Chef collaborations were one of the best trends in 2014 (a nice contrast with all the events requiring chefs to “battle” head to head). That's exactly how the year came to an end at DGS Delicatessen. Co-owners Nick and David Wiseman invited Toki Underground’s Erik Bruner-Yang and Maple Ave/Water & Wall’s Tim Ma to dish out a Chinese banquet on Dec. 23. It was quite the hat tip to the beloved tradition of ordering Chinese on Christmas Eve. We snapped DGS’ Brian Robinson, Tim Ma, Nick Wiseman, Toki Underground’s James Wozniuk and Erik Bruner-Yang during service.

Tim’s kung pao pastrami was the main attraction at the family-style meal, but leading up to the entrée Erik’s egg flower soup had tingling heat, and the Chinese 5 spice beef spare ribs fell right off the bone. Keeping with tradition, no pork was allowed. Diners paid $45 with an option to add wine pairings for $20. Co-owner David Wiseman made his rounds during the meal. He assured us that they’ll try to outdo themselves next year.