the Mecca of designation.”

After years of speculation, the Toronto Guide launched in 2022, naming 74 restaurants. Last year, it expanded beyond Toronto, which is when Langdon Hall first received a “recommended” rating. 

This year, it named 106 restaurants, representing 31 cuisines. Most are in Toronto, with a handful in smaller areas like Lincoln, St. Catharines and Creemore.

What’s on the plate is what matters

In an email, Michelin said their international team of anonymous inspectors are former industry professionals with at least a decade of experience.

Along with deep expertise that gives them “precise and technical field knowledge” they have “great curiosity and open-mindedness.”

Regardless of location or establishment, inspectors apply five criteria to potential restaurants:

1. Product quality.
2. Mastery of cooking techniques.
3. Harmony of flavours.
4. The personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine.
5. Consistency over time and across the entire menu.

Brand, popularity and price are not assessed. Service, while sometimes mentioned in summaries, isn’t factored in, either.

Recommended restaurants have better-than-average food, but do not achieve the outstanding quality needed for stars.

Faye MacLachlan: Sommelier Award

Awarded to exceptionally talented and dedicated sommeliers, the Michelin Sommelier Award recognizes expertise and ability to elevate dining experiences through wine. 

Bangerter and MacLachlan have worked together for about 12 years at Langdon Hall.

“She’s brilliant with the wine list,” said Bangerter. “Our approach to pairing wine to the food is such a production. We’re eating dishes together, tasting sauces. I’ll change dishes slightly to make the pairing even that much better, so our wine pairings are incredible.”

MacLachlan was out of the country choosing wines in Argentina during the awards ceremony.

Langdon Hall, Cambridge: Recommended

Bangerter’s experience working with noted chefs in fine kitchens in Europe and Toronto influenced his culinary approach, by using quality ingredients, and in trying to keep dishes natural, delicious and beautiful.

“Coming to Langdon Hall kind of brought me back to the roots. Back to the terroir, closer to the farm,” he said. “On our property here, we have six acres of culinary gardens and 75 acres of wild forest, where everything grows. Every wild ingredient is here. That kind of shaped my cuisine moving forward.”

After a stint of more casual offerings, he is recharged and taking a new approach to Langdon Hall’s dining experience.

“We’ve achieved a lot as a team here and I’m very proud of our team and what we do,” said Bangerter. “I think where Michelin becomes important for us is for our team. To verify the hard work, the dedication that everyone puts into what we do here.”

Odd Duck Wine and Provisions: Recommended

Odd Duck was built on the premise of doing things differently, from building dishes to the wine to embracing community to including staff welfare and development in their sustainability program.

“This is an acknowledgement of the excellence of the team that we have built here and the acknowledgement of everything that we’ve worked towards with our original goals,” said chef Jon Rennie, Odd Duck’s culinary director. 

Further affirming their efforts, the dishes Michelin highlighted were created by cooks very early into their careers.

One dish was “Duck” created by sous chef Jenna Titizian: roast duck, with chimichurri, spiced pineapple sauce and smoked cinnamon and sauteed broccolini. She said it was a last-minute filler dish for the regularly changing menu, created in 10 minutes

Another dish mentioned was “Asian Greens” created by entremetier and senior cook Kaleigh Pope: warm salad of greens, mango cardamom mousse, roasted peanuts and pea eggplant relish. Pope said she had never tried pea eggplant prior to creating the dish.

“Just chugging along with no real expectation of having a Michelin recognition at all … and yet still having somebody pick us, a needle out of a haystack, and go, ‘Here. We want to acknowledge you.’ That was pretty special for us,” said Rennie.