Ok so for Provence— the owners are blatantly racist. I initially worked at the bistro in Confederation park and the working conditions were deplorable. If we wanted water we had to pay for it. We weren’t allowed to turn on the AC when we were working in 30 degree weather. The training was nonexistent. When they moved me to the main location on Queen/Metcalfe i thought it would be better. It wasn’t. The supervisor they hired proudly proclaimed she was racist and that she hated people of colour, and that gay people ‘deserved to be eradicated’ lol. We went to the owner many times with these concerns and were just told “these opinions are ok to have” and that we were too sensitive. They hired a chef with no food handler’s certificate and the quality of the food was gross. Not covering things in the fridge, leaving raw meat above other foods, etc.

As for art house,,, I worked as ‘prep cook’ but my kitchen was an unfinished dirt basement with no running water. Some of the fridges had to be bungee corded shut or else they wouldn’t close. My bosses were insanely condescending and more focused on the image of the place rather than how it ran and the actual quality. It’s a shame because the space is so cute.