Matt Kantor
After starting at TorStar Digital the team desperately needed to refactor the platform. Too many bugs, too many features, not enough people. So we hired development contractors, one of whom was Matt Kantor.
Matt is unassuming. He has a quiet and calm approach to a problem. Our system was falling down on a daily basis but Matt came in, calmly assessed the situation and helped us get to work replacing critical pieces with a new Rails based setup. Matt’s work was impeccable and he meshed will with our existing team and the new contractors.
At the same time I had heard musings from the team that Matt could cook. Little did I know that Matt had been trained at the Culinary Institute of America. Some time after working with us on our software project Matt partnered in a new Toronto restaurant where he was the head chef. It would be a tasting menu, and so hearing that I had to try his cooking and promptly booked a table. I was not disappointed. To this day I think it may be one of the top three meals I’ve ever eaten. In particular he faked me out with the lightest, most pillowy gnocchi I’ve ever eaten. Only when I pressed him on how he got the potato so light he revealed it was in fact, celery root. Brilliant at software and even more brilliant at cooking.
Sadly as with many restaurants it was not destined to be permanent but Matt forever remained in my book a certified genius because he was at least an order of magnitude better than me at two of my passions; software development and cooking. Always try to surround yourself with people that are better than you. It’s why I’ve included Matt on My52.
Recently Matt and his wife Alana learned that their 10 month old son Henry has Myhre Syndrome. It’s a rare condition that affects only about 250 people in the world. I encourage you to read the CTV News article on Henry and consider donating to their GoFundMe campaign.
LinkedIn: /matthewkantor
Twitter: @mattkantor
