Andrew Carter is the owner, operator, and executive chef of The Oxley located in the heart of Yorkville Village, Toronto. A 35-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Andrew has worked extensively in both Europe and North America before settling Canada 20 years ago. During his time in Canada, Andrew has cooked on lines, managed, and built restaurants throughout Toronto.

The Oxley is Andrew’s second venture in Toronto, which today, after over 12 years, stands as an established and trusted neighborhood restaurant offering genuine hospitality to those who live in the Yorkville neighborhood of the city — and for those who have learned of its reputation from farther afield.

Andrew was born and raised in the northwest of England in the early seventies, where his grandfather and father owned and operated their family butcher shop, in the market town of Bury. Working and playing alongside his father at the market as a young boy was Andrew’s first exposure to the business of food. At the age of fifteen, Andrew gained his first paying Job outside of the market at a local catering company, waiting on tables after school. These were formative years, devoted to working hard for good people, something that is at the core of the way Andrew approaches business today. Due to a natural aptitude and confidence around food — and in great part due to his uncompromising home economics teacher — at the age of 16, Andrew secured entry to culinary college, where for the next two years he excelled, while holding down a full -time job in one of Manchester’s large hotels that saw him catching the last bus home at 2AM.  Then arose an opportunity to work on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland during his summer holidays, which he accepted. This was Andrew’s first true experience of fine dining, and more importantly, where he learned the true definition of a chef.

After graduation, Andrew accepted an offer to work in the kitchens of the esteemed and formidable Chef Nico Ladenis in London, England where for the next three years, he honed his culinary skills. Leaving London in 1996 to travel, Andrew landed in Canada for the first time, and quickly secured a position in the kitchen of Herbs Restaurant in Toronto. From this base he travelled from coast to coast, returning to work within the Toronto hospitality industry scene.

In 1999, Andrew pursued further education at the University of Lancaster, England from where he graduated six years later with a BSc in Environmental Science and a MSc in Business Management. Returning to Canada in 2006 he returned to the hospitality industry in Toronto to apply his learnings, to open several restaurants. Now, as the proprietor & executive chef of The Oxley, he continues to bring his years of experience and creativity home to his first loves — food, culture, and hospitality. The success and growth that The Oxley has enjoyed over the past twelve years is, as Andrew will tell you, attributable to working hard for good people.

Follow The Oxley @TheOxleyTO.