Joe Friday

Chef. Restauranteur. Entrepreneur.

I am a professional chef, restauranteur and entrepreneur with over 18 years of experience in top restaurants across Canada and USA, and unique experience working in Norway, Italy and Japan. I have significant experience in building, opening and managing front and back-of house operations for both quick-service and fine dining restaurants. Check out my ventures page to see what I’m currently working on!

I love to do small and large scale catering, run special pop-up events, and host private dinners. I also consult on everything from small menu creation, to large scale restaurant operations, including new restaurant builds and rebrands.

About Me

I was born in North Carolina, raised in Okinawa, Japan, and trained in French Cuisine. I graduated top of my class in Restaurant Management from The Culinary Institute of America in New York. I started my culinary career at the age of 20, as one of 10 worldwide individuals invited to train at Walt Disney World's culinary program. I've staged around Europe, Asia, and the US, including staging with Thomas Keller at French Laundry, working as a Saucier Nobu in Honolulu, and working as the Executive Sous Chef at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

I moved to Toronto, Canada 10+ years ago to be part of the opening team for Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini's new venture, Luma at TIFF Bell Lightbox. I was part of the team that opened Bar Mozza (closed) and I became part owner and Executive Chef of ViaVai (closed).

I went on to bring my love for Hawaiian Cuisine to Toronto, and opened as part owner and chef, the popular quick-service poke restaurant Calii Love. I am founder of The Chef Collective, which is a chef driven organization committed to supporting local and worldwide chefs by providing them with a platform to showcase their talents through Chef Battles.

In 2019 I opened Friday Roots in Toronto Canada, which is a return to my North Carolina southern roots. The menu includes many of my treasured family recipes, and my burger, which was recently rated top 10 in Toronto bars by the popular Blogto. We permanently closed during the COVID19 pandemic as I planned for something new.

In 2023, I opened my first quick-service burger restaurant, Friday Burger Company, which is a homage to my favourite meal, the humble burger. We have two locations, one located in downtown Toronto at the brand new 81 Bay Street Tower, and our second location at 2162 Danforth Avenue. Check out our feature in Toronto Life!

Throughout my career I have cooked privately for a variety of amazing individuals, including professional athletes, celebrities, entrepreneurs and world leaders - and I am always open to new opportunities to share my love of food. Check me out in Toronto Life, as one of their top private chef’s to take home for the holidays!