Matty Matheson’s latest venture isn’t a cookbook or a cutting-edge restaurant. It’s a workwear brand, even though owning his own clothing line hasn’t been a lifelong dream of his, the star chef and potent personality says. He calls the kitchen home: Matheson plays host to a number of YouTube-based cooking shows but also owns several restaurants, his own cast iron pan and cutting board brand, Matheson Cookware, and a farm in Fort Erie, Ontario called Blue Goose Farm, a tribute to his late grandfather’s Prince Edward Island restaurant of the same name.
In an era where everyone is eager to call themselves one, Matheson is a true multi-hyphenate. But he doesn’t do anything half-assed, which is why his books regularly rank on the New York Times best-sellers list, Architectural Digest is hosting tours of his restaurants and we’re, well, here talking to him about his new workwear brand, Rosa Rugosa, which he co-founded with designer Ray Natale. However, the duo did more than simply co-sign on a studio space or lend their initials to an order sheet.
They went all-in: When the pandemic shuttered their chosen factory partner, they bought their machinery and rebuilt the factory line in Parkdale, Matheson’s Toronto neighborhood. At first, after months of just sending spec sheets, waiting a few weeks and then inspecting samples, they were unsure if they could put together a team and truly turn a stack of old machines into a functioning business.
“Everything is scary, especially now… and not being afraid to learn is the scariest thing, right? You need to be able to learn how to do things. Is running a factory the same as opening a restaurant? No, but there are similarities,” Matheson says. “There’s been quite a learning curve, but that speaks to what Rosa is and what I want Rosa to be about… We’re ragtag, and we’re doing this ourselves.”
