Benjamin Ing

Head Chef, Noma
Culinary Management – Class of 2008

Like many a Canadian teenager, Benjamin Ing once dreamed of becoming a major league hockey player. But today he thrives on a different kind of elite team in the top tier of the international restaurant scene.

His change of direction can be traced to a summer job at Lapointe Seafood Grill in Ottawa, where at 18 he applied to be a bus boy. Before long he found himself working as garde manger at the restaurant, preparing salads and other cold preparations. “If my first job was in a place where people didn’t take pride in their work and their team, maybe things would have turned out differently,” he says.

Head chef Jeff Parlardg saw potential in the young man and encouraged him to enter the culinary program at Algonquin College to learn the trade. Ing had already travelled to visit schools offering hockey scholarships in the United States. But the camaraderie of the restaurant kitchen intrigued him: “I guess it mirrored some of the qualities, the team spirit that a hockey team would have. I didn’t know it at the time, but the staff were helping to shape my career.”

He entered the two-year culinary management program at Algonquin and found new mentors. He says when he began he was like any other young man his age, making friends fast and drinking beer in his off hours. But on school time, he was focused, unlike some of his peers who were more interested in being kitchen rock stars. His professors noted his diligence and dedication and encouraged him.

He cites the influence of Sean Edwards, who taught him classes in international cooking and production cooking. “My last week in the program, we had a good chat. He said, ‘You’ve got a good set of hands. Make sure you work hard, travel and experience other cultures, and when you come back you can take my job.’”

Mario Ramsay’s influence was equally significant. In the classroom, Ramsay primarily taught him theory. But when Ing stopped by his office to ask for advice, Ramsay was readily available to talk about the industry and the shape of a good career. “Mario is one of those chefs who was always immaculate, his uniform was pristine, and he had a good head on his shoulders. His professionalism and encouragement were important influences on me.”

After graduating with the Class of 2008, Ing was hired by Fraser Café in Ottawa’s New Edinburgh neighbourhood. He says he learned an enormous amount from co-owners and chefs Ross and Simon Fraser. It was his first experience of going to markets, getting the day’s fresh vegetables, and talking with the restaurant’s fish purveyors and meat vendors. “I loved working there,” Ing says. “The Fraser brothers brought a whole new light into my world.”

It was an intense, demanding life with late hours, and it reinforced Ing’s understanding of what it took to run a successful kitchen. Ross Fraser encouraged him to travel to learn more, and in succession Ing worked at Eleven Madison Park in New York City and the Royal Mail Hotel in Melbourne. He returned to Ottawa and plied his craft at some of its best establishments: Fraser Café, Beckta Dining & Wine, Restaurant e18hteen and Whalesbone.

But the travel bug hadn’t left him, and with a little assistance from chef Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park, he found leads to five top restaurants in Europe. One of these was Noma in Copenhagen, chef/owner Rene Redzepi’s two-star Michelin establishment that has been named Best Restaurant in the World five times by Restaurant magazine. He was hired as chef de partie (section chef) in 2014, and began learning “a whole new realm of flavours” in Danish and Scandinavian cuisine.

Less than two years later, when the head chef was departing, Redzepi asked his sous chefs who the replacement should be: Ing was their unanimous choice. He continues to hold the position in the Danish capital, working to stay sharp with cooking while dealing with administrative tasks and being in charge of a team of cooks and sous chefs.

“I take pride in being a leader and leading by example with my attitude and my language. I’m working with Rene to build a culture here. We’re on the forefront of cooking at Noma, and we take that very seriously because the whole world watches what we do.”