I’m glad we’re on the same page! 
If a chef isn’t popping in as the big boss to check on the quality control, what’s the point? Are they even the chef if they aren’t ultimately in control of the product?
Consulting chefs are more recipe planner and menu planner than chef.
It’s a bit like taking an in-person course vs taking an online or correspondence course. LOL.
There are consultants and then there are consultants. Some may be menu planners but others may be integrately involved in designing dishes such as the aforementioned LSL in which many dishes bear Christian Le Squer’s signature. That’s really the key part as the day-to-day such as the cooking and quality control can be done by others, which, in LSL’s case, it’s Leroy Didier (they’re both the L’s in LSL).
To use an analogy to something I’m more familiar with, in IT the key people (the expensive people!) are the IT architect. Once the designs are spec’d out & approved, they’re handed over to the folks on the ground, the developers, quality assurance, etc. to create the product to their design specifications. You can call these architects “consultants” as they aren’t on the ground day-to-day, but their impact is critical.
Many big name chefs such as Robuchon or Ducasse have restaurants all over the world and they can’t be everywhere, so they rely on local Executive Chef and others down the line whom they trust to execute their design creations, do the quality control, run the restaurant, etc.
I suppose my point is that they should be called chef consultants, rather than consulting chefs.
I don’t really think there’s any mark of Thomas Keller at Bouchon Bakeries or Bistros. I won’t digress.
The food and service at the O + B Grill at the Blue Mountain Westin, and Parcheggio at Bayview Village, makes me wonder what the heck the consulting chefs and executive chefs are doing at O + B.
Shout out to Daniel Boulud, because his Maison Boulud in Mtl and Café Boulud in Toronto have generally been good experiences.
(@ipsedixit, would you mind taking the typo out of the subject line? Pretty please 
)
Paris Le Cinq’s tasting menu costs ONLY 375 Euro!!..and if one is lucky, Le Squer could even be in the kitchen overlooking the operation!
As for LSL, even with their recent ‘wise’ price adjustment to reflect signs of the time, their tasting menu is still a whopping $680!! ( doubling the price of ALL the 1*, in and around the GTA! ) …and they don’t have any Michelin stars, not on the San Pelligrino best list nor the authoritative La Liste or OAD…etc! BTW, my recent meal at World’s #1 DISFRUTAR was ONLY 275 Euro!!!
Furthermore, IMO, an appetizer putting A5 Japanese Wagyu beef tartar in mold and topped with Caviar and Gold leaf is NOT cooking!!
" SUSHI KIWAMI "
A Richmond, B.C.-based sushi restaurant known for its sky-high prices has relocated and opened up in the heart of Toronto.
This place has raised eyebrows on the west coast with its omakase-style menu priced at up to $600 per person. Implementing strict and harsh policies like ’ no service and no refund of $299 deposits pp, if arriving more than 15 minutes late or no refund of deposits if cancellation made 48 hours or less…etc. Since opening, this restaurant has received quite a few critical and negative reviews from local Vancouver food critics which might have resulted in their subsequent closing.
The website of the Toronto restaurant is extremely simplistic with no bio detail of the chefs…etc. However, rumour has it that the Chinese chef owner only received one year training!!..not even enough to graduate from washing sushi rice in restaurants or sushi academies in Japan let alone cutting fish or preparing shari rice?!
Currently, Google has 13 reviews of this place. 12 of which gave a glowing 5.0/5.0 rating but coincidentally, ALL these posters have a Chinese surname! ( Promotion from friends?..hence questionable reliability? ).
The remaining one was a 1.0/5.0, reviewed by a patron with a Japanese name ( Izumi Suzuki )…the reason, she got FOOD POISONING EATING THERE!! 
Wow!! Food poisoning??..Not a good start! 
Has anyone here visited LSL?
Sushi Kiwami may have a Chinese owner or investor, but the chef’s name is Yuta Arase … Not a Chinese name … While I don’t know the detail of his history, but didn’t sound like he had only 1 year training.
There you go … Fit one of your criteria … Sushi restaurant with a Japanese chef …
Estufarian has!
Forget about the chef’s origin!
After getting food poisoning eating raw seafood in Barcelona last year, I empathize with the Google reviewer ( Izumi Suzuki ) 's food poisoning experience after visiting Sushi Kiwami .
As such, I guess I have to update my major criteria to " making sure the restaurant did not have past patrons getting food poisoning after eating there? " Ha!!
In addition to the Google review ’ food poisoning ’ incidence.
Just came across a TripAdvisor review with a 1.0/5.0 rating…this time the patron found two small bones inside of the piece of fish used for Neta!!
Wow! Red Flags everywhere!!
Typically I prefer to visit a place (at least) twice before posting comments, and only one visit.
I found the food ‘very good’, although there were some pacing issues. Ingredients were definitely pricey (Wagyu, Caviar, Black Truffle etc) but no better than at other ‘expensive’ restaurants.
Service was ‘needs improvement’.
Wine was NOT user-friendly. There is no wine list. Essentially you “must” take the one and only set of wine pairings (although it’s possible to just have a glass of any of those matched pairings). Also, some wine pairings are used for several courses (making a mockery of the claim that the wines are chosen specifically to match the course).
The price was much higher than I would expect to pay for a similar meal at other fine dining establishments and the quality overall meant it didn’t make my top 10 meals in Canada for 2024. I counted as many staff as patrons the night I was there, which may explain the economics/pricing.
I did ask how frequently the menu changes, but did not get an answer that was encouraging. If there is seasonality in the menu, it wasn’t apparent on my visit.
I haven’t returned.
Lucky, or unlucky as per Jay Rayner???
I’ve linked this review before as it is such a classic.
Reservations for Susie’s Rise & Dine
https://tables.toasttab.com/restaurants/874a2bed-b814-445c-a6c6-6aea8282a740/reserve
BEST and funniest review I have come across!! Many thanks for posting!
Thank You for the review. Doesn’t sound very promising. Will save my money for now
I think we have digressed from talking about consultants to talking about quality & price of restaurants. Yes, I agree you can get better quality for better price in Europe. But we live in Toronto.
In the case of LSL, it’s clearly price prohibitive for 99% of the population but Cheng and Didier when they thought this up wasn’t after this demographic. They’re after mainly the Top 1% high rollers and corporate accounts with deep pockets looking for exclusivity to impress clients. Cheng’s other restaurant Masaki Saito is in the same boat (or should I say Yacht?!). That Saito would be charging $680 for so many years and still running is testament there’s a market for the Ultra high-end in TO. We’ll see about LSL.
