Kahnawa’kehró:non chef recognized 

The Main, a Montreal-based online publication known as a directory of good places to go in the city, recently included Bona Fide – an Italian restaurant whose chef is Kahnawa’kehró:non David Alfred – on their list of best Italian restaurants in the city and best new restaurants of 2024. 

Bona Fide is located on St. Laurent Boulevard in Villeray, occupying the same space that Paloma did until it closed in August 2024. Bona Fide opened its doors only a few months later.

According to the review by The Main, the small space offers and intimate ambiance, and escapism into the classical Italian meal, with French and Spanish flairs, that the restaurant serves. 

David’s father, Gerald Taiaiake Alfred, is proud of the work his son has put into cooking.

“I mean, I'm his dad, but I'm super impressed. I've seen how hard he's worked, and I've seen the love and passion he has for cooking before, and I've seen his dedication to his goal of being a true chef in that tradition,” said Alfred. "The time and energy that he's put into it, it's been incredible. It's been his life since he started.”

Taiaiake said his son David got his start in the business when they lived in Victoria, British Columbia. In high school, he started as a dishwasher in pubs, before working his way up and learning from the chefs he worked with in other kitchens in Victoria following his graduation.

Once they returned to the East Coast, David worked in Montreal mainstays like Joe Beef and Nora Gray, honing his craft – and without going to culinary school, as all his training was done on the job.

“It shows how intelligent he is. It shows how naturally talented he is. It shows how dedicated he is to learning, and the respect that he has for his colleagues and his mentors,” said Taiaiake.

He also made sure to introduce David to different cuisines when he was younger – until he was the one introducing things to his father.

“What I tried to do when he was young was to expose him to a lot of different types of food and different experiences. We took him, when he was young, to Germany and Taiwan and places like that, where I would make a point of exposing him to the different foods that were there,” said Taiaiake.

“But he already had that in him, as well. When we went to Taiwan, I had an intent on taking him to all these night markets and letting him see and taste different foods. But he already knew one dish that he wanted to try that I didn't know about. He had already done his own research, and he had already had in his own mind what he wanted to get out of the experience.”

Closer to home, they also experienced different restaurants in Montreal, as well as traditional cooking and hunting up north.

As someone with a lot of experience trying different foods, Taiaiake said Bona Fide hits the mark in terms of Italian haute cuisine.

“I've been there three times now, and it's superb,” he said. “I've been to Rome and Florence and Milan and eaten pasta in all of those places, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. And so, I have a good reference point, I think, for what a good Italian restaurant is. And to me, I think it's excellent.”

Bona Fide has a small, relatively straightforward menu – one for lunch and one for dinner.

Taiaiake said that pastas are usually his go-to, and the caramelle, mushroom, and truffle pasta Bona Fide has on its dinner menu at the moment is his favourite. As for other dishes, he mentioned the pork cutlets with apple, chestnuts, and hazelnut butter dinner option.

[email protected]