Gareth Douglas Carter, age 51, the original Man in “Men With Knives”, died on Thursday, July 1, surrounded by love at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.
He was born on January 15, 1970 to Philip and Barb Carter. Gareth attended St. Andrew’s College and Aurora High School, graduating in 1989.
Legendary curly hair, a love of hockey and golf, high school years rich with wild adventures and Sunday football. Always a maverick, he spun his career backwards, starting with a literal dead-end job as, in his words, a “cemetarian” at Highland Memorial Garden in North York.
Everything changed at his 30th birthday party when he met Julie McDonald, the little sister of Scott, Steve and Duff McDonald. True love has a way of turning a man’s life around, and “Big G” (or simply, “G”), as everyone knew him, soon began pursuing the only job that has ever mattered to him, which was bringing together the people he loved and cooking the greatest meals that most of us have ever eaten.
G and Julie spent the early years of their marital bliss in Wales, where their son Rhys was born a water baby, eventually returning to Collingwood, where their daughter Skye was born.
In 2008, Gareth founded the catering company that would make him a household name and unforgettable piece of the local community, Men With Knives.
An early and passionate specialty in smoked meat eventually broadened into a full-fledged catering menu that fed countless weddings as well as hordes of hungry skiers at the Alpine Ski Club.
The business was such a success that Julie soon joined him, and the couple became one of Collingwood’s favorite providers of culinary wonder.
In addition to their catering specialties, G and Julie also opened The Larder, and, during Covid, provided much-needed food delivery to a hungry and homebound populace with the Epicurean Traveller Dinner Series as his grande finale.
Gareth’s heart was bigger than his appetite, and friends will always remember his infectious enthusiasm for the grill and the griddle, as well as his red hat, mugs full of wine, hearty laugh and overall joie de vivre.
If he touched your food, it was delicious. If he touched your life, you probably laughed.
An inveterate traveller, G and his family took several weeks a year to explore the world (and the world’s food). He personified the idea of carpe diem, so much so that he used up his allotment a little quicker than we expected or wanted.
He is survived by his loving wife, Julie, his beloved son Rhys and his adored daughter Skye, brother Kevin and Alicia, father Philip and Maggie, mother in law Pat and the McDonald clan, the Dingle hearts, the staff like family of Men With Knives, dog Jessie (and Pumpkin the cat) and an uncountable number of close friends whose tables will forever have an empty chair. He will be missed, but we will never forget the man or his taste sensations.
“Lord, I was born a ramblin’ man/Tryin’ to make a livin’ and doin’ the best I can/And when it’s time for leavin’, I hope you’ll undertstand/That I was born a rambin’ man” – The Allman Brothers Band
A celebration for family and friends will be held on July 29th at The New Farm at 430 p.m. With respect for this unique time we are in, more information will follow with consideration for Covid protocols and with more event details including how to attend from a distance. In lieu of flowers, a trust has been set up to support the children he loved, Rhys and Skye Carter, as they embark on their own paths of learning, adventure and love. Friends may visit Gareth’s online Book of Memories at www.fawcettfuneralhomes.com