While his brothers Mark and Donnie are in the entertainment industry, the only showbiz Paul really partakes in is his restaurant’s reality TV show Wahlburgers. Food has always been to main focus in Paul’s life.
While we inhaled a few items from the Wahlburgers’ TIFF special menu that features housemade Lobster Poutine, sweet potato tots, and popcorn jalepeno shrimp, we also had a chance to catch up with Chef Paul to chat about Toronto and TIFF.
So, why did you open the first restaurant outside of Massachusetts in Toronto?
Paul: I’ve been to Toronto a bunch a times so I know the city well. I love the city life and the energy here. Walking around it’s amazing. Everyone is so nice here. For us, you know Mark and Donnie film here so much and we have so many connections here in Toronto it just made sense for us. They have a huge fan base here in the city.
Do people recognize you too?
Paul: People are nice here and they don’t really bug me. Once in a while they recognize me and I can hear them whispering. Sometimes I hear “Oh look, it’s Donnie!” which is totally fine. I got chased out of a store once with someone yelling Donnie Wahlberg! Donnie Wahlberg! The funniest is when people come up to me and complain about my brothers. They don’t like a movie they’re in or something and I guess they think I’ll go back and discuss that with them. But what’s really funny is when people come up and tell me that they love my mother. So I tell my mom that people love her and that they say hello. But then she’ll ask me who they were.
Are you TIFFing while you’re here?
Paul: (laughs) I’ve been here a few times around TIFF and I like to walk around the area and along King Street and Spadina. I love all the pop-up places but it’s been a busy time for me here at the restaurant. I did walk over to get a porchetta sandwich down on King Street near here. It was pretty amazing. The crackling, the bread, it’s the perfect sandwich. Mark is here for TIFF. It’s a beautiful time of year to be here. (Mark is in town for the premiere of his film Deepwater Horizon)