OUR STORY
It was 2016 at Hawthorne Food & Drink, when Ricky, executive chef at the time, hired Olivia as his sous-chef. Olivia had just returned from working in kitchens in NYC and was back living in Toronto. They didn’t know it, but this was their Hollywood movie “meet-cute”. For anyone working in kitchens, you know how this kinda thing plays out.
Eventually, Ricky left Hawthorne pursuing a partnership role at Aft Kitchen and Bar, leaving Olivia to take over as chef at Hawthorne. Both working as chefs at different restaurants with such crazy hours, it didn’t take long until they joined forces at Aft Kitchen and Bar together as co-chefs.
Still joined at the hip, in 2018 they both decided it was time to create their own path. They started hosting popup events in and around Toronto under the name Ricky+Olivia. They decided to take a fun working holiday, collaborating with local artisans, while taking a break from cooking in the traditional brick and mortar restaurant.
Starting with one-off popups at Chez Nous Wine Bar in Toronto, their popup following grew quickly and they decided that Ricky+Olivia had the potential to grow into a full-time business.
Over the last four years Ricky+Olivia Events has built partnerships with Wine Country Ontario, the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, 100km Foods, Westcott Vineyards and Dillon’s Distillery to name a few. They have collaborated with some amazing local businesses and have hosted their popups in spaces including, Wychwood Barns, Evergreen Brickworks, Chez Nous Wine Bar, Leftfield Brewery, The Quirky Carrot, and Merchants of Green Coffee. In the summer of 2019, they were honoured to host and cook for the World’s 50 Best during their tour exploring Ontario and they have continued to participate in events celebrating Ontario food and drink, proudly participating in the Terroir Symposium each year.
Throughout the summer months you can find them based in the heart of Niagara’s wine country, running their seasonal patio restaurant at Westcott Vineyards.