AYLA on Dundas West invites Toronto residents to reimagine family recipes on its menu

AYLA on Dundas West is launching a community storytelling project that turns its diners' histories into dishes.

The restaurant, which specializes in Hong Kong cuisine, is now inviting Toronto residents to submit family recipes passed down through generations—the more stained the recipe card, the less exact the measurements, the better. AYLA will select submissions and reinterpret each one as a limited-time dish on the menu.

"At AYLA, food has always been a way for us to tell stories about where we've been, the people who have shaped us, and the cultures and flavours we carry with us," says chef and co-owner Kevin Shawcross. The team wants the full story behind each dish: Who made it? When did you eat it? Who was around the table? What makes that dish impossible to separate from the person or memory behind it?

Submissions can include either a photo or written version of the recipe. "The best family recipes are the ones that have been made a thousand times," says chef and co-owner Craig Wong. "The page is stained, there are notes in the margins… That's the good stuff."

AYLA is located at 794 Dundas St. W. Submissions are accepted via the restaurant's website. The restaurant has hosted similar events in the past, sharing recipes from its founding community, but this marks the first time it's inviting the broader Toronto audience to contribute their own family stories to the menu.