matthew horn

Matt was the executive chef of the iconic Masthead Restaurant in Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island in from 2005 to 2009.   During his tenure at this iconic island restaurant, he developed a dynamic relationship with numerous local farms and artisan food producers.  As a result, Matt is now renowned in the Cowichan Valley as both a chef and a passionate advocate of regional menu ingredients.

Matt started out his university studies in mechanical engineering but decided after two years that he should follow his dream and become a chef.  So he switched directions and enrolled in the chef management program at Ottawa’s Algonquin College.

Cooking was something Matt always carried a passion for – his biggest pleasure being people’s jubilant expressions while enjoying his food.

Matt’s first cooking job was at Domus Café in Ottawa.  This restaurant initiated a movement among Ottawa chefs to use seasonal and regionally produced ingredients.

Matt’s zeal for local ingredients developed further when he cooked for Mariposa Farms – a well known vegetable farm, game producer, artisan cheese supplier and restaurant located in a rustic cottage on the outskirts of Ottawa.  The farm owners challenged Matt to source all restaurant food supplies within a 200-mile radius of the farm.  During this time he specialized in cooking foie gras, venison, bison & wild boar.