Growing demand CSI’s Food Bank adds staff, increases hours. Page 6
SPOKE
A LEARNING NEWSROOM FOR JOURNALISM STUDENTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017
CONESTOGA COLLEGE, KITCHENER, ONT.
WWW.SPOKEONLINE.COM
Kitchener foodies! Visit Charcoal for a meal made by a ‘Top Chef.’ Pages 8 & 9 48TH YEAR — NO. 6
PHOTO BY DEEANNA ROLLINS
#CelebrateTheEh was the theme for this year’s Iron Chef competition held by Conestoga’s business and hospitality students. Hospitality and tourism professor Philippe Saraiva (from left), and guest judges Jason Bangerter, Anne Yarymowich and Amy Cronin celebrate their “eh” with a photo-op wearing Canadian gear. For video story, visit www.spokeonline.com. FOR STORY AND MORE PHOTOS SEE PAGE 7
Living with Cancer BY SCOTT BLINKHORN
I was sitting in the passenger seat of my dad’s RAV4, listening to a combination of heavy rain and Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car. It is not usually an appropriate song for Toronto traffic but at 6:30 at night on University Avenue there is not much going on. The soothing and melancholic melody seemed to fit the moment. It had been a long day, 10 hours at the hospital, and at least another hour and a half before we would get home. Bandages covered my arms from a half dozen or so blood tests. Where they put in the IV was a dull cold pain as if they had left a small metal rod in the middle of my forearm. I looked back at my red and black backpack sitting on the back seat. It contained two fantasy novels, a Dungeons and Dragons adventure guide, my gaming laptop and over 100 capsules of an experimental drug that might just contain the cure to my cancer.
The full story of my cancer journey from diagnosis to now is a long one. It involves a huge cast of characters. There will be a grieving mother terrified of losing her baby boy, a stoic father who somehow manages to always be there despite starting down a new career path, a fiery older sister, a new brother-in-law, 13 doctors and dozens of nurses. Like any good cancer story, it is full of drama, tears, pain, blood and vomit (thanks, chemo). The problem is that it also spans four and a half years. The short version of the story takes about 20 minutes. So I will give you the short, short version. The cancer is called rhabdoid sarcoma; it has no risk factors associated with it and no genetic predisposition. In short, it is entirely random. It is an extremely rare cancer that mostly affects children. I was 21 when I was diagnosed. The first thing that the doctors told me was that they were unsure of how to treat an adult with this
disease, so they decided to try the treatment they use on children and see if it worked. Unlike other medical treatments which are toned down for kids, chemo is actually far harsher. Kids, it turns out, are a lot tougher than adults. The prognosis was very close to terminal. The tumor was in my pelvis and was almost the size of a basketball. Deciding to accept treatment was a gamble, a roll of the dice; there was no guarantee it would work. Treatment involved nine rounds of chemo, 28 rounds of radiation and three major surgeries. It also required another three corrective surgeries and a half dozen or so procedures. My first surgery lasted 22 hours, and I almost bled out twice. They took out my tumor but also took out my bladder, prostate and a bunch of my intestines. It also left me with back problems, nerve pain and a bad leg. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Second-year Conestoga College journalism – print student Scott Blinkhorn sleeps during his first chemotherapy treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.
NEWS
Page 2 s SPOKE
Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
FILBERT CARTOONS
Random questions answered by random students
What is the No. 1 thing on your bucket list?
“Revisit the Louvre in Paris. I went on a trip there in Grade 12 and I had to leave the museum early because a friend was having a breakdown.” Luke Schulz, second-year broadcast radio
Meditation increases mindfulness BY SHAFAQ PARWEZ
“Be in a full-fledged riot. I’d be part of a revolution. It would be kind of fun to do in a mass amount of people.” Ben Vautour, second-year business
“Meet a famous movie director and get the insight into how they create their films.” Gord Adams, second-year business
“I want to be rich so I can buy and afford hairless cats.” Marissa Rosa, second-year biotechnology technician
“Visit Australia. I want to live there and enjoy the experience for a year. I want to travel before I start my career.” Mitch Hanlon, second-year business
“Travel: live in my car for a month, backpack in Europe, climb a mountain.” Marley Roga, second-year biotechnology technician
Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!
A group of 10 women listen attentively and take notes as their instructor delivers a lesson on meditation. Each one of them agrees that he has a soothing voice which makes them feel at peace. Di Tang, an architect and digital media artist by profession, has been practising the art of meditation for most of his life. In May 2015 he began teaching it with some modifications he introduced himself. Tang practises and teaches Benjui meditation, which derives its principles from Mahasati meditation which has been taught and observed in East Asia for more than 150 years. He holds a series of classes at the Idea Exchange in Cambridge. The main reason why Tang decided to modify the existing practises of Mahasati meditation was because of a lack of movement in it. He has introduced several hand movements which help distract the human mind. Benjui meditation trains the mind to stay focused in the middle of distraction. Tang said this form of meditation trains people to be mindful of everything in their surroundings. The key, however, is not to force oneself to focus and pay attention all the time but to allow the practise to become a habit naturally. Benjui meditation upholds the idea that the mind and body have free will and every person needs to just observe and feel the way their body acts. “It is an integrative mindful method,” said Tang. “It is a systematic meditation originated by me.” Tang uses PowerPoint presentations, discussion and practise times to teach his students how to meditate accord-
PHOTO BY SHAFAQ PARWEZ
Di Tang, a meditation instructor, teaches Benjui, a new method of meditation which incorporates new and old methods to train people to stay focused naturally despite having distractions all around them. The seminar was held at Idea Exchange in Cambridge on Feb. 4. ing to the Benjui method. The attendees of the class said practising this art made them feel more peaceful. Cara Kernaghan, an elementary school teacher in Kitchener, said it allowed her to break away from a constant state of hyper focusing. “I just found that it’s a perfect opportunity to have the time to still the mind,” she said. “I am interested in the mind and body connection; I think we need to control our mind so that it does not contribute to illness in the body.” Tang said Benjui is not an escape from our daily lives; it is an incorporation of meditation in our routine chores. When movement in our daily lives distracts us, Tang said to let it in and then let it flow out. “In this method we focus
on cultivation of wisdom. When it recognizes or notices something is wrong even with distraction, you don’t need to force your mind to correct it; you do it naturally.” Tang said this form of meditation is not restricted by age, gender or religion. There is no specific way of sitting or meditating. Tang does not claim any miraculous memory or health benefits from this meditation, but did say participants should have increased awareness, mindfulness and less stress which naturally makes them less jealous and more aware of the present moment. “That is the result but not the purpose,” he said. The natural focus on details and the present moment, he said, makes it all come naturally.
NEWS
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
A four-year-long cancer battle
SPOKE s Page 3
Scott Blinkhorn, left, is shown shortly before his cancer surgery. You can see the swelling caused by chemo. Below, after the surgery he had to relearn how to walk which took several months. Bottom, Blinkhorn lays in his bed at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, recovering from the 22-hour operation. PHOTOS SUBMITTED
“
I am 25 now and my life is the furthest thing from average. — Scott Blinkhorn
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
During recovery, I had to learn how to walk again, which I now manage to mostly do without a limp. I almost died of an infection, and one of my wounds opened up. It took three months for it to close again. After all of that my cancer decided that it didn’t very much feel like going away forever, thank you very much, and decided to set up shop in my lungs. This required lung surgery. They got the cancer out and only had to take a little bit of lung. A year later they found more cancer in the same lung, and so the surgery had to be repeated. For those of you who smoke, let me tell you, your future is not particularly pleasant. A year and a half after the last surgery, I was feeling good. I had finished my first year at Conestoga, I was starting to date again, and then I was told that the cancer had moved into my other lung. My oncologist gave me two options. A third lung surgery, or an experimental drug that could potentially “cure” my cancer or, at the very least, stop it from spreading and growing. I opted for the experimental treatment. Now I take eight pills a day, four in the morning, four in the evening. The side effects are relatively mild, a little nausea and some heartburn. I do, however, have to go to Toronto more than I would like, every two weeks. The trial also involves a lot of blood tests but it still beat surgery. There is not much I can say about the drug I am taking – clinical trials are like that. I can say that it is designed to
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target proteins in rhabdoid sarcoma and related cancers. Without the protein the cancer cells break down and die. It does, however, make a normal life difficult. I am 25 now and my life is the furthest thing from average that I could imagine. On the surface it is not that different. I look like a relatively fit guy somewhere between 25-30, I’m bald (thanks, chemo), which is a bit abnormal but my beard helps make up for it. A physiotherapist might catch my slight limp but that is about it. Below the surface, however, things are different. My body is a patchwork of scars. There is the big one which runs from my sternum down my stomach to my pelvis and curves into my groin. I have another on my butt that split open following my first surgery. The one on my back is from my two lung surgeries, the one on my chest is where they put the power port in and there is one on my stomach. More noticeable than the scars is a plastic bag which hangs off my stomach. It is my stoma. My urine goes into this bag. It also is one of the biggest sources of body shame you could imagine. I say one of the biggest because I used to have two stomas. Thankfully the other one, which dealt with my more solid waste, has been reversed. The only reminder of it is the scar on my stomach. Unfortunately, the surgery that restored my digestive system also gave me several digestive problems. There are a lot of foods which give me problems now that never used to, which means I spend more time on the toilet than I would like.
All of these things make it hard for me to do normal things. Working out, for example, is hard when you have a weak leg, and stressful when you’re constantly worrying if your shirt is covering your bag. It only takes one person openly staring at you as if you are some sort of freak from a low-budget horror movie to turn you off of the experience. By far the most difficult thing is dating, which, if I am honest, is already one of the hardest things to deal with in life. For me, I don’t just have to worry about the normal stuff like “how much affection do I show?” or “how do I ask her to be exclusive?” I have to find a way to tell someone, “Oh, I have cancer, and a bag of urine attached to my stomach and a few other problems.” Just thinking about it is nauseating or maybe it’s the pills. The worst part about it all is the isolation. Nobody understands what it is I am going through. If you go through a breakup people have an idea of how that feels; people know how to react. When you are battered, bruised, scared, exhausted and living with a disease that could kill you, nobody knows how to react. At this point you must be thinking, wow, this person’s life sounds rather unpleasant and he sounds rather miserable. You would be wrong. Amazingly, despite all the things I have to deal with I am genuinely happy. How could I not be? At the end of the day I am alive, and there is a chance my cancer will be cured. Here is to hoping the dice fall in my favour.
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Internet increases understanding
COMMENTARY
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
BY MATTHEW EVANGELISTA
How would you describe yourself? Twenty years ago the definitive answer would have been to describe a collection of clothing, social circles, hobbies and beliefs. Every detail, small or large, physical or opinion, added to identity. The public persona was an accurate marker for character. This led to a massive cultural division between radically different groups. Hippies, yuppies, skinheads, punks and everyone in between, judged and were judged by that public persona. But the Internet has broken down these walls of culture and personality and bridged the division. It has allowed anybody to understand everything. It has redefined thought and opinion, and given us a first-hand view at the countless wonderful and disgusting parts of human culture. The Internet defies description, and it defies to be described. It changes and breathes as billions of voices discuss and create on an equal platform. It exists in another world largely mirroring our own, through chat rooms and image boards and the constant discourse of interests and ideas. Humanity is better off. We’re happier and better informed than we’ve ever been, and for every Internet horror story, five positive ones take its place. The Internet is one of, if not the most, empathetic of our creations. It inspires understanding on a global and voluntary level. Without it we would be ignorant to the whys and the hows of people and their situations. Our global view would be completely different. Free speech without an anonymous platform would be completely different. So while arguments are plentiful on the negative effects this new technology has on our psyche, those stories and reports are only distractions. Are we more rude, do we covet more and do we really lie to ourselves and others on social media? The answer is no. The Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, an integral part of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, concluded in 2009 that when using the Internet, sections of our brain receive higher signal intensity. This means we have better control over our decision-making and are capable of more complex reasoning. The general effect of the Internet in 2017 is more laughter and more camaraderie. It has fostered a global community that builds the individual up and makes us more empathetic individuals who strive to be skilled, friendlier, healthier and smarter. On the Internet it doesn’t matter if you’re a punk or a nerd. What matters is how you treat one another. The views herein represent the position of the newspaper, not necessarily the author.
Letters are welcome Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and telephone number of the writer. Writers will be contacted for verification. No unsigned letters will be published. Letters should be no longer
than 500 words. Spoke reserves the right to edit any letter for publication. Address correspondence to: The Editor, Spoke, 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ont., N2G 4M4
Who is the justice system really helping?
Dismissed cases raise questions Over 10,000 Canadian dismissed cases of sexual assault are now being investigated due to the shocking piece published by the Globe and Mail. The good news is that journalists have been able to make a real difference. Exposing flaws in the system has made people re-evaluate the investigative process performed by police. Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale called on all police agencies to re-examine their cases and look closely at their procedures. There have been some holdouts, but most are taking action. These dismissed cases need to be looked into – absolutely, but what does that mean? What does that guarantee? Will there be any results? According to the Globe and Mail, the average rate of reported cases dismissed as unfounded is one in five. Some cities have a higher number of dismissed cases than others. Obviously investigators felt that a crime didn’t occur. Will these cases be re-evaluated by the same officers? What will happen when the police realize that a crime actually occurred?
Joy Struthers Opinion
How will they proceed? The problem in part will be how the police look at past cases and also what they do moving forward. It is uncertain if there will be any consistent policies throughout all police forces. Will it be too late in these cases to gather more evidence? If cases are deemed unfounded, that might mean that there is little or no proof left. Will women be re-traumatized? If it wasn’t hard enough to live through sexual assault and not be believed by law enforcement, to relive the experience could be devastating. It would also be difficult to trust the very people who didn’t take them seriously the first time. Having a special team or properly trained individuals to deal with opening these cases would be beneficial to everyone. Extra officers, training, counsellors and possibly
teams of people are going to cost money. Will funding be available? The police forces need to think a few steps ahead and figure out how they are going to do this. Will it be a priority for them? Different places have different priorities and tasks they are responsible for. Looking into past sexual assault cases could take time, especially if they have to open full investigations. When will they do this? Over what period of time? The facts about dismissed sexual assault cases raise a lot of questions about how we can change what happens to women who are assaulted, how they are treated by police if they come forward and how their cases are investigated. The victims’ perceptions may never be changed. Their cases might never be reopened, and charges might not ever be filed against perpetrators. A number of women who are discouraged with the system are already not coming forward. This number might become greater. It is good that these cases are being looked at, but no one is saying what will actually be done about them.
SPOKE
IS PUBLISHED AND PRODUCED WEEKLY BY THE JOURNALISM STUDENTS OF CONESTOGA COLLEGE Editor: DeeAnna Rollins Assignment Editor: Robert Janes Advertising Manager: James Wells Spoke Online Editors: Scott Blinkhorn, Cassidy Foulds
Production Managers: Matthew Evangelista, Roland Fleming Photo Editors (print): Joy Struthers, Nicole Clark Photo Editors (online): Andrew Benney, Riley Linseman, Wendy Huenul-Valdes
Social Media Editors: Shafaq Parwez, Meghan Weatherall, Brandy Fulton Circulation Manager: Sharon Samuel Faculty Supervisor and Adviser: Christina Jonas
Spoke’s address is 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4M4. Phone: 519-748-5220, ext. 3691, 3692, 3693, 3694 Fax: 519-748-3534 Email: spoke@conestogac.on.ca Website: www.spokeonline.com
The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of Conestoga College. Spoke shall not be liable for any damages arising out of errors in advertising beyond the amount paid for the space. Letters to the editor are subject to acceptance or rejection and should be clearly written or typed; a MS Word file would be helpful. Letters must not contain any libellous statements.
NEWS
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
SPOKE s Page 5
Don’t worry, it’s just stress BY BRANDY FULTON
As I slowly woke up, I assumed it was early, because my alarm had not gone off. I rolled over to check my phone – a normal ritual every morning, and my eyes grew wide as I read the time. It was 9:40 and I had a 15-minute drive ahead of me. It was my first couple of months away from home, and I had never been late to church before. I jumped out of bed, threw on the first outfit I saw in my closet and rushed out the door. Driving faster than I should of, I made it to the community centre where the congregation met every Sunday morning only five minutes late. I quickly shuffled into the main gym, scanning the room for the family I often sat with. My eyes made it across the room without a familiar face. I scanned again, slowly walking toward the usual row where they sat, and nothing, not even their youngest son’s hockey jacket, or the mom’s iconic coffee mug on a chair in the row ahead. I slowly sat down, the only person in my row. I could feel people’s glares. “Maybe they are just running late,” I thought to myself, pulling out my phone. After a quick texting conversation I had an answer. They weren’t coming and now I was alone.
The singing portion quickly finished, the congregation sat and the pastor started to speak. I still felt like people in the rows behind me were watching my every move. My hands grew sweaty and the pastor sounded like a parent from Charlie Brown. Even as a child, sitting through a service never felt as long as this. A prayer finished off the morning and I got out of my seat and into the car faster than I had done earlier that morning. But I didn’t move. I sat in my car and processed the last hour and a half. This was more than stress. This was the icing on the cake after weeks of being embarrassed because of other people’s actions, sleepless nights and unexplainable times were I just felt off and slept most of the day. For most of my life I would freak out over nothing, clean to keep calm and try to have everything under control at all times, even on my days off. Anxiety, depression and high levels of stress flooded my head without warning. I had moved an hour and a half drive away from home. I was now in control of my own life and instead of that bringing freedom and excitement it left me with weeks of counselling, telling a stranger my feelings. And doing what I do best, I researched like crazy to fully understand. But the more I
read, the more it seemed like the world just thought I was too stressed. The Internet made me think I was telling myself a lie, that I was one of those people who said they were anxious but was just worried. We are now a part of a society where “everyone has anxiety.” Some people believe mental disorders are used as an excuse while others believe there is a quick fix. My anxiety comes from years of bullying and hiding my emotions and I can tell you that it is not as simple as telling me to push through it. Sometimes I assume people are talking about me, at other times I assume I will fail and no matter what I do I think to myself, there is someone way better than me so why should I even bother. I came to that realization two years ago, and I still don’t know 100 per cent why I am like that. There are people within Conestoga’s walls who suffer from crippling depression and are told to just wake up and get out of bed. The next time you feel sad and say you’re depressed, think of the number of people you have seen in your day and remember that eight per cent of adults will experience a major depression in their lives. Anxiety is not just being stressed over a late paper.
Depression is more than being sad that your crush didn’t text back. It is real. I
am more than just stressed out, and taking a day off will not fix that.
DOGS THE STARS AT DOGSLOVERSDAYS
PHOTO BY NICOLE CLARK
Taryn Thomson holds her French bulldog named Lola for the camera at DogLoversDays at Bingemans on Feb. 11. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.
NEWS
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CSI’s Food Bank goes full-time
BY MATTHEW EVANGELISTA
Conestoga Students Inc. has hired another employee and lengthened its Food Bank hours in an effort to keep up with increasing demand. Funded by CSI in collaboration with the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, the service operates using a “hamper system” in which students who register are given a bag of emergency food and hygiene supplies once a month. The Food Bank also allows students to pick two extra items from its cabinet, which includes canned food, sanitary pads for women or snacks. In September and October 2016 the Food Bank gained considerable and record attention from students. CSI estimated they provided hampers to over 100 students in November, and in January, at a board of directors meeting, members were told CSI handed out 23 hampers a day. While CSI has refused to comment on the exact number of students registered for this service, they said that they are prepared for those numbers to grow.
However, even with longer hours, another employee and more dedicated funding, some people are concerned that some of the food being handed out is expired. CSI said they check with the food providers to make sure it’s safe and make it clear to the receiver of the hamper that the food is past the “best before” date. “We get a lot of expired food from distributors. In all reality the landfills are filling up with food,” said Eleanor Patton, a longtime worker at CSI’s Food Bank who plans on working with food banks after graduating from Conestoga. “If somebody’s really hungry they’re going to eat it,” she said. Most food is vacuum sealed and good for six months after the expiration date, so rather than throw food away CSI leaves it up to the students to accept or reject expired food. The library at the Doon
campus allows students to donate food for their overdue library fees, and those donations are handed over to the Food Bank. Students are also invited to donate food to the bank which is located right by Door 3 on the Doon campus. Students who find themselves in an emergency can register for a hamper with their OneCard at any of the campus’s food banks. The process takes about 10 minutes and all personal information is kept confidential. “We do our best to let them (students) know that it’s completely normal, that it’s completely acceptable, that this service is there for them. It is an emergency relief service,” said Laurita Martynowski, CSI’s campus service co-ordinator. The Food Bank also gives away free fruit at their offices and hosts a monthly Farmers Market. All dates for these events and the updated times of operation for the Doon, Cambridge and Waterloo campuses’ food banks are listed on CSI’s website, www.conestogastudents.com, under their food services tab.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
GUELPH IN FAVOUR OF ELECTORAL REFORM
PHOTOS BY JOY STRUTHERS
Guelph citizens gather in protest of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent decision to back out of his plan to change the way people vote in federal elections in Canada. The group carried signs and made speeches in front of Liberal MP Lloyd Longfield’s office Feb. 11 before many of them marched through the downtown streets.
CONESTOGA CONDORS FACE OFF AGAINST HUMBER HAWKS
PHOTO BY ANDREW BENNEY
Tori Kozak, outside hitter for Conestoga Condors women’s volleyball team, serves against the Humber Hawks on Feb. 9. The Condors lost three straight sets to the Hawks, who are ranked second in the country. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.
Protesters pose for photos in Guelph Feb. 11 in front of Longfield’s office, to send a message to the Liberal party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They support the long-held plan for electoral reform in Canada, but the Prime Minister recently decided to abandon his promise to change the way Canadians vote in federal elections.
NEWS
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
SPOKE s Page 7
Area chefs go head to head
Conestoga also puts culinary students’ skills to the test BY MEGHAN WEATHERALL
Students in Conestoga’s twoyear culinary management program went head-to-head in a cook-off on Feb. 9, all hoping to win the Iron Chef title or People’s Choice award. Ten local restaurants accepted the opportunity to work with the students to create a dish that featured pork. Students who volunteered to participate were teamed up with restaurant chefs to give them real-life experience. “Tonight is like our only chance to work with experienced chefs,” said Rita Renjith, a secondyear culinary management student. “The chef was very helpful and innovating from the start until the end.” Teammate Baylee Bourke agreed that this opportunity puts the skills they’ve been learning for two years to the test. “You learn about it in class,” said Bourke. “You’re seeing demos, but you don’t really experience it and learn it until you are doing it yourself.” Renjith and Bourke, along with their classmate Soyoung Kim, were partnered with Jeritt Raney, executive chef, and Dem Neumann, banquet chef, from Proof Kitchen and Lounge.
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There are a lot of things I’m looking for. The main thing is taste. Taste is the winner every time. — Jason Bangerter
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Each restaurant participating was given creative freedom on how to dress their pork and present it to the judges. TWH Social chose to make theirs into a tasty taco loaded with flavour. “Tonight we are making braised pork shoulder on bantik flatbread,” said Tyler Adams, chef. “It’s a griddled cooked bread with pork shoulder that was cured overnight, cold smoked, roasted with avocado, sriracha and crispy pork skin. There is pickled apple and celery.” Once the clock struck 7 p.m., locals who bought tickets to the event made lines at the different cooking stations for their chance to try out the food. At the same time, seated near the stage, the
two celebrity judges, Anne Yarymowich of Food Network’s Chopped Canada, and Jason Bangerter, executive chef at Langdon Hall, were joined by guest judge, Amy Cronin, an Ontario Pork board of director, to start the blind taste testing. The judges were given a piece of paper to rate each dish on. The only information given was each number corresponded with one of the teams. “I am really looking forward to judging tonight and to be able to go talk with the culinary students and see how they are preparing pork in different ways,” said Cronin. “I am going to look at the way it is presented, the way that it tastes. As I am tasting it, I’m going to see if it’s moist or dry.” Bangerter said, “There are a lot of things I’m looking for. The main thing is taste. Taste is the winner every time. What I found tonight is that everything is completely different, which is very exciting. There is everything from tourtiere to traditional barbecue, but then also Korean influence and other Asian influences.” The event was sponsored by Ontario Pork and raised $16,000 for scholarships for the college’s culinary students. Two prizes were awarded. The Iron Chef 2017 title was won by Lancaster Smokehouse BBQ Restaurant and Caterer and their students; the runner-up was Borealis Grille and Bar. Taking home the People’s Choice award was Borealis Grille and Bar. The Bauer Kitchen was the runner-up. “Pork, cabbage and potato,” said Yarymowich about the winning team’s dish. “It was like a marriage. It honoured the region and pork. This dish really showed skill. The students who were working with this team must have learned a lot.” Though the event was focused on the food, they were also celebrating Canada’s 150 birthday. Julia Dowling, an event management student, and her group pitched the idea #CelebrateTheEh. “This has literally been my baby since October,” said Dowling. “It got chosen and then we elected our project managers, and the class elected me and Maxine.” Conestoga’s hospitality students were also on hand, keeping the place clean for attendees and assisting them if there were any questions.
PHOTOS BY MEGHAN WEATHERALL
Above, Conestoga culinary management students Emilee Macmillan-Covey, Eunjun Choo and Seokyung Park were teamed up with TWH Social at the Iron Chef 2017 competition Feb. 9. Bottom left: Second-year hospitality management student Sunny Rai sprinkles salt like a pro to keep the ice from melting into puddles at the competition. Bottom right: Judges Amy Cronin (from left), Anne Yarymowich and Jason Bangerter taste the food. None of them knew who created the dishes.
PHOTO BY DEEANNA ROLLINS
FEATURE
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Kitchener’s ‘Top Chef’
BY CASSIDY FOULDS
“Look at that.” Terry Salmond held his phone, grinning down at a video of a red cap bolete mushroom that he’d found while out foraging. He’d snapped the cap in half, revealing the quickly-oxidizing flesh on the inside. The flesh quickly shifted colours, indicating it was unfit for consumption. “That’s cool, right? The way it changes to blue like that?” He sits in a homey little Portuguese restaurant called Nova Era in Kitchener. In front of him is a plate of four pastel de natas (a Portuguese egg tart pastry) to go and a mug of black coffee. Nova Era is one of his favourite cafés in the area, along with The Yeti Café, barely a block away. It should hardly be surprising that he’s such a foodie, since food is one of Salmond’s many passions. Upon hearing his name, some may say that Salmond isn’t just any chef, thanks, in part, to his coming in second on Top Chef Canada’s fourth season. “I had one woman grab me at the grocery store. She said ‘Terry!’ I turned, and I could see by the look on her face that she realized I had no idea who she was, and that I probably looked offended or weirded out,” he said. “Why would you grab someone at the grocery store? Someone you don’t know? Can you imagine grabbing someone like that? It would be such a weird moment. Especially if you didn’t know them. She apologized and explained that she saw me on Top Chef. I said, ‘Oh, OK, uh, hi?’ This is just my job, and I love my job, but I am by no means a celebrity. I’m pretty much exactly the same as I was before I was on TV, other than how much I’ve learned and matured.” Salmond wears many hats. He is the executive chef at the Charcoal Steakhouse in Kitchener, a chef instructor at Conestoga College, a consultant and a father. He tested his culinary skills on the television show Top Chef Canada, and is a passionate professional who excels at his job. Although he doesn’t mind sharing his experience on the show, he finds that he’s lost his “normal guy” status after being in the limelight. After Top Chef, Salmond received different offers for a variety of deals. He also did quite a few media interviews. He found, however, that most of the interviews focused heavily on his Top Chef experience. In reality, the experience on the show isn’t what’s
PHOTO BY CASSIDY FOULDS
Despite dropping out of high school at 18, Executive Chef Terry Salmond is ambitious. He plans on opening at least eight of his own restaurants by 2045. important – Salmond’s just a great guy with a huge passion for what he does. His passion for all things culinary developed while he worked at the Marché Place in Toronto, where he started off as a line cook with no interest in becoming a chef. “It was just a job, I only did it to make money” he said. “And I had this real douchebag boss. He just sucked. He was just like every other chef I knew at that time. Like, a loser dropout, a drug addict, an alcoholic, a douchebag, just, the list went on. It just sucked. It wasn’t something I aspired to be, and I certainly didn’t look up to the people I worked for.” Salmond’s boss was fired and replaced, which became a game changer for the soon-to-be chef. Seeing a chef who took himself and his profession seriously gave Salmond a new outlook on the culinary world. “He was very different from every chef I’d ever met. I mean like night and day. Every other chef I’d met had vices, and women problems, and gambling addictions and just nasty stuff,” said Salmond. “Most of them were criminals, for what it was worth. But this guy was extremely well-spoken. He spoke four or five languages. He was welldressed. Highly intelligent.”
Salmond was able to impress this new chef by, as he said, ‘doing OK at his job.’ The next day, when he came into work, he was offered to learn the trade and become a chef. After doing that for a while, Salmond was moved to Palavrion, a pretty big restaurant in Toronto. Then he was moved to The Keg. He soon realized his skill set wasn’t as strong as he wanted it to be, especially while working somewhere so refined. So he found the highest rated Toronto restaurant he could, walked in and asked for a position. “They weren’t hiring at the time, so I offered to work for free, and they took me up on it,” Salmond said. “By the end of the week, they fired the guy who was working next to me and they said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve got a job,’ and that was that. From then on I never even considered another route.” Even when he applied to Top Chef Canada Salmond wasn’t overly interested in getting a spot on the show. The only reason he applied was because the winner of season three, Matthew Stowe, was a chef that he had worked with from 2004 to 2008. “I thought, ‘Hell, if Matt could win, I could win!’” Salmond laughed. “I came
in second. I didn’t win. But that was my thought process, that if Matt could make it then I could totally make it. I applied, I got on the show, and the rest is history.” Truthfully, Salmond admitted that he wasn’t initially overly thrilled to have even gotten the spot. “I remember thinking when they told me that I got in, ‘Oh God, no, now I actually have to do this.’ I wasn’t that excited about it. I don’t know. People had pushed me to do it, but it didn’t feel right. It felt dry. But it is very much in real competition, and they pressed that point a lot.” Salmond said television shows aren’t nearly as glamorous as they’re made out to be, even recalling the experience to be a bit “prison-like.” Like the rest of the contestants, Salmond was “locked up” for the first 48 hours and spent two days in his hotel room. When they were finally allowed to leave, they weren’t allowed to speak to each other. Rules were dictated to them and then they were transported in vehicles with blacked-out windows to the studio, where they were locked up again in a room with blacked-out windows. With knives in hand, they were brought to the kitchen studio, competed in their first
challenge, and realized that’s how it would be from then on. They weren’t allowed phones, music, books, pen and paper or TV. They weren’t allowed to know the last names of the other contestants, and they weren’t allowed to talk about the competition. They weren’t allowed to talk too in-depth about any events either, and could only talk to each other about each other. “They wanted to psych you out, make you crazy so you’d do crazy, stupid stuff,” said Salmond. “Here’s the trick to it: Real chefs deal with that all the time. So they weed out the crappy chefs right away because the good chefs actually know that game. That’s life, right? At the final five, we were all thinking, ‘OK, so now the real competition starts.’” Though Salmond didn’t win, he still takes pride in just how close he actually got. He also takes pride in the progress he’s made since dropping out of school at 18. Salmond went back to night school at 19, which he finished, and moved to Toronto to start selling vacuum cleaners in Scarborough. “Not the best decision, ah, career-wise,” he admitted. “Did a few other really crappy sales jobs before landing a job at Marche as a line cook.”
FEATURE
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
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wears many hats At the Marche, Salmond learned the ins and outs of working in the kitchen. He was able to reduce the learning curve by becoming friends with the best cook in the kitchen and finding himself determined to be better than them. “I’d notice that someone is really good. I’d hang out with them in their station or whatever, work beside them, watch what they’re doing, copy his moves, whatever,” he said. “Eventually, I’d time him, and then I’d work to be faster than him.” Learning in a classroom environment was something Salmond always struggled with. It was why he’d left high school at 18, and it was why he didn’t finish Conestoga College’s culinary apprenticeship training program. “I had a teacher in Grade 7, a Mr. Stewarts or something like that, who taught me algebra. I just remember asking him questions constantly like, ‘I don’t understand this. Why does X = Y? Why? That doesn’t make any sense.’” Salmond paused, and then added, “Yeah, maybe I was sarcastic and a little annoying, but he just kept kicking me out. I remember being so mad. I wasn’t getting an olive
branch of any kind. I wasn’t being helpful, I’m sure, and so it was right around that time I decided I don’t really care about school, that I’m going to put all the effort into myself. It was a selfish thing to do at the time. In the long run, it worked out – but I got lucky. I don’t think it was very smart to do. But I just remember deciding in Grade 7 that school doesn’t work for me.” Perhaps it was a selfish thing to do. But he was right. He got lucky. Very lucky. Now, Salmond has a whole slew of anecdotes under his belt that he can share. These range from his time on Top Chef and post-Top Chef, to his long treks for mushrooms or day-long scavenging in freezing, ankle-high stream water for watercress while working at Langdon Hall, his strange and perhaps awkward experiences in finding his way into new positions and even to his interactions with other chefs. Last February, Salmond and his wife started a business called Chow Dumpling in Kitchener with the idea that they could develop a product and community, and eventually open a full-scale restaurant. By 2045, he hopes to have eight restaurants in
southern Ontario and one or two in Victoria. He’s also writing a book with a friend – and it’s not a cookbook. Salmond has also contemplated taking another stab at Top Chef, now that he’s in the right mindset. When asked whether he may return, Salmond said: “Yeah, actually … In fact, I just might. Yeah. But I would prepare to win.” It was the kind of response that warranted a slight laugh. But Salmond held his pokerface. He was serious. He meant business. “I was not mentally prepared to win. I went in thinking I didn’t want to lose. Even though I did lose, I did very well. It was that last mental hurdle that I didn’t have the maturity to make it over. Now, I would think I’m prepared to win, completely and totally mentally prepared to win.” Along with humming and hawing over the idea of potentially returning to Top Chef, Salmond also has an eye on Cutthroat Kitchen, a show hosted by the ever-devious and maniacally hilarious Alton Brown, a show in which money is given to the contestants so that they can buy strange and esoteric sabotages to hinder the other contestants.
“I would literally spend every dime to screw with people just to make it fun. Cutthroat Kitchen would be fun as hell. It would be so fun to watch them question why I’m like this, and I’d just be like, ‘I dunno. Mehahaha! It’s not personal, it’s just fun for me!’” The sheer amount of entertainment he got purely from the thought of it all should be enough cause for concern for other contestants if Salmond ever were to decide to try his hand at Cutthroat Kitchen. As for his advice for those aspiring to work in the culinary profession? Don’t drink on work days. Don’t do hard drugs, and be aware that holidays are off the table. “Every Easter, every Mother’s Day, every Christmas, every Valentine’s Day … Forget it, it’s not happening. I have chefs tell me they want to spend Christmas off with their families – that’s nice. Change careers. Because for the next 10 years you won’t have Christmas off, and you need to be OK with that. Your family has to be OK with that,” Salmond said, not to be harsh but to be real. “We got into the habit of it. We would have Christmas early, Thanksgiving early, my
wife and I would celebrate Valentine’s Day the week before or after. You just had to be OK with it, and you have to have people in your life who support you. “I remember the first time I got to be home on Christmas Day, my mom cried. Ten years, and finally I came home on Christmas Day, and she just lost her shit,” he said. Salmond reminds young cooks to be wary of the way chefs and chef lifestyles are displayed on television or Instagram. It seems all so very glamorous until the real work has to be done. He notes that young chefs can use places like Instagram and YouTube for personal branding, adding it is important to have a wide range of examples of work, and that creating your image and your portfolio will help you land the job you want. Salmond’s Instagram handle is terrysalmond, where pictures of dishes, videos of his mushroom foraging escapades and adventures from the kitchen can be found. His Twitter handle is @ TerrySalmond. Finally, the business he and his wife have started also has a website, which can be found at chow-dumpling.myshopify. com.
FUN & GAMES
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Useless Facts
Oh Cliff!
horoscope
The giant red star, Betelgeuse, has a diameter larger than that of the Earth’s orbit around the sun.
Week of February 21, 2017
Aries
March 21 April 19 You always try to solve everyone else’s problems; start worrying about yourself first and you’ll feel a sudden weight lift off of your shoulders.
Taurus April 20 May 20
Try not to be so predictable for a change. Do something out of your comfort zone and you’ll get a sudden pang of freedom.
Gemini May 21 June 21
Let the inner you shine through; you may be shy but once your real personality comes to the surface, your forwardness is appreciated by others.
Cancer June 22 July 22
Your family may be far away in distance, but they will always be in your heart. Contact them this week, they may need someone to talk to.
Leo
July 23 August 22 You may have to tell a lie to keep someone safe. Don’t let that get you down. You did it for a good cause!
Virgo
August 23 September 22 Your independence may be important to you, but this week you should let people help you with anything you may need.
Libra
Hummingbirds are the only animals that can fly backwards.
September 23 October 22
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
Tell people how you are really feeling. They will be there for you if you just open up a little bit.
Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
Scorpio
Peanuts are one of ingredients in dynamite.
October 23 November 21 A little bit of wine never hurt nobody. Crack open a bottle and let the juices flow.
the
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
Sudoku Puzzle
Sagittarius November 22 December 21
Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1-9, without repeating any.
An unexpected trip or expense may be in your future and in order to go you are going to have to start saving money now!
Capricorn December 22 January 19
Remember to be open with the people in your life and don’t let other people get in the way of your relationships.
Aquarius January 20 February 18
People look up to you, but that doesn’t mean you should let them be followers. Let them make their own decisions and mistakes.
Pisces
February 19 March 20 Make some time for yourself in what is your, most likely, very busy schedule. Relax, take a break and maybe even read a book.
Diodonna Winona dabbles in forces beyond mortal comprehension. She also enjoys people watching and coffee.
Word Search
NEWS
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Mentally ill lack housing
Waterloo Region is not doing enough for its citizens with mental illness. Too often they are left behind and it doesn’t just hurt them, it hurts all of us. People struggling with mental illness are more likely to struggle with consistent poverty, and often have trouble holding down a job. As such, they also often have trouble affording a place to live. As a single person in Waterloo Region you can expect to pay an average of approximately $830 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. For someone who is struggling with mental illness, and hasn’t been able to keep a job, they will likely be surviving off Ontario Works. The maximum allowance from this agency is a little over $700 for a single person. So, to find one’s own apartment, let alone buy food, is nearly impossible. What options does this leave for someone who is mentally ill? You might be thinking, “Why don’t they just go on disability if they are mentally
ill?” It’s a valid question, but the process of getting benefits is often one that takes time, patience and stability. I have personally met people whose mental states would surely warrant the status of being disabled, but oftentimes the very nature of their mental illness prevents them from being able to complete the process. The Ontario Disability Support Program does provide a maximum of about $1,100 a month, but even that leaves little to spare after rent. This means that a person with mental illness will likely have to find alternatives to renting their own onebedroom apartment. So what are the alternatives? Realistically, on a maximum income of $700 a month, a person is going to have to share a space with someone to make basic survival affordable. Unfortunately, many mental illnesses mean the person doesn’t do well living in close quarters with others. This means that many find themselves constantly moving from one place to
New program for students with exceptionalities BY DEEANNA ROLLINS
Individuals with exceptionalities, a term used to describe a multitude of needs within a group of students, can experience college life and enhance their educational skills at Conestoga with the new community integration through co-operative education (CICE) program. This two-year certificate program was introduced to Conestoga in January 2015. “There has been such a need for a program like this in the community,” said Shannon Lipskie, manager of apprenticeship and special programs. “Our program is inclusive. We take people with all different learning needs,” she said. Zack Marsh, a CICE graduate said, “It was awesome to have the same opportunities that normal students would have had.” People who apply to the program have to undergo a faceto-face group interview and an individual questionnaire before acceptance. These things help determine if the applicant meets the admission criteria. “We don’t indicate (acceptances) based solely on what their academic
skill level is; it’s their overall need for modifications,” said Lipskie. The applicant must have a level of independence that does not require constant supervision, ability to manage their own transportation and the need for a modified program. The students who are accepted into CICE take core classes as well as area specialization classes. These core classes include things like independent living, professional and communication skills, health and wellness, community focus and supports, and connections and integration into the community. “We already have way more applicants than we do spots,” Lipskie said, adding this is a good thing. This coming September will be the fourth intake of students, and will increase from 12 students to 16. This fall students in CICE will also have the opportunity to apply to live in residence, like any other student. “The program changed me and changed my life,” said Marsh. “It made me a better person than I was when I started. If I had an opportunity to do it all over again, I would.”
Roland Fleming
Opinion another, one couch to the next. This lifestyle only supports a further worsening of mental health, as the places they are forced to live and people they are forced to live with only add stress to their already difficult lives. The best option would be to obtain supportive housing specific to mental health
issues. Waterloo has slightly over 300 of these units, but according to a 2011 inventory of supportive housing, wait times were between two and five years. Another option would be affordable housing which lacks the support but at least would provide people with their own space. There are a little over 10,000 of these spaces, but again wait times listed on the 2011 housing inventory were between four and six years for a single, non-senior person. At best a single person living on Ontario Works would have to wait at least two years to afford their own
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place. In the meantime they are left to live in shelters or on the streets, where they are more likely to cause harm to themselves or others, where they will frequently use hospital beds and where they will cost taxpayers more in emergency and police services then if they’d had a place to live. Providing affordable and supportive housing for our mentally ill population is crucial for their health, and it will benefit everyone else too. As a region we need to create more spaces for the mentally ill, as it will benefit not just their health, but our health as a whole.
NEWS
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MUSIC AND BEER FOR BLACK HERITAGE MONTH
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
SEMESTER’S NEW SOCCER LEAGUE
PHOTO BY JOY STRUTHERS
Singer-songwriter Malachi Greenidge performs at the Royal City Brewing Co. Feb. 9 at the release for Lantern Ale, a beer created in collaboration with the Guelph Black Heritage Society for Black History Month. Part of the proceeds from Lantern Ale will be donated to the society which is trying to raise $45,000 to make Heritage Hall at 83 Essex St. accessible.
PHOTO BY ANDREW BENNEY
Students participate in the new semester’s Sunday intramural soccer league at the Conestoga Student Recreation Centre. Games take place every week until March 26 and the league features six teams.
APRIL IS DAFFODIL MONTH
PHOTO BY JOY STRUTHERS
Jason Cave performs Three Little Birds by Bob Marley at the Royal City Brewing Co. Feb. 9 for the release of Lantern Ale. He smiles while he sings the lyrics, ‘Every little thing’s gonna be alright.’
CSI’S SHUTTLE BUS BACK ON TRACK
PHOTO BY BRANDY FULTON
Conestoga Students Inc. is starting to use its larger shuttle bus once again. The vehicle had been used last year but was pulled from service for refurbishing. The larger bus accommodates more students. It takes students from residence on Tuesdays and Thursdays to a local grocery store so they can do their shopping.
PHOTO BY CASSIDY FOULDS
Karen Griffiths, the senior manager at the Canadian Cancer Society’s Waterloo Wellington Office, poses in front of one of the many daffodil-themed decorations put up for Daffodil Month. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.