Tomato January February 2017

Take a bite of your city | January February 2017 | thetomato.ca

Gail Hall 1951-2016 Cookbooks chefs love Canadian whisky

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Contents

Editor Mary Bailey marybee@telus.net

Publisher BGP Publishing

Features

Copy Editor Shauna Faragini

Contributing Writers Peter Bailey Davin de Kergommeaux Milena Santoro Judy Schultz Lalitha Taylor

Illustration/Photography Boccabella Photograph Roberto Martinez Gerry Rasmussen

Which cookbooks inspire a chef? | Mary Bailey

22 Candy is Dandy We are experiencing a confectionary moment | Mary Bailey

Departments

Shauna Faragini

Design and Prepress WebMeister

16 Battle of the Food Champs Alberta cooks compete at the World Food Championships | Milena Santoro

Advertising Sales

Bossanova Communications Inc.

6 The Cookbooks Chefs Love

5 Dish Gastronomic happenings around town

Gunnar Blodgett, COPA Jurist

Printer

Distribution

Restoration over resolution | Lalitha Taylor

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The Tomato is published six times per year: January/February March/April May/June July/August September/October November/December

by BGP Publishing 9833 84 Avenue Edmonton, AB T6E 2G1 780-431-1802 Subscriptions are available for $25 per year.

18 The Proust Culinary Questionnaire Gail Hall 1951-2016

Greenline Distribution For editorial inquiries, information, letters, suggestions or ideas, contact The Tomato at 780-431-1802, fax 780-428-1030, or email marybee@telus.net.

14 Feeding People

20 Beer Guy Barley brothers | Peter Bailey

24 Wine Maven

26 Drink Canadian whisky roundup | Davin de Kergommeaux

32 Kitchen Sink What’s new and notable

34 According to Judy How long is a longtime? | Judy Schultz

On the cover: Gail Hall at the 104 Street Farmers’ Market Gerry Rasmussen illustration gerryrasmussen.ca.

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The Tomato | January February 2017 3

Dinner just got easier.

Chef ’s Inspiration Series

Farfalle Pasta o Spicy Italian Sausage Recipe by

James Szutarski

Serves 4

Instructor, NAIT

INGREDIENTS 60 g Red peppers

60 g Green peppers

120 g Onions

60 g Mushrooms

280 g Canned diced tomatoes 160 g Riscossa Farfalle pasta

160 g Italian Centre Shop Spicy Sausage

Expanded Store & DELI Bar

6 tbsp Olive oil

6 Garlic cloves, crushed

10 Fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 tsp Sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper

METHOD

Precook Italian sausage in a 350ºF oven until done. Let sausage cool and cut into slices for sautéing. Cook pasta in heavily salted water until done. Remove from heat and drain.

Never rinse pasta, the sauce sticks to the starch.

YOUR

Icelandic Fish Connection

Toss lightly with olive oil and chill. Heat olive oil in fry pan.

Sauté garlic first, add vegetables cut julienne & Italian sausage together in hot pan. Cook until all vegetables are tender.

Add diced canned tomatoes, fresh basil & toss together.

Serve with fresh shaved Asiago cheese.

Quality

Chef ’s Inspiration Series recipes will appear on our website every month from January to July!

WILD

Seafood Grocery. Bakery. Deli. Café.

EDMONTON Little Italy | Southside | West End

italiancentre.ca

CALGARY Willow Park

OCEAN ODYSSEY INLAND 10019 167 Street www.oceanodysseyinland.ca 780-930-1901

Dish

gastronomic happenings around town

Photo courtesy Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance

chef amanda cohen is nait hokanson chef in res 2017 Chef Amanda Cohen rocked NYC when she opened the vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy. Not only is she a rock star chef who does cool things with vegetables, Amanda is a funny, down-to-earth Canadian. The Dirt Candy cookbook is perhaps the first graphic novel/ cookbook combo. It’s outstanding. If you don’t have a copy, go get one, now, so chef Cohen can sign it when she’s here. The Hokanson Chef in Residence Program is made possible due to the generous patronage of John and Susan Hokanson. The public does have an opportunity to buy tix to the lunch, on sale soon, nait.ca.

Photo Boccabella Photography

all in the family South side pastry lovers need wait no longer, La Boule Patisserie and Bakery is open. Everything we have tasted so far is lovely: the petit pain au chocolate possesses a perfect ratio of chocolate to crisp and buttery dough; the silky-textured passion fruit éclair with its balanced flavours; the exquisite lemon tart.

big clogs to fill Executive chef Simon Smotkowicz announced that he was leaving the Shaw Conference Centre late last year.

Chef is not retiring exactly but he does want to change the nature of his work. “The great thing about the job was I was able to build skills within the team, bring in more complicated menus;” says chef Smotkowicz, “ and it always allowed me a lot of freedom. I pretty much did what I wanted to do, but I don’t want to work a 60-hour week anymore. I am involved in a lot of non-profit and will continue to do that and I will consult but can’t talk too much about that right now.” What chef can talk about is his tomatoes. “I know a lady in Airdrie who has heirloom seeds. I’m excited to try them this spring.”

modern canadian food at bündok

Photo courtesy AGA

Jennifer’s partner in the biz is her mother (accountant and chief dishwasher) Roseanne Stang-Tarrabain and her partner Serge Belair is helping out until he takes over as exec chef at the Edmonton Convention Centre. La Boule Patisserie and Bakery, 8020 101 Street, 780-760-2253, laboulebakery.ca

The Art Gallery of Alberta offers a fun night on the third Friday of every month. Vibe, a pop-up live music showcase features a special menu, cocktails, beer and wine from Zinc, along with art activities and, a treat for art lovers, the chance to view the gallery exhibitions after hours. AGA, 2 Sir Winston Churchill Square, 780-422-6223, youraga.ca/vibe.

Generations of cooks learned to be chefs under chef Smotkowicz’s tutlelege.

One in particular, chef Serge Belair, who has worked with Simon for over a decade, becomes the Shaw’s new executive chef on February 1.

“We wanted everything to be classic, elegant, yet innovative,” says owner and exec pastry chef Jennifer Stang.

There is an entire room devoted to chocolate, which they expect to be up and running by Valentine’s Day. No bread yet. “We are still learning our ovens,” says Jennifer. “This thing’s a rocketship, it’s a Picard and we have beautiful flour from Anita’s Organic Mill in Vancouver.”

get the vibe

After considerable delay (which seems to be the name of the game for Edmonton restos these days, so annoying and costly for proprietors) Bündok is now open. Early menus feature warming dishes such as mushroom gnocchi, a roasted cauliflower soup with a caper drizzle, a very good sirloin. The space is comfortably contemporary, about 40 seats, not too loud, woodsy, earth tones, with an open kitchen and bar.

We like the well-edited wine selection and old-school cocktail list. Bündok, 10228 104 Street, 780-420-0192, bundokyeg.com.

look out for otto Ed Donszelmann, an experienced hand in the hospitality biz, (Savoy, Culina Millcreek, Glass Monkey) has just opened a casual neighbourhood eatery in Norwood called Otto. The rustic interior has a variety of seating—comfortable booths, a community table, a few bar stools and a patio planned for summer.

They are working out the kinks, always a trial with a new resto; don’t expect perfection yet. Do expect a wellchosen beer list and excellent sausages by Fuge Meats.

Love this move back into neighbourhoods; being within walking distance for patrons makes for a more vibrant streetscape. Otto, 11405 95 Street.

From top: Alessandro Porcelli, founder of Cook it Raw with Amanda Cohen during Cook it Raw Alberta; Jennifer Stang, Roseanne StangTarrabain and Serge Belair of La Boule Patisserie and Bakery; patrons getting the vibe at AGA; chef Simon Smotkowicz (Shaw Conference Centre) and Bündok’s chef/owner Ryan Hotchkiss.

Photo courtesy Shaw Convention Centre Roberto Martinez photo

The Tomato | January February 2016 5

The

COOKBOOKS

Chefs

L VE Which cookbooks inspire a chef? Which cookbooks do chefs deem to be essential in the kitchen? What books were important to their careers? What do they do with cookbooks they love and what are they reading right now? Several of Edmonton’s best chef shared their favourite cookbooks and recipes inspired by them. Read on, their answers may surprise you. ´

6 January February 2017 | The Tomato

ANDREW FUNG, NINETEEN

Salmon Tartare Bombay

The French Laundry Cookbook is essential in the kitchen.

130 g

fresh wild salmon

1 t

red onion, finely chopped

I look at the recipes for all those dishes, still innovative, modern and forward thinking. It comes down to lifestyle, how they grow things in the Napa Valley and how to be an ethical chef. The French Laundry reminds me of Larry Stewart at the Hardware Grill because it’s about the fundamentals of cooking, how the foundation needs to be strong before you can build on top of it. My first thing in cooking school in Vancouver was how to cook an egg. What we think is easy is usually the hardest.

1 t

capers, roughly chopped

1 t

cilantro, finely chopped

¼ t

each curry powder, turmeric

½

lemon, juiced

⅓ t

Dijon mustard

1 T

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

mini papadum

1

cucumber, thinly sliced

A lot of young chefs are going to Copenhagen now, maybe I’m a bit more old school. When I was living and training in Switzerland, I became inspired by a series of books called The Culinary Chronicles, especially #6 Best of Germany and Switzerland. In the Chronicles they talk to chefs about the ingredients, where is the food coming from, how they cook and taste, how they run their restaurants and how they enjoy life.

Finely dice salmon and reserve in fridge until needed.

Mix all ingredients except lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Bake papadum until bubbly but not coloured. Mix tartare with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Arrange cucumber in a ring or fan. Top cucumber with tartare and garnish with papadum disks.

Serves 4.

CHRISTOPHER HYDE, UCCELLINO My most favourite book is Fergus Henderson’s The Whole Beast nose to tail eating. I love this book and refer to it often to be inspired. Being Australian I grew up with British-style cooking so it’s like coming home to read. It came across the sea with me. Another book I love is Origin: The Food of Ben Shewry. It’s like the Noma book, with tightly-plated, pretty-looking dishes, sometimes so involved that it becomes a book you look at just for visual stimulation.

Smoked Eel with Bacon and Mashed Potatoes “Being Australian I love working with seafood.

I would love everyone to eat more eel, give them something comfortable yet keep them on the edge of their seat. I generally stay close to this Fergus Henderson recipe.” –Christopher Hyde, head chef, Uccellino 1 whole smoked eel, reasonably large 4¼-4½ lbs floury potatoes, such as Idaho russets, peeled and halved

A book I have loved since I was 13 years old is the River Café Cookbook, the blue book, beautiful, simple, rustic Italian food with such great ingredients. It put me on the path to cook Italian food. I like Made in Sicily by Georgio Locatelli too.

sea salt

2½ c

milk

A book gives me an idea. They give me life when I read them and overwhelm me with inspiration. When I look at a photo or read a recipe, something pops into my head and I think that would be really very cool; like the octopus carpaccio we did this summer at Uccellino.

6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, sliced thick

1½ sticks (12 T) unsalted butter plus an extra knob freshly-ground black pepper

To prepare your eel, first lay it down with its back facing you. With a sharp knife cut behind its head until you feel the Please see “Cookbooks” next page.

The Tomato | January February 2017 7

Cookbooks Continued from page 7

backbone, then run your knife along the bone to the tail. Turn over and repeat. To remove the skin, simply slip your fingers under it and run gently along the fillet. Cut both fillets into 3 pieces. (Smoked eel is also available packaged in fillets.)

Boil your potatoes until soft in salted water. Heat the milk and butter, then add to the drained potatoes and mash. Season with salt and pepper, remembering that the bacon is quite salty.

Heat a frying pan and add the knob of butter. Place your bacon slices in the pan and cook. Remove the bacon, keep it warm, and place the eel fillets in the pan, giving them a few moments cooking on either side in the butter and the fat the bacon should have released.

Serve the eel on a mound of mashed potatoes, topped with 2 slices of bacon, over which pour the remaining bacon and eel fat from the frying pan.

Serves 4.

SHELLEY ROBINSON, ATLAS STEAK + FISH I am excited about Dirt Candy by Amanda Cohen. I love how funny it is and how it’s really a story about her life. The recipes are super easy and good. I bought it directly from Amanda in New York, she’s a super great lady. Even before I got the book, I was doing the recipe mushroom pâté, to die for. I’ve seen the evolution of that dish, which teaches you to stick with the same recipe. As you get better you can do different things with garnishes or serve it differently. I use Sean Brock’s Heritage a lot. I like The Boreal Feast—it makes me think; wait a second here, we are glamourising all these Nordic men, when you look at the content and depth of wisdom, it’s all in this Canadian book, if maybe the presentation and plating are not.

City Cuisine by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken was one of my first cookbooks. It showed me real-life women doing what I wanted to do. They were cool, the recipes were like nothing I had ever seen, the combos were so different and I could see myself in them.

Another book that has been highly influential in my career is the River Café Cookbook. I went there. I sat outside in the garden and (chef/co-owner) Rose Gray was sitting on a bar stool at the pass. In conversation with the server I mentioned that I was a cook and she said; ‘Would you like to meet the chef?’ Yes! It was like being in high school!

I just lost a bunch of books stored in my father’s garage to water damage. Some are impossible to replace, including a first edition Mrs Beeton, which was given to me as a gift.

8 January February 20172017 | The 8 January February | Tomato The Tomato

Portabella Pâté with Fennel Marmalade “The pâté recipe I have been using for a few years now, long before the book came out, but it belongs to Amanda. I use the flexible scotch ice cube trays (big cubes) to mold this, then pop them out and plate with the fennel marmalade and crackers. (I make gluten-free flax ones but didn’t include that recipe as it’s a bit too technical.) I also make a mushroom dirt; it’s a deadly delicious combo.” –Shelley Robinson, Atlas Steak + Fish.

Portabella Pâté 1 lb

butter

6 whole shallots, peeled and finely diced 1 c

heavy (32 per cent) cream

6 whole portabella mushrooms, chopped, de-gilled and cleaned

salt and pepper

2 t agar agar (find at health food stores) 2 T

truffle oil

Sauté the chopped mushroom in ½ the butter, season well and set aside (do not cook until dry, keep moist).

Sauté chopped shallots in remaining butter until soft, add cream, bring to a simmer and whisk in agar agar.

Place shallots, cream mixture and mushrooms in a blender (work in batches if necessary). Purée well and strain through chinois into mold(s). Set for at least 1 hour. Serve with crackers and fennel marmalade.

Fennel Marmalade 2 whole

fennel bulbs trimmed of tops

3 pieces

whole star anise

1 c

white wine vinegar

2 c

water

1½ c

sugar

zest of 2 lemons

2 T

white wine vinegar

Cut the fennel bulbs in half and remove ⅔ of the woody core and discard. Blanch the fennel in boiling water for 10 minutes, then plunge into ice water immediately. Drain the fennel and dice very small.

Bring sugar, star anise, white wine vinegar to a boil.

Add fennel and cook over low heat until the mixture has reduced to a syrup consistency, but do not allow to caramelize. Finish with lemon zest and the white wine vinegar. Serve with cheese, pâté or on sandwiches.

Serves 4-6.

FOR A LIFETIME OF DELICIOUS COOKING

Available at The Pan Tree 780.464.4631 www.thepantree.ca

ALEXEI BOLDIREFF, BAIJIU

1.5 t

palm sugar

220 Lakeland Dr., Sherwood Park

1 T

fish sauce

This is actually a difficult question to answer. There are so many books I constantly go back to regularly and on my down time I find myself more often than not with my head in a book.

12 Nanoose oysters (available from Effing Seafoods)

On the corner of Lakeland Dr. and Broadmoor Blvd

In regards to Baijiu, it’s South East Asian Food by Rosemary Brissenden. It’s huge, 566 pages and talks about food from all over South East Asia, not necessarily following political boundaries, more geographical. It has been essential in bringing me into south east Asian food.

I stumbled upon it in the library when I was working in Calgary years ago.

I do think the majority of a chef’s knowledge comes from working in good kitchens. My interest in Asian food in general started when I was helping out at Lans Asian Grill. Tom’s mother would grab her mortar and pestle and start making traditional dishes that were not on the menu. She would call me over and explain every detail. That started the ball rolling for me.

Oysters with Lemongrass Mignonette 2 T

rice vinegar

2 T

shallot, minced

2 T+1 t

lemongrass, minced

Combine ingredients 1-5 and mix well to dissolve sugar. Set aside to infuse.

Meanwhile, scrub oysters with a thick brush under cold running water. Shuck oysters using an oyster knife and gently release from the bottom of the shell, saving oyster liquor. Spoon a little mignonette over the shucked oyster on the shell and enjoy!

ERIC HANSON, PRAIRIE NOODLE My transition to a real kitchen, a fine dining kitchen, was when the sous chef gave me The French Laundry cookbook.

I was so green, I didn’t know how green.

I made the sweet potato agnolotti (page 81) at home, probably still the best dish I have ever made at home. I started carrying a pasta roller in my carry-on.

Another book I love is La Mere de la Famille from the Parisian patisserie. I’m not a big dessert guy, so this is the one I turn to when I want to make rochers for my wife. Also Le Cinq by Éric Briffard.

It’s really inspiring, with such over the top plating and such contrasting ingredients.

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@PanTreeKitchen

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The Tomato | January February 2017 9

Cookbooks Continued from page 9

My latest cookbook is Mexico from the Inside Out by Enrique Olvera, probably one of the best chefs working today. A really nice cookbook is like going to an art gallery. It calms my mind and helps me get imaginative.

Another inspiration is the food in the TV show Hannibal—it’s really gorgeous.

Spicy Tang, a Daikon Salad “I taught a Mexi-Thai Class which ended up being more about South East Asian and Central American flavours.

Kevin Ostapek and I had a lot of fun with it. We did green curry chicken tomales, smoked pork tostadas with yellow curry crema, cerdo al pastor and a variation on this tasty salad which combines a lot of my favourite ingredients.” –Eric Hanson

Tamarind Dressing 4 Thai chilies, seeds removed 2 lg spoonfuls palm sugar syrup 2 lg spoonfuls infused fish sauce 2

limes, juiced

1 clove

garlic

½ small

shallot

you have the daikon in thin pieces, mix it with some cherry tomatoes and bean sprouts. Then add a spoonful of the dressing over it and mix well, taste a small piece and check the heat and flavour, if you want more, add more. In a small bowl add a pile of salad mix and add the garnishes to your liking.

Serves 4-6.

RYAN HOTCHKISS, BÜNDOK My favourite cookbook right now is Bistronomy. It’s a history of all the Paris bistros—everything from what they look like; how linens and stemware have changed; how much the food is changing there. I was in Paris last year, which is why I bought this book. One thing you notice right away is how small the kitchens are.

One of the first books to influence me when I decided to be a chef was Nobu—super fine dining and plating.

Becoming a Chef teaches a way to go about your own personal growth. It has a lot of good information for cooks starting out, such as what chefs look for in a resume.

These cookbooks helped me understand that you don’t know what simple food is until you’ve done the legwork. It’s about the ingredients, why things are done a certain way and how good the ingredients are is so important.

3 spoonfuls or to taste, tamarind paste, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes

Lamb Stew with Mashed Rutabaga

Mix all ingredients in a blender until it reaches a uniform consistency, approx 2 minutes. Adjust to taste, consider the sweetness of palm sugar, spice from the chilies, sour from the lime, bitter from the tamarind, salty from the fish sauce. I like to taste this dressing with my eyes closed and listen for what it needs.

“This recipe is adapted from Bistronomy. I love rutabaga and it pairs perfectly with the warm spices used in the braise.”

–Ryan Hotchkiss

Daikon Salad

1 kg lamb shoulder, cut into 1½ inch cubes

1 white daikon, skin removed cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

bean sprouts, rinsed

Garnish with: ½ lime, squeeze over the salad lastly fresh mint leaves, ripped into little pieces 3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly fried

Slow Cooked Lamb 4 T

grapeseed oil

1

onion, thinly sliced

2

shallots or pearl onions

1 stick

celery, chopped

1

carrot, peeled and chopped

2 cloves

garlic, chopped

⅓ c

malt vinegar

3 sprigs

thyme

fried shallots

2

bay leaves

1 pinch

katsuobushi (per salad)

1 pod

star anise

crispy fried edamame

1 2-inch piece cinnamon

salad mix

1

clove

3 c

chicken stock

½ c

tomato puree

2 pinches

salt

For the salad, I use a little vegetable peeler with teeth on it, bought for a dollar in Chinatown, a cheese grater also works, or you could slice it into batons or ribbons.

Don’t over-think it, either way it will be good. Once

10 January February 20172017 | The 10 January February | Tomato The Tomato

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Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavybottomed saucepan until very hot. Brown all the lamb thoroughly. Remove lamb from the pot and set aside. Discard the oil and season the lamb with salt.

Add remaining oil, then the onion, shallot, celery, carrot, and garlic cloves to the pan. Cook until vegetables have softened and are nicely aromatic, add vinegar and scrape the bottom of the pot, loosening all those tasty brown bits into the liquid. Add thyme, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon, clove, chicken stock and tomatoes.

Return seasoned lamb to the liquid and cook, covered on the stove at low heat (just enough to see one or two bubbles forming). Cook until fork tender then transfer the lamb to a bowl. Turn heat up and let sauce thicken slightly, about 1015 minutes. Return lamb to the pot and season with salt and a little more vinegar if necessary.

Rutabaga Mash 2 large rutabaga (about the size of a softball), peeled and cut into 1½-inch cubes ½ lb

butter

water to cover

1 pinch

salt

1 pinch

freshly grated nutmeg

4 T

butter

Place ½ pound butter in a medium saucepot and let melt. Add rutabaga, salt

and water to cover. Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer and cook until tender.

Drain cooking liquid and return rutabaga to the pot. Mash rutabaga while adding the 4 tablespoons of butter in stages.

Season with salt and freshly-grated nutmeg.

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Serves 4.

BRAD SMOLIAK, KITCHEN BY BRAD The first cookbook I ever got, I think I was 12, was the NY Times Cookbook by Craig Clairborne. Instrumental in my early career was Jacques Pepin’s Complete Technique and all the books by Harold McGee. Now I’m reading Bar Tartine. It has interesting flavours and vinegars. Also Mamushka, which is a history of food in eastern Europe, not just Ukrainian. It tells how similar they are and how important vegetables were to the culture. The recipes are peasanty but more than pyrohy and cabbage rolls. The other books I use are a series of Time Life cookbooks, one is The Good Cook by Richard Olney, who is one of the best cooks in my opinion. There are probably 30 in the series; I have 24. They are such a great reference. Anytime we have a question about a technique, or need to know how long do you poach that for, or need a reminder about a ratio, we go to them. Great pictures too.

Please see “Cookbooks” next page.

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The Tomato | January February 2017 11

Cookbooks Continued from page 11

Pasta Carbonara “We use this recipe for carbonara, out of The Good Cook, at least once a month. You can substitute pecorino from the Cheesiry or Joseph from Winding Road, but it has to be Irving’s bacon.” –Brad Smoliak ½ lb

or a bit more spaghetti

2

eggs

8 slices

bacon, chopped into lardons

2 T

olive oil

1 c

grated Parmesan

1 T

parsley, chopped

red pepper flakes, to taste

salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Cook bacon in a large sauté pan in olive oil, until browning but not too crisp.

Remove from heat until pasta is ready.

Meanwhile whisk eggs in a large metal bowl. Mix in cheese, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Drain spaghetti and add to the pan of bacon. Stir until combined and the spaghetti and oil are hot. Add the ingredients in the pan to the egg mixture, stirring immediately until well combined and you have arrived upon a creamy sauce. If necessary, stir while holding metal bowl over heat for a minute. Taste for salt and pepper.

Serves 2.

CHRISTINE SANDFORD, STAFF MEAL, RITCHIE MILL Le Grande Larousse was important for me when I first started cooking. I could look at the pictures of all the varieties of mushrooms or look at a courgette taken apart in all its different pieces. Even now I go back to it. No matter what, it all comes from these traditional recipes and techniques. Technique never gets old. In the last few years the cookbook I have been turning to is the Copenhagen chef Christian F. Puglisi’s cookbook Relæ: A Book of Ideas. My creative energies go crazy when I see the textures they build and I love their use of good quality sustainable products.

DAVINA MORAIKO, RGE RD My favorite cookbook in the last few years is Manresa: An Edible Reflection by David Kinch and Christine Muhlke. It is a beautiful book based on San Francisco chef David Kinch and his take on the farm to table

12 January JanuaryFebruary February2017 2017 | | The TheTomato Tomato 12

movement. I love this book because of the thought put into the dishes and recipes using both traditional and modern techniques and that the passionate chef keeps the connection to the local farmers, people, producers and the land. The book is visually stunning as well. A true farm to table cookbook that is quite inspiring.

Fennel or Onion Jam “A recipe for creamy nasturtium risotto inspired me to make a marigold risotto for our road trip tasting menu at Rge Rd last summer. I also enjoy this fennel jam recipe from Manresa. It makes a simple savoury jam that I love to spread on toast with a nice soft cheese for a snack. To keep it seasonal I have used onions or beets. You could use chopped lemon verbena and apple vinegar instead of lemon vinegar to make it very local.”

–Davina Moraiko, Rg Rd 2 lemons 300 g

simple syrup

3 T

lemon vinegar

2 t

kosher salt

2 med

onions, shaved (or two fennel bulbs)

Zest and juice the lemons. Combine the lemon juice, simple syrup, vinegar and salt and warm over low heat.

Add the onion and cook down over low heat until it develops the consistency of jam. Add the zest and stir.

Let cool and reserve. Makes about a cup.

JESSE MORRISON GAUTHIER, THE COMMON, GRANDIN FISH AND CHIPS The cookbooks that mean the most have been handed down to me by other chefs. Lyle Beaugard at the Blue Iguana gave me Daniel Boulud’s Letters to a Young Chef.

It’s more a set of guiding principles with a few recipes in the back. It’s also nostalgic because I did a stage at chef Boulud’s restaurant in Vancouver, which was a defining moment in my career.

The second most influential book is the Chef’s Compendium of Professional Recipes. It’s the bible, study this book and it’s like going to school for two years. It has all the classic Escoffier recipes, from quenelles to garde manger (cold kitchen) items and all the sauces.

I ask my apprentices and young chefs to read Becoming a Chef by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It is about the importance of traveling, taking the stairs not the elevator and knowing your place in the kitchen.

Currently I am excited about Bistronomy, which features 20 or so chefs doing bistro food (my passion) in a post elBulli world, focusing on terroir and local ingredients and Edmonton Cooks because it is the first cookbook I was a part of.

Please see “Cookbooks” on page 29.

“As far as I’m concerned, there are only two really important decisions in a cook’s life: choosing a mate and buying a chef’s knife. If that seems like an overstatement, you just haven’t found the right knife.”

— Russ Parsons, former L.A. Times food writer

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Feeding People Restoration over resolution I absolutely love the holiday season, but the multiple festive parties and gatherings can leave me feeling run down and drained when it’s time to go back to work. Come January, rather than making one-time resolutions, I try to focus on restoration with a few simple tips.

Savour that sleep One of the first questions I ask new clients is, “How are you sleeping?”

More zzz at night generally means better overall health. Most people function best with seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night. Not enough could mean decreased energy as well as increased hunger and impulsivity. A King’s College London study revealed sleep-deprived individuals consumed 400 more calories daily than those that were well-rested. Add that up over time and less sleep means more weight gain.

SUNFLOWER FLAX SOURDOUGH LOAF

H E A L T H Y. S I M P L E .

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CO B S B R E A D.CO M/H E A LT H Y-S I M PL E

14 January February 2017 | The Tomato

Regular exercise can improve sleep.

Unfortunately, when feeling fatigued it’s more difficult to be active in the first place. I know if I’m tired I would rather just sit down, watch TV and eat a big bowl of popcorn; the last thing I want to think about is going for a run. But then exercise doesn’t happen and the negative cycle continues.

Work to establish a better sleep routine by avoiding caffeine and alcohol in the evening. Darken your bedroom and remove electronics. Finally, talk with your health professional if you are concerned about sleep apnea or insomnia.

Take those work breaks If you are fortunate to have paid break time built into your workday, take it.

In Alberta, an employee is entitled to 30 minutes of break time for any work shift of five hours or more that can be used all at once or split into separate breaks of 10 or 15 minutes. Many of my clients and colleagues work during their lunch break; breaks need to be viewed as an opportunity to restore one’s energy supplies.

People are exhausted when they get home from work. Instead, find ways to deposit energy throughout the day.

Start with a 10-minute walk during your lunch break. If it’s too cold, consider deep breathing and stretching in your workspace. This gets the body moving and the mental break will help you find balance and provide an opportunity to reduce stress.

People underestimate the role of stress and its impact on weight management.

When the brain is stressed, the limbic system, the emotional part of the brain, becomes more dominant, leading to reactionary and impulsive decisionmaking. Typically, when it comes to food, my impulse choices are unhealthy choices. When we are mentally in balance, it’s easier to make better choices when it comes to how we fuel our bodies.

Stress less through meal planning It bothers me when I come home and realize I don’t know what to eat. Meal planning ahead of time can lower stress, increase health through exposure to healthy food, and save money. So take 15 to 20 minutes a week to determine what you and your family would like to eat before you make a grocery list. By

Lalitha Taylor

doing this, your grocery list becomes meaningful and food will not spoil in your fridge.

In my family, we cook three to four times during the week and rollover leftovers into lunches. When creating your meals, strike a balance. Overconsuming any one ingredient means displacing other important nutrients.

A great tool to get you started planning balanced meals is the Eat Well Plate found on healthycanadians.gc.ca.

Save money and nourish your body with a meatless meal Both of my parents immigrated to Canada bringing with them their traditional cuisines, including many plant-based protein dishes. They utilized lentils, chickpeas, green peas, beans (kidney, soy, fava) and nuts and seeds.

Plant-based proteins are a rich source of nutrients including fibre, iron, folate and potassium. Cost, taste and convenience all play a factor in our decision-making about food choices; plant-based proteins can check the boxes beside all of these.

Plant-based proteins are economical, accessible and available all year round.

With food costs continuously on the rise, our family will often have three or four meatless meals per week. A diet rich in plant-based foods is also linked to healthier body weight and a decreased risk of heart disease and cancer.

Start simple by incorporating one meatless meal as part of your weekly meal plan. Look towards ethnic dishes for inspiring meatless cooking ideas.

One of our favorites is whole-grain pita with hummus and Greek salad. But when it’s cold outside, a comforting and hearty stew like my recipe below helps to restore the energy supplies for my family and me. Enjoy!

Registered Dietitian Lalitha Taylor adores eating a delicious home-made meal (especially when someone else makes it for her) and creating concoctions with her daughter in the kitchen.

She is the national spokesperson for Dietitians of Canada and the founder of TaylorNutrition.ca.

Creating Comfort Food from scratch made with Love

Hearty Pot Barley Bok Choy Stew 1 T

vegetable oil

1 or 2

onions, chopped

6 cloves

garlic, minced

8 c vegetable broth (I use McCormick vegetable MSG free bouillon or create my own)

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4 c baby bok choy, bottoms of the stalks chopped off 3

carrots, peeled and chopped

3

celery ribs, chopped

1 19-ounce can (540 mL) white kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 28-ounce (796 mL) can of whole tomatoes, drained and shredded 1 c

pot barley

2 t

cumin

1 t

oregano

1 t

dried basil

freshly-ground pepper

Where else will you find our extensive selection

1 T

lemon juice

of wine, spirits and beer? PLUS tastings, classes,

1 c

frozen green peas

In a soup pot, add the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic.

Cook, stirring for about 2-3 minutes until onions and garlic are softened. Pour in broth. Toss in the bok choy, carrots, celery ribs, white kidney beans and tomatoes. Add pot barley. Stir in cumin, oregano, basil and a few turns of freshly ground pepper. Add lemon juice.

Bring the soup to a vigorous boil, then reduce to a low-medium heat. Cover with lid and simmer for 45 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

Prior to serving, add frozen peas.

I love this trick! It helps cool the soup to prevent your little one’s tongue from burning on hot, hot soup.

Serves 8-10.

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The Tomato | January February 2017 15

BATTLE OF THE FOOD CHAMPS Alberta cooks compete at the World Food Championships ~ Milena Santoro ~ Back in July, 120 competitors from all ends of Canada gathered in Edmonton for the Canadian Food Championships.

The competition, open to both professionals and hobbyists, allows home cooks to sear, sauté and slice alongside top-rated professional chefs.

contestants had to produce two dishes in all categories. Cooks had an hour and ten minutes to produce the first dish.

To create an even playing field the dish and the main ingredients were specified.

For example, the burger entry had to be a Polynesian-style burger with fresh pineapple and teriyaki sauce and the steak Oscar had to be the classic recipe with asparagus, lump crabmeat and béarnaise sauce.

The prize? Cash, plus entry to the World Food Championships (WFC) in Orange Beach, Alabama last November.

My connection? I am an Events Edmonton board member and chair of the Canadian Food Championships. Most importantly, I am a lover of food who will take any opportunity to taste good eats.

The contest rules specifically details garnishes, accompaniments and quantities. The chefs had to provide one presentation platter to display creations in their full glory as well as five tasting plates for the judges. Entrants were allowed to bring their own plates as long as they met specifications, such as a height restriction for both food and stemware. These rules were to prevent disasters during the fast run to the judging area.

At WFC there were 430 teams from 14 countries and 48 states hoping to win some of the $300,000 in competition money. Our Canadian team was the largest contingent, next to the Americans. We sent 21 competitors of which an amazing 12 were Albertans.

WFC is the largest culinary competition in North America, as far as I know and still growing. There were six categories in the Canadian championships; burgers, steak, sandwiches, dessert, seafood and the all-time favourite, bacon. The World Championships add three more categories, barbecue, chili and recipe.

I met competitors who had travelled more than 30 hours to participate in this showdown. People from South Africa, Germany, Japan and even some of my fellow Italians were there. But then again, we are everywhere!

These folks came from varied backgrounds and experiences. Some were professionals who had competed on shows such as Chopped. Others were home cooks competing for the very first time at this level. I asked them why they wanted to compete. Most said they loved cooking and food sport.

The competition provided a platform where they could reach new levels in their cooking, meet like-minded people, exchange ideas and have fun. If they won, that would just be a bonus.

16 January February 2017 | The Tomato

The second item was the chef ’s choice signature dish. Winners moved on to the final round, which required them to produce a dish containing a specific infused ingredient; the bacon dishes required chocolate and the burgers, bourbon.

Woodwork’s Lindsay Porter with her Tomahawk steak.

Everybody was cheering for Jonathan Giovanonni, the 13-year-old cancer survivor from Spruce Grove (and recent Chopped Canada Junior winner).

Competing in Alabama was an opportunity to do what he loves.

Each competitor had a nine by nine foot space in the outdoor kitchen to work in. Every competitor was supplied with basic equipment and pantry items as well as a list of stores. There were also several ingredients supplied by various local sponsors, such as Bubba’s Burgers and Hormel Black Label Bacon. Each competitor had to provide a recipe card

for each dish, detailing ingredients and preparation methods.

Our Canadian team faced many challenges. The moist Gulf Coast air made it difficult to dry fresh pasta or maintain the integrity of dessert items.

Procuring specific ingredients was sometimes difficult. None of the markets had fresh thyme, so the search was on for dried thyme. Another contestant needed quail eggs. It took two hours to locate these only to find that they were rotten.

The World Championship is staged tournament style. For the first round,

The judges had undergone training in the E.A.T. (35 per cent for execution, 15 per cent for appearance and 50 per cent for taste) methodology developed by the World Food Championships. They were under strict instructions to not let personal bias interfere.

How did our Albertan competitors fare?

Russell Bird, an amateur cook, placed second in the bacon category. Shannon Minor (sous chef at Woodwork) placed ninth in the sandwich category and Jesse Woodland (sous chef, Chartier) placed tenth in the seafood category. (All scores can be found at worldfoodchampionships.com.)

I made sure to taste the Canadian competitors’ dishes. I still dream about the Chocolate Mole Sriracha Burger by

Russell Bird (and his sous chef/ fatherin-law Ron Yoneda): Wagyu beef, a bacon lattice weave (which sealed the deal for me) cheddar cheese, tomato, avocado, tempura jalapenos and pickles plus a bacon-wrapped fried onion ring on a toasted brioche bun slathered with butter and bacon fat. Holy Bacon, it was amazing!

Shannon Minor’s dish (prepared with sous chef/sister Ang Minor) was the Mighty Papawich: tasty layers of bacon cake, sunny side up egg, homemade beer cheese, maple and mustard pork tenderloin and arugula with a cheddar and thyme biscuit and citrus aioli. The sandwich was named after their father, who encouraged Shannon to see where her love of cooking would take her. It took her to 9th place at Worlds.

Jesse Woodland’s dish was called the Creole Bombe: blackened cod cake filled with creole chicken, shrimp and lobster with saffron rice and sweet pea puree.

For a fish lover like me, this was a stellar combination of flavours.

Lindsay Porter’s (Woodwork) take on surf and turf involved a humongous Tomahawk steak (a showy bone-in ribeye; she prefers the fat content and high-quality flavour of that cut) grilled over charcoal, served with smoked mashed potatoes and finished with jumbo grilled shrimp and a sweet and spicy aioli. I seriously died and went to heaven.

There is always room for dessert. Jocelyn Bird placed 13th with her ode to the classic milkshake, classed up with French macaroons and chocolate-covered strawberries.

I’m so proud of the tremendous support and encouragement the Canadian contingent gave to each other. But truly, the golden ticket was the opportunity for our cooks to compete on a world stage, to learn from all the other competitors and to strive to be an even more fantastic cook.

Milena Santoro is on a detox after eating too much shrimp and grits in Alabama.

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The Tomato | January February 2017 17

The Proust Culinary Questionnaire Gail Hall, 1951-2016 In the late nineteenth century, French novelist Marcel Proust participated in an exercise which could be thought of as the Facebook of its era—he answered a questionnaire about himself in a friend’s Confession Album.

Proust’s answers have been published, in one form or another, for more than a century.

Many have used the questionnaire for their own devices, the most notable being Vanity Fair’s Proust Questionnaire featuring celebrities. The Tomato now gives it a culinary twist.

18 January February 2017 | The Tomato

G RE AT FOOD CAN S TI LL B E FU N FOOD Gail Hall died November 16 after living with cancer for eight years. Gail had a long and fruitful relationship with food in Edmonton, most recently with Seasoned Solutions, her cooking class and tour company and as a Gold Medal Plates judge. Our condolences to Gail’s husband Jon Hall, Gail’s large circle of friends and colleagues and to our entire food community.

Gail was to be our Proust subject for January but we were too late. Instead, here is Gail, remembered by Jon. Hometown?

Toronto.

Years cooking?

Thirty-three years professionally.

Where would you like to live?

Santa Fe. We went back several times.

We were planning to go back next year for the 20th anniversary of our first culinary tour.

Gail’s favourite food and drink?

Gail loved Caesar salad and Pisco sours.

What would you be doing if you weren’t cooking?

In her later years Gail wanted to be a nutritionist—a food scientist.

What did Gail most appreciate in her friends?

Gail appreciated passion and acceptance.

Her favourite qualities in a dish?

It had to be local, it had to be fresh, if it had a story, even better.

Who would be at Gail’s dream dinner table (dead or alive)?

Julia Child, Donna Hay, David Garcelon, Dan Barber, me and the KTG (the kitchen table girls).

Who would cook?

Dan Barber.

Which words or phrases did Gail most overuse?

But that’s ok.

Current culinary obsession/exploration?

Focused on food related to breast cancer, foods that were estrogen positive, food as medicine.

Meaningful/crazy cooking experience?

She left a pot on the stove and went to pick me up from work. The fire deptartment came. There was $1,600 damage to the door but the pot survived. She taught the cooking class that night. After, Gail took the pot into Paderno and they cleaned it as good as new.

We did five Alberta culinary tours— Smoky Lake, Gull Lake, Jasper and two east of Edmonton.

Best (cooking) thing that ever happened to you?

The thing that kicked us off, going to Dubrulle in Vancouver with Judy Schultz in 1983. I surprised Gail with the trip. The light came on. She called every day with a new discovery in cooking.

ST ALBERT

#Cultivate2017

T E RW I L L E GA R

D I N E N I N E T E E N .CO M

cultivatingconnections2017.splashthat.com

@FoodSecurityAB

Favourite casual cheap and cheerful/afterwork food?

Swiss Chalet was her guilty pleasure.

Philosophy?

Live local.

What’s next?

Launch the foundation for young chefs and donate to programs that will help young people learn to cook and appreciate local food. I was overwhelmed by the response to the funeral. I loved her, but the community adored her. We were just planning a small family funeral. A potluck with 20-30 of her friends has turned into dinner for 200. Bring a dish with the recipe and the story. Her urn will be there, bring a pebble.

Gail’s potluck dinner and Celebration of Life is Saturday, January 14, from 5-9 pm at the Pleasantview Hall. Free tickets required, visit seasonedsolutions.ca.

February 3rd - 5th, 2017

Northlands Expo Centre, Edmonton, Alberta

Regional food systems are growing...

from support for local producers to abundant community gardens, healthy school food, major retailers putting local food on their shelves and innovations in food system research, technology and policy development.

Cultivating Connections will energize Alberta’s regional food systems by gathering people from different groups to identify tangible opportunities to collaborate and inspire initiatives for vibrant regional food systems with improved access for all.

FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Opening Reception & Panel E DMONTON CITY HALL

FEBRUARY 4, 2017

Taste & Sounds of Alberta An evening at NAIT’s Hokanson Centre for Culinary Arts celebrating great food and highlighting local producers.

R E G I S T E R AT

cultivatingconnections 2017.splashthat.com

te

Keyno

ayne Dr. W rts Robe

AUTHOR OF

Real Food for a Change

Forum Themes I N T E G R AT E D F O O D SYSTEMS PRODUCTION & PROCESSING LOCAL ENTERPRISES COLLECTIVE BUYING POWER CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT & SOCIAL JUSTICE THE POLICY REALM

The Tomato | January February 2017 19

Beer Guy Barley brothers It’s time to switch to whisky, we’ve been drinking beer all night. – Corb Lund

Want to learn more about local food?

Learn from the best, cook with the best.

Join us around the table.

Annual Conference Returns April 23, 2017 Hosted at NAIT Hokanson Centre for Culinary Arts For more information on registration please visit: eatalberta.ca

SAMPLING WINE EVERY SATURDAY (780) 439-9069 | colordevino.ca | 9606 82 Ave Edmonton

20 January February 2017 | The Tomato

Corb’s right—there are times when a dram of whisky is called for over a pint of ale. On cold winter nights in Edmonton, for example. Don’t feel badly for beer, though; whisky and beer are family, brothers born of barley. By whisky I mean malt whisky, or Scotch.

That pricey peaty Lagavulin whisky you’re carefully sipping by the fireplace began life just like beer, in a metal tank filled with water, malted barley and yeast. Beer has hops added and is fermented slowly and eventually kegged or bottled. Whisky is distilled into spirit, aged in barrels and bottled.

Once one understands the kinship between beer and whisky, it seems natural that brewers would also be distillers. Beer geeks are often whisky geeks too (sorry— whisky enthusiasts).

But this link isn’t a common one, or at least not until recently with the rise of craft distillers. The craft spirits movement is booming, especially in B.C. where there are over 50 distilleries operating today. Included are a few breweries that have switched gears into distilling such as Surrey’s Central City Brewing + Distilling, brewers of the Red Racer beers who released their first single malt whisky late in 2016.

In Calgary, Last Best Brewing and Distilling began work on a whisky in 2015. In the meantime, Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Whisky was released in 2016, from Whitehorse’s Yukon Brewing and their distilling arm, Yukon Spirits.

Yukon’s Bob Baxter told me that his fellow co-owner and co-founder Alan Hansen wanted to buy a still as soon as they launched their brewery in 1997.

Bob and Alan are both engineers: Bob mechanical, Alan chemical.

Distilling seems a rite of passage for chemical engineers—my father is a retired chemical engineer who fondly remembers the still he created during university to make home-made hooch.

I asked Bob if making whisky is more science or art, and he said, “the basics of distilling is very much a science, but the creation of the spirit is mostly art. That includes grain selection, fermentation, cuts, barreling and barrel choices, and blending. All art.”

Yes, blending. It’s a widespread misnomer in the whisky world that single malt means from a single barrel or batch. Single simply means from a single distillery. Two Brewers is a single malt whisky made from malted grains, including barley from Saskatchewan and peated malt from the U.K. Alan, the distiller, must use his talents to take whisky from different barrels and blend them together to get the flavour profile he wants. Here the skills of brewmaster and distiller come together.

As Bob told the Yukon News earlier this year, his and Alan’s goal in making beer is similar to making whisky, “to be unique and complex.” In brewing, he says, “what we do well is lots of flavours and different flavours and different ingredients and so on.” The same can be said for their world class whisky. Alan and Bob have brought their years of experience and expertise with brewing and malt to the exacting and challenging process of whisky making. Bob notes that their goal was to make something they would want to drink, something with depth and complexity. Having tasted all the varieties Yukon has released I believe Bob and Alan have reached their goal.

So this Robbie Burns Day, you have a choice of traditions. Malted barley fermented into beer or malted barley distilled into spirits. Either way, there is plenty to celebrate. Slàinte!

Peter Bailey

Beer and whisky six-pack January 25 is Robert Burns Day, an opportunity to toast the immortal bard of Scotland with whisky, certainly, but also some Scottish or Scottish-style beers.

Alley Kat Tartan Party, Edmonton The label of this winter seasonal claims this beer will keep you dancing all night long. You’ve been warned. The caramel sweetness and touch of peat smoke in this rich and mega-malty Scottish export ale makes it an ideal companion to a smoky whisky like Two Brewers’ Peated release.

Parallel 49 Salty Scot, Vancouver This Pacific coast take on the Scotch ale (wee heavy) is big (7.5 per cent), malty and caramel-sweet, as the style requires, but the unique addition of sea salt gives this version a bit of a bite. It tastes richly of malt and sweet toffee, balanced by subtle brininess from the sea salt.

Brewdog Dogma Ellon, Scotland

www.themarc.ca

@themarcedmonton

De-licious de-lunches.

Never mind the bollocks, here’s Brewdog the self-proclaimed punks of Scottish brewing. Founded to wake the U.K. beer industry from complacency, Brewdog hasn’t forgotten to brew good beers along the way. Dogma is Brewdog’s revisionist version of the wee heavy, with added honey to amp up the sweetness.

Traquair House Ale, Peeblesshire, Scotland Traquair House dates back to 1107. Mary Queen of Scots visited in 1566 and was served a strong ale. In 1965 the brewery was revived and the original recipe and brewing equipment were used to brew a serious winter ale, the classic Scotch ale that all others are measured against.

E d m o n t o n L o c a t i o n 1 0 0 3 0 J a s p e r Av e , T5 J 1 R 2

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 18, Alva, Scotland With Ola Dubh you can have your whisky and drink your beer too, as Harviestoun ages their Old Engine Oil porter in casks used to mature Highland Park malt whisky (18 year old whisky for the Ola Dubh 18). The barrel-aging imparts a fruity, smoky, whisky character into the beer.

Orkney Dark Island Quoyloo, Scotland Like Yukon Brewing, Orkney Brewing is located way up north, Yukon in Whitehorse, just north of 60 degrees latitude, Orkney in the Orkney Islands, just south of 60. Dark Island is Orkney’s flagship beer, the authentic Orcadian ale, a traditional Scottish ale with flavours of roast malt, dried fruit and chocolate.

Och aye, Peter Bailey took the high road and he’ll be in Scotland afore ye.

He’s on Twitter and Instagram as @Libarbarian.

The Tomato | January February 2017 21

Candy is

Dandy Mary Bailey

Four local entrepreneurs fulfill our growing desire for sweets.

Caramia Caramels Romance inspired sisters Tammy and Alysia Lok to start handcrafting their own caramels. Tammy had tasted soft caramels on her honeymoom in Europe and, in one of those serendipitous moments, discovered that caramels were Alysia boyfriend’s favourite candy. Not just any caramel. We are talking hand-made caramels, soft not sticky, in several delicious flavours—butter, fleur de sel, Srirachi roasted almond (a sweet and spicy hit of flavour), smoked maple bacon and London Fog latte. I became a Caramia caramel addict after tasting the original butter and the Srirachi flavours.

The sisters aren’t kidding about the hand-made part.

Anyone who has made caramel at home knows just how finicky it can be. The duo launched a Kickstarter campaign to help them purchase a candy-making machine dubbed Prince Charming Mix-a-Lot. This allows more control over the process for better batch consistency.

22 January February 2017 | The Tomato

Where to find: the Downtown Farmers’ Market in City Hall, seasonal craft shows and at Swish Flowers.

They do offer pre-orders (minimum 10 bags) at caramiacaramels.com and hope to have their online shopping set up soon.

Newget Nougat, also called torrone or noutgatine, is a classic style of candy made with eggs, nuts and candied fruit, popular in southern France, Italy and Spain. Michelle Tobias developed a version of the old-school candy based on white, milk and dark chocolate and called it Newget. It’s handmade right here in Edmonton and there is nothing like it. Chewy, with bits of dried fruit and nuts in several flavours, it is terrific. Their number one seller is the salted caramel milk chocolate, followed closely by the Perfect Pear flavour (white chocolate, dried pear, pistachios) available during the holidays. I served both recently on a cheese board to a chorus of ‘more please!’

Where to find: Newget is available at the Downtown Farmers’ Market, on their website newget.ca, at seasonal craft shows and at several retailers: Bonton Bakery, Blush Lane, the Royal Alex and University Hospital gift shops.

Sugared & Spiced Amy Nachtigall started selling her cookies at the Highlands Farmers’ Market. People loved them. Encouraged, Amy registered for the baking certificate program at NAIT, thinking maybe it would be possible to have a bakeshop, sometime. For three years Amy and her husband Jeff have offered their cookies, cakes and the popular Cake Club by special order online. Last year they made the plunge and participated in an ATB Alberta BoostR program to help fund 10 per cent of the cost of a storefront location. It was wildly oversubscribed.

People love Amy’s baking.

The offerings are joyful and irreverent; her cakes completely suitable for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. The cookies continue the fun with classic flavours such as chocolate chip and two over-the-top selections, the Man’s Man (peanut butter and bacon) and the Girl’s Night In—a sweet and salty concoction of caramel, chocolate, raspberry dessert wine with coarse salt.

Amy describes her baking as rustic.

“Though we’re known for cakes, I never wanted to be a cake shop,” says Amy, “and we didn’t want to be a patissierie.

We wanted to be a bakeshop. I want to do what I do and do it well.”

They will no longer have to share cramped rented kitchen space and will be able to offer more delicious things to eat—scones, danishes, macaron, more cookies and cupcakes and a bigger Cake Club. What won’t change is the smallbatch, from-scratch baking.

The Nachtigalls are just signing off on a space near Whyte Avenue and hope to be open in late spring.

Facing page from left: Caramia Srirachi roasted almond caramels; Sugar & Spiced speciality cake; Michelle Tobias’ Newget; and a stack of cookies from Confetti Sweets

Confetti Sweets Confetti Sweets started the local cookie revolution several years ago with a stand at the Sherwood Park Farmers’ Market.

Cookie lovers couldn’t get enough of the jumbo soft cookie in the see-through bags with the clever handle, like a little purse. Soon Kathy Leskow had to create a commercial kitchen in the family’s basement to handle the demand. Then it was on to a production facility in Sherwood Park; now it’s three locations.

Kathy clearly understands the time she lives in. Confetti Sweets is on trend for the desire for quality and home-made tastes not necessarily made in your home by you, because you don’t have time.

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“People are so busy, especially working moms, but they still want freshly-baked goods for their families. And we have 70-year-olds pop into the stores and say ‘you are doing my Christmas baking for me,’” says Kathy. “We pick locations in neighbourhoods with lots of young families, where people can just drive up with the kids.”

Confetti Sweets also did an ATB Alberta BoostR campaign late last year to help open the new store. “We ended up raising $30,000, which was much more than the original amount we had asked for. We did unique rewards: personalized stockings; Christmas catering trays; a cookie club. We had a lot of fun doing it, though halfway through it was so nerve-wracking I remember thinking ‘I hate this!’ But in the end I’m glad we did it.”

Cookie maven Kathy Leskow is not done growing yet. Confetti Sweets was one of 11 companies across the country chosen to be part of Arlene Dickinson’s business accelerator, District Ventures.

“I’d like to have stores in Calgary in the next two or three years,” says Kathy.

How about across the country? “That’s the dream.”

Where to find: Old Strathcona and Downtown Farmers’ Markets, 6861 170 Street, 14253 23 Avenue in Edmonton; #6, 41 Broadway Blvd, Sherwood Park, confettisweets.ca Mary Bailey is the editor of the Tomato food & drink and a bit of a cookie monster.

The Tomato | January February 2017 23

Wine Maven

Northern Lands Shaw Convention Centre, May 2-6, 2017

Along with what is billed as the largest all-Canadian wine and culinary festival, Northern Lands has partnered with Vinitaly to bring a program of tastings, winemaker dinners and informative seminars to Edmonton.

Vinitaly, called the quintessential showcase for Italian wine, is held in Verona every year to gather buyers and sellers of fine Italian wine under one roof. It is a massive undertaking which requires an iron constitution and several shots of espresso to see you through each day. The Northern Land/Vinitaly collaborative experience is a rare opportunity to engage with the winemakers and principals in a more intimate setting.

The opportunities to taste something great are unique and varied. There are two public tastings on Tuesday and Saturday evening, several seminars and master classes and winemaker dinners featuring selected wineries and top chefs. As well, there are two afternoon tastings expressly for those in the hospitality trade giving them the opportunity to learn more about the wines, spirits and beers.

Not only will all the principals be at the trade tastings, there are prizes to be won to encourage registration. (Details under Trade Only, on the next page.)

Mary Bailey photos

Northern Lands is a stellar opportunity to explore wine, craft beer and artisan spirits. The inaugural event, held two years ago, was a remarkable gathering of food and wine people from across the country. Chefs, winemakers, winery owners, brewers, distillers and lovers of great food and drink gathered for a jam-packed weekend of tasting, seminars and dinners.

This May, wine lovers will have the opportunity to do it all again. Not only will we be able to taste wine for over 60 Canadian wineries from coast to coast, we will also experience the best in craft brews and artisan distilleries.

Above: Valentina Abbona. Right: Lorenzo Marotti-Campi enjoys a glass of wine with Lisa Caputo (Cibo Bistro).

Meet the Pros Valentina Abbona Valentina’s family makes wine on hallowed ground—Piedmont (Piemonte) in northwest Italy. The Marchesi di Barolo wines, Dolcetto, Barolo and Barbarresco, are beautifully balanced, elegant rather than hearty, sublime examples of their region.

Lorenzo Marotti-Campi Lorenzo makes soulful wines on the east coast of Italy from grapes most people have never heard of, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. The Lacrima finds expression in the Orgiolo Lacrima di Morro d’Alba Superiore, a fullbodied red with fine and persistent tannins. “Lacrima was disappearing because it is so hard to grow,” says Lorenzo.

24 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Tastings Vinitaly Edmonton Grand Tasting il Piacere del Gusto Italiano, $85/person Tuesday, May 2, 6:00pm-9:30pm The night is dedicated to Italian wine and spirits.

Over 40 wineries from Italy, all with winemakers or principals, will be in attendance for a deliciously Italian night with food by Corso 32’s Daniel Costa.

Meet Your Makers $95/person Saturday, May 6, 5:30pm-9:30pm Taste over 50 craft brewers, distillers and wineries and delicious treats from 30 chefs during a walk-around tasting celebrating the best in Canadian wine and food.

Seminars and Master Classes Check the website for up to the moment listings but we do know that Vinitaly’s scientific director Ian D’Agata and Rys Pender MW will be presenting sessions.

Dinners Over 30 top-notch chefs from around the country will be in town to cook for us, including Vikram Vij, Vij’s, Vancouver; Roger Sleiman, Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate, Kelowna; Mark Gray, Brooklyn Warehouse, Halifax; Cam Dobranski, Winebar Kensington, Calgary; Darren MacLean, Shokunin, Calgary and Daniel Costa, Corso 32; Blair Lebsack, Rge Rd; Kathryn Joel and Doreen Prei, Get Cooking from Edmonton. Visit the website for the latest in dinner news.

Trade Only Up your skills and further your wine knowledge at the main trade tastings Tuesday and Saturday and attend informative seminars and master classes. If you work in a wine shop or a restaurant, or sell wine, spirits or beer for a living, this is where you want to be: Vinitaly Canada Trade Tasting (Italy) Tuesday, May 2, 1pm-4pm Taste wines from classic Italian regions such as Piedmont and Tuscany as well as wines from less well-known areas such as Sicily, Sardinia and le Marche.

Not only are you able to taste several products not available in Alberta right now, you will be able to chat with the winemakers and principals in an intimate, low-key environment.

Sponsor a Chef Help defray expenses of the visiting chefs through a sponsorship, $2,500, contact g@vinomaniawines.com.

What you get: • Two complimentary VIP tickets to the Meet Your Makers tasting event on May 6.

• Two complimentary tickets to the sponsored chef ’s wine makers dinner on Friday, May 5, complete with a photo opportunity with the chef.

• Acknowledgement in the program.

• Sponsor’s logo at the chef ’s station at Meet your Makers.

• Listing on event website with a link to the sponsor’s website.

seminars and master classes at no additional charge.

Don’t hesitate! (First come first served basis.)

Remember you must come in person and have your ticket scanned to be eligible for the prize.

Win Stuff!

Win a trip to Vinitaly 2018!

Purchase your $10 trade ticket for the Vinitaly Tuesday Trade Tasting and you will be entered for a chance to win roundtrip airfare to Verona, Italy including five nights accommodation and daily entry passes to Vinitaly 2018.

Win a trip to Niagara or Kelowna!

Purchase your $5 trade ticket for the Northern Lands Canadian Trade Tasting and you will be entered for a chance to win roundtrip airfare to Kelowna including two nights accommodation. Or, win roundtrip airfare to Toronto and two nights accommodation in Niagara (two separate draws).

Remember you must come in person and have your ticket scanned to be eligible for the prize.

Early Bird Draws for Trade Live in the Edmonton area?

Purchase your ticket to the Northern Lands Canadian Trade tasting by January 31 and be entered to win a mixed case of Canadian wine.

Meet Your Makers Trade Tasting (Canada) Saturday, May 6, 1pm-4pm.

Meet outstanding Canadian producers of fine wine from across the country including Nova Scotia, craft beers and artisan spirits.

Live anywhere else?

Out-of-town trade who register for the Northern Lands Canadian Trade Tasting and purchase their ticket by January 31 will be entered to win two nights accommodation (May 5, 6) at The Westin Edmonton and two tickets to the Saturday, May 6, Meet Your Makers Consumer Event featuring all participating producers and chefs.

Here is your chance to get to get up-close and personal with the most innovative, interesting and iconoclastic Canadian winemakers and growers on the scene today.

Seminars and Master Classes Winemakers, principals, masters of wine and international wine journalists offer their knowledge and perspective on wine. Some of the classes are tastings, some are panel discussions and all are informative and worthwhile of your time.

Here’s the sweetener: register for the trade tastings and you are able to attend the

Mary Bailey

The Canadian Trade tasting is sponsored by the Wine Marketing Association of Ontario, Winery Association of Nova Scotia and the British Columbia Wine Institute.

A sampling of the wines available for tasting at Northern Lands.

Visit northernlands.ca for the latest information and tickets for every event including the trade tastings.

The Tomato | January February 2017 25

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26 January February 2017 | The Tomato

The news came late in 2015: Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye had been named the best whisky in the world.

While Scotch drinkers sneered and bloggers launched emotional tirades, whisky lovers around the world quietly lined up to buy a bottle—or two. The result? In no time the Manitoba-made whisky was sold out, (though available on the grey market for six times its original price.) Suddenly, Canadian whisky was on everyone’s want list. Better than that, once they had tasted it, people came back in droves in search of more.

After decades of slow decline, Canadian whisky has seen a turn-around in the past three or four years. It is no surprise then that in 2016 sales of Canadian whisky rose five per cent. Had Northern Harvest Rye pushed it past the tipping point? It has certainly helped, but Crown Royal is not the only Canadian distillery bottling worldclass whiskies.

Each of Canada’s traditional Big Seven distillers is expanding the breadth and depth of options available to discerning imbibers. The range of whiskies sitting in distillery warehouses across the country ensures that Canadian whisky makers are uniquely well placed to do that—quickly.

Validation from abroad Make no mistake; when the American rye craze took off about five years ago, US-based whisky companies looked to Alberta warehouses for whisky. Take WhistlePig for example.

This is one of America’s

best selling brands of rye whisky.

“We pretty much own the market now,” is how WhistlePig’s Dave Pickerell explains it. And where is WhistlePig made? In Calgary, using rye grain purchased from nearby farms.

In 2017 Canadians celebrate 150 years as a nation and there are plenty of reasons to enthuse about the resurging interest in our homegrown whiskies.

Today, robust, flavoursome whiskies are in high demand right across North America and beyond.

Connoisseurs who first experienced Canada’s best via Forty Creek, Collingwood, and Crown Royal, are now embracing Lot No. 40, Pike Creek and the four-grain beauty, Gooderham and Worts from the Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor, Ontario.

And here in Alberta? A 20-year-old release called Ninety, from Highwood Distillers in High River has aficionados’ tongues wagging—in a good way. Alberta Distillers in Calgary has introduced Alberta Premium Dark Horse and the head-turning Canadian Club 100% Rye. Together, these two whiskies have seized the attention of bartenders who are excited to put a whole new twist on high-end cocktails by using Canadian whiskies as their base.

Perhaps the greatest endorsement of the high quality of Canada’s native spirit came in 2014, when John K. Hall sold his family-owned Forty Creek Distillery to Italy’s Gruppo Campari for a cool $180 million. Hall stayed on as chairman of the Forty Creek board and continues to

Davin de Kergommeaux

craft Forty Creek’s much-sought-after annual releases.

A Renaissance in micro-distilling It is easy to forget that like Forty Creek, many of today’s powerhouse distilleries began as small artisan operations, often barely making ends meet. So it is heartening to see history repeating itself as micro-distilling takes off again in every region of the country. Distillerie Fils du Roy, for example, on New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula provides a remarkable array of spirits, each with an Acadian connection. And they are, as they say in l’Acadie: “spectaculaire!”

Clear on the other side of the country, Vancouver has emerged as a hotbed for Canadian whisky distilleries with nearly a dozen gearing up for production. And from north of 60, in 2016, Yukon Brewers in Whitehorse burst onto the whisky scene with a wonderful single malt that had been quietly aging in their sub-Arctic warehouse for over seven years. Three subsequent releases have been equally appealing.

On the Prairies, exciting whisky things are happening too. The old stalwarts, Black Velvet, Alberta Distillers and Highwood, are steadily bottling the outstanding whiskies that have made the province of Alberta famous. Black Velvet in particular has new 21-year-old and seven-year-old, export-only versions that are making big waves in Europe.

Turner Valley’s Eau Claire Distillery is turning out whisky—single malt and bourbon-style—and tastings of their maturing spirit predict great things to come.

Meanwhile, residents and visitors to Calgary are

discovering nascent whisky right in their midst at Last Best Brewing and Distilling. Remember, in Canada it is not legally whisky until it has matured for at least three years in oak barrels.

Distillery visitors will have to settle for beer while Last Best’s whisky matures.

Sneak tastes of the spirit however, tell us we are certainly in for a treat.

In 2016, the Great One entered the whisky game and his first release is a doozie. Wayne Gretzky No. 99 from Wayne Gretzky Distillery is much more than a celebrity endorsement. Canada’s hockey icon has skin in the game, having joined Peller Estates Winery in building a new distillery in Niagara, Ontario. Recently, at a Scotch tasting in Calgary, whisky enthusiasts were delighted by the beautifully integrated fruity flavours that come from the Peller red wine barrels that Gretzky used to mature his first release. And of course, it’s Canadian whisky, not Scotch!

No, Gretzky did not distil it himself.

“I have always enjoyed a good whisky and was thrilled to work with master distiller Joshua Beach to create a new fabulous Canadian whisky.

“What’s truly exciting is we are using oak barrels from our red wines to finish the whisky for a really smooth and refined taste,” said the Great One. Yes, Canadian whisky is finally scoring goals again. After decades on the bench it is back with renewed vigour.

And best of all, some of the most flavourful whiskies are made right here in Alberta.

Davin de Kergommeaux’ new book Canadian Whisky: The New Portable Expert will be published in the fall of 2017.

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The Tomato | January February 2017 27

Tell us about your favourite thing to eat or drink We’ll add it to our list of the 100 best things to eat in Edmonton

Enter by January 27. Here’s how: Visit thetomato.ca and click on 100 best things to eat facebook.com/thetomatofooddrink @tomatofooddrink #TomatoTop100 #tomatofooddrink We’ll even accept a letter in the post The 100 best things to eat and drink will be featured in the March April issue of The Tomato food & drink. *For the purposes of this competition, Edmonton includes Sherwood Park, St. Albert and surrounding communities — we’ll drive for food!

Tomato guy illustration created exclusively for The Tomato by Darcy Muenchrath, www.darcymuenchrath.com.

28 January February 2017 | The Tomato

What’s the best thing you ate last year?

The best thing you ate last year could be: • a restaurant dish • a farmers’ market specialty • a product from your favourite local farmer • a snack food • a condiment

Whatever makes your mouth hum!

Enter at thetomato.ca January 4 through 27

Cookbooks Continued from page 12

Filet of Beef with Raisins and Pepper Sauce “This is adapted from Daniel Boulud’s Letters to a Young Chef,” –Jesse Morrison Gauthier.

For the Roasted Fingerling Potatoes 1 T

extra virgin olive oil

1 lb fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthwise salt and freshly-ground pepper 1 T

unsalted butter

1 clove

garlic, crushed

1 sprig

thyme

Warm the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When oil is hot, add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Brown potatoes evenly on all sides, turning as needed. Reduce heat to medium, add butter, garlic and thyme and cook until potatoes are tender. Discard garlic and thyme. Set potatoes aside and keep warm.

For the Sautéed Spinach 1½ t

unsalted butter

1½ lbs spinach, stemmed and centre veins removed 2 cloves

garlic, crushed

salt and freshly ground white pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add spinach and garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss until spinach is tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Discard garlic and drain off any remaining liquid in the pan. Set aside and keep warm.

For the Beef and Sauce ½ c

golden raisins

¼ c

cognac or Armagnac

1 t coarsely crushed whole pink peppercorns 1 t coarsely crushed whole green peppercorns ½ t coarsely crushed whole black peppercorns

½ t coarsely crushed Szechuan peppercorns 1 whole Jamaican peppercorn, crushed 1½ lb beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 4 slices

coarse salt

4 T

unsalted butter

⅓ c unsalted beef stock or low sodium beef broth

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a small pot. Add raisins, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and run the raisins under cold water. Drain again.

Put raisins into a small bowl and pour the cognac over. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Combine peppercorns together. Season meat with coarse salt and press peppercorns into the beef. Warm 2 T butter in large skillet over medium heat. Slip filets into the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer meat to a platter and keep warm.

THIS WOULD TASTE BETTER

WITH WINE WE HAVE your missing ingredient

R.COM LIQUO

E ROOK SHERB ail | r T t ber St. Al 11819

Drain off the fat from skillet. Add raisins and cognac to pan. Simmer gently until liquid is reduced by half. Add beef stock, reduce the heat and simmer for another 2 minutes. Cut remaining butter into small pieces. Gradually add butter to the sauce while continuously stirring. Season to taste for salt. Add meat to the pan and baste with the sauce.

To serve: divide the meat and sauce among four warm dinner plates. Serve with the fingerling potatoes and spinach.

Serves 4.

BLAIR LEBSACK, RGE RD When I first started cooking and got into my first true apprenticeship it was under Doug Robertson at Dominion Sports Services. Doug had me doing everything from turning potatoes and fluting mushrooms, to making all the classic sauces. It was a great way to learn, even if he did make mashed potatoes with my perfectly turned (seven-sided) potatoes.

Chef Doug gave me one of his personal cookbooks, a signed copy of The Essential Mosimann. This was my first foray into European cuisine; a very inspirational Please see “Cookbooks” next page.

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The Tomato | January February 2017 29

Nourishing Entertainment!

Metro Cinema is a community-based non-profit society devoted to the exhibition and promotion of Canadian, international and independent film and video. metrocinema.org To the Ends of the Earth

January 31 @ 7:00PM To the Ends of the Earth highlights the consequences of the unbridled expansion of Canada’s tar sands operations and pipelines, and the rise of extreme energy.

Panel discussion following the screening.

We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice

February 12 @ 1:00PM Activists file a human-rights complaint against the Canadian government’s inadequate funding of services for Indigenous children claiming it is discriminatory. Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin & Activist Cindy Blackstock in attendance for Q & A.

Black History Month

February 1, 7, 15, 18, 20, 22, 26, & 28 Join us as we celebrate BHM with the following films: Do Not Resist, Dave Chapelle’s Block Party, Refugee: The Eritrean Exodus, Maya Angelou and Still I Rise, Chris Rock’s Good Hair, and Moonlight.

Metro Cinema at the Garneau

Metro Cinema receives ongoing support from these Arts Funders:

8712-109 Street | metrocinema.org

Cookbooks Continued from page 29

read. I have read this book cover to cover many times and also purchased the Art of Anton Mosimann as I am now a huge fan of his cooking. This book had served me well but I realized that the best part of this book was sharing it, so I later passed it on to one of my finest apprentices, Drew. I hope that it served him well and has been passed on again.

One of my other favourite cookbooks is Terra: Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley, just a very nice book that really focuses on technique.

Risotto Anton Mosimann “I was first introduced to risotto in his cookbook. I love how it is a recipe but also more a way of visually recognizing how to make risotto. On another note, risotto is one of my desert island foods and I would eat this everyday.” –Blair Lebsack

Melt 25g of butter in a hot pan. Chop up a small onion into fine pieces and cook it in the butter with a sprig or so of fresh thyme. Cook until soft, but not brown.

Stir in 200g of arborio rice with a decent pinch of turmeric, and make sure the rice is coated in the hot butter. Again, do not brown.

Pour in 150ml of steaming hot vegetable or chicken stock. Stir like crazy. The rice will release starch. Starch is what makes the risotto creamy.

Over a medium heat, carry on adding 250ml of hot stock in small quantities,

until the rice has absorbed it. You know how to do this, I don’t really need to tell you: add a bit of stock, stir until most of the stock has been absorbed, add a bit of stock, stir.

As you’re stirring, mix in 250g of courgettes, cut into small diced cubes. I tend to cut up my vegetables for this sort of thing into fairly small dice, as I think, visually at least, it looks neater, and it will take less time to cook.

It’s important not to overcook the rice.

The Italians like their risotto rice to be reasonably firm, yet bound in a creamy, fairly sloppy sauce. This is the great art: firm rice, wet sauce; and it’s not especially easy to get right the first time you make it.

Just before you reckon the rice to be ready, pour in 50ml of dry white wine.

This will stop the cooking. Stir in a knob of butter, check the seasoning, and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

ROSARIO CAPUTO, CIBO BISTRO My favourite book to read right now is The Art of Eating Well by Pellegrino Artusi. I have immersed myself in this book. It’s refreshing to read, the simplicity, how innovative he was; these recipes became the classics. Books I find myself always going back to: Made in Italy by Giorgio Locatelli, Marc Vetri’s Rustic Italian Food and The River Cafe Cookbook which was very influential early in my career.

A cookbook that is essential in a kitchen is Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book is incredible for young chefs as it goes through how to use ingredients, how to pair them seasonally. And, when you are changing the menus as often as we do, it helps keep you sharp.

What can we put together?

What I do with a fish special?

This book helps the creative process, helps us get an idea of the flavour components.

30 January February 2017 | The Tomato

Spend a week in paradise!

Relax in comfort in your own private villa set amongst the vineyards and olive trees in the heart of Chianti—only 15 minutes from historic Siena.

Available for booking in 2017 and 2018 This newly-renovated villa is the perfect setting to explore the magic of Tuscany. Indulge in fantastic wine and gourmet food, enjoy picturesque hiking and cycling through the magical hilltop villages of Tuscany.

2-bedroom villa: $500 per person per week based on 4 people 3-bedroom villa: $400 per person per week based on 6 people 4-bedroom villa: $350 per person per week based on 8 people

For more information or to book: info@comlinks.ca

Kitchen Sink restaurant buzz Want the latest YEG food and drink news delivered to your inbox weekly? Sign up for The Bite at the tomato.ca Baijiu (10359-104 Street, baijiuyeg.com) The eagerly awaited Baijiu, Kevin Cam’s new spot in the Mercer building is now open. Drinks by Tommy Cheng, food

by Alexei Boldireff, with a focus on fine cocktails and Asian-inspired plates, including late night dumplings, bao and dim-sum inspired dishes. The location is ideal for pre- or post-game drinks at Rogers, Tuesday-Friday.

End the weekend with aperitivi at Bar Bricco (10347 Jasper Avenue, 780-424-5588, barbricco.com) Order a cocktail or glass of wine while servers walk around with platters of spuntini and explain what delightfully delicious little nibble you are eating. That sounds like the perfect Sunday evening, from 3-9pm.

The Marc (9940 106 Street, 780-429-2828,themarc. ca) holds their popular explorations of French regional cuisine: Tour d’Alsace featuring the toothsome food and drink of Alsace; Thursday, January 12 to Saturday, January 21. Le Tour de Burgundy starts Thursday, February 10 to Saturday, February 18. Both are terrific value, $49/pp for a three-course dinner.

Micheal Giasson is the new chef at Have Mercy (8232 Gateway Blvd, 780-760-0203, havemercy.ca). Micheal has over a decade of experience as a Red Seal chef including working with Emmanuel David and at Earl’s.

Bündok (10228 104 Street, 780-420-0192, bundokyeg. com) the new project by chef Ryan Hotchkiss opened quietly in late December. Expect seasonal Canadian cuisine with a short and sweet wine and cocktail list. In the Fox Tower, open Tuesday-Saturday 5pm till late.

Check out the new restaurant in Norwood called Otto (11405 95 Street.) It’s the latest project by Ed Donszelmann, who some may remember from his days as the Big Rock beer guy. The highlight of the accessible menu by Thomas Spacinsky (Culina Mill Creek) is the tasty sausages by Steven Furgiuele (Fuge Meats).

Josper grill which cooks meats at an extremely high temp. The entire culinary operation at Grand Villa is overseen by chef Shelley Robinson, considered to be one of the best chefs in the country. Open for lunch Monday-Friday and dinner seven nights a week.

The Victoria Weekend Brunch at the Dogwood Cafe (12130 River Valley Road, 780-442-1636, culinafamily. com) is back! Saturday and Sunday from 9am-3pm. No reservations required for counter service offering classics like eggs benny, cheese omelets and French toast. Enjoy the new Winter City Patio firepit or snuggle around the fireplace with Baileys and coffee. Dogwood Brunch at Riverside Golf Course is on Sundays only, from 9-3pm.

The Mexican-influenced brunch menu features fresh salsas and sauces from chef Stuart Whyte of Original Redhead Condiments.

Culina Muttart (9626 96A Street, 780-466-1181) is open Thursday nights for dinner from 5pm-8pm with weekly specials by chef de cuisine, Stephane Alcasabas.

Drop in for dinner at the Dogwood Café after an afternoon ski on the Victoria Golf Course. The fun menu features ski lodge cuisine such as cheese fondue and French onion soup. Thursday-Sunday from 4pm-9pm, for reservations and menus, visit culinafamily.ca .

wine tastings. happenings and events Enjoy a Valentine’s menu filled with delicious choices, 12 appetizer selections, 10 entrée selections and four dessert selections on Monday, February 13 at XIX Nineteen Terwillegar (5940 Mullen Way, 780-3951119), and Tuesday, February 14 at XIX Nineteen St Albert (#104, 150 Bellerose Drive, 780-569-1819).

Reservations, dinenineteen.com, $85/pp.

No word yet on the menu for Valentine’s at The Cavern (#2, 10169 104 Street, 780-455-1336, thecavern.ca) but you know it will be elegant and romantic. The cheese shop space transforms into candle-lit Parisian boite in the evening. Also available, Valentine’s Gift Boxes, yum.

La Boule Patisserie and Bakery (8020 101 Street, 780760-2253, laboulebakery.ca) is now open with 20 or so seats for coffee and outstanding pastry. Coming soon, fine breads and there is a chocolate room, oh yes! Open Tuesday through Sunday.

Aligra Wine and Spirits (#1423, West Edmonton Mall, Entrance 58, 8882 170 Street, 780-483-1083, aligrawineandspirits) hosts their 10th anniversary Robbie Burns Night with a blind Scotch tasting event, January 24, from 7-9pm, $65/pp. The Mid-winter Rum Tasting is guaranteed to warm you up, February 21, from 7-9pm, $50/pp.

We are thrilled there is a new steak house in town, Atlas Steak + Fish in the Grand Villa Casino (Rogers Place, 10224 104 Avenue, 780-413-3178, atlassteakandfish. com). Atlas is the real deal. They have a fantastic Spanish

Century 21 Platinum and Easter Seals is encouraging local coffee shops to design a special hot chocolate for the Edmonton Winter Festival in February. Proceeds

32 January February 2016 | The Tomato

to Easter Seals helps send kids with disabilities to summer camp. Visit YEGhotchocolate.com for all the participating coffee shops.

Keep an eye out for a series of events at the Prairie Noodle Shop to help fund Gold Medal Plates Edmonton champion Eric Hanson’s trip to the national Culinary Competition in Kelowna. The chef’s costs are covered but Eric is hoping to bring his wife and mother, prairienoodleshop.ca Northern Lands promises to be a stellar opportunity to taste both the best of Canada and Italy. And, if you work in the hospitality trade and register for the Northern Lands Canadian Trade Tasting by January 31 you could win some cool prizes. Edmontonians could win a mixed case of Canadian wine. Out-of-town trade could win two nights at the Westin and two tickets to Meet Your Makers Saturday, May 6. Sweet!

Two opportunities to meet and taste with Luis Pato, who Jancis Robinson calls “one of the most inventive winemakers anywhere, and most certainly within Portugal.” Thursday, March 23, tasting at Vines of Riverbend (2331 Rabbit Hill Road), $30/pp, info@ vineswinemerchants.com, and dinner at Ernest’s (NAIT, 11762 106 Street) Friday, March 24. Tickets $95/pp, email twright@nait.ca.

The Italian Centre Shops are starting a monthly Chef ’s Inspiration Series with recipes, demos and dinners.

Here’s how it works: on the first Saturday of each month customers can sample the dish and pick up their free recipe card at all three locations. Featured chefs host popup dinners at Spinelli’s Southside (104A Street and 51 Avenue) featuring the recipe paired with wines selected

by Juanita and Kelsey Roos from Color de Vino. Chefs include Brad Smoliak (Kitchen by Brad), Blair Lebsack (RGE RD), James Szutarski (NAIT), Lino Oliviera (Sabor), Sonny Sung (Bistecca) and Doreen Prei (Get Cooking). Dinners are $65-$75 for three courses paired with wine. Sean O’Connor’s (Red Ox Inn) chocolate pot du crème is featured at the first dinner on Tuesday, February 7. Book at the italiancentre.ca.

cooking classes Cooking classes at The Pan Tree (#550, 220 Lakeland Drive, Sherwood Park, 780-464-4631, thepantree.ca) January 18, Rawsome Adventures with Sarah Foster and Jade Wu; January 25, Chinese New Year with Sarah and Jade; January 31, Guacamole and Dips with chef Israel Alvarez; February 7, It’s Pizza Time with chef Stefan Cherwoniak; February 22, Adobos and Moles with chef Israel Alvarez; February 28, Sausage Making 1 with chef

Richard Toll. Book on the website, the pantree.ca Winter Wine and Cheese Pairings is the theme for Cavern Cheese School (10169 104 Street, 780-455-1336, thecavern.ca), Sunday, January 15 and January 29. Call to book.

Cooking Class line up at The Ruby Apron (780-906-0509, therubyapron. ca): Vegetarian, January 13; Pastry Workshop, January 15; Intro to Yeast Breads, January 22; Middle Eastern, January 27. Bring Back the Dinner Party, February 3; Pizza Workshop, February 10; Winter Weeknight Meals, February 17. Visit the website for descriptions, times, prices and to book.

product news Something gorgeous for your sweetheart at The Pan Tree (#550, 220 Lakeland Drve, Sherwood Park, 780-464-4631, thepantree.ca), enameled cast iron heartshaped cocottes from Le Creuset ($250) and Staub ($240).

C AV E R N

EVENTS cheese • wine+beer • espresso

January 15+29 Cavern Cheese School Winter Wine+Cheese Pairings

February 14 Valentine's Dinner Menu and Gift Boxes 10169 - 104 street | 780.455.1336 | info@thecavern.ca | @CavernYEG

A VA L E N T I N E S E V E N T F O R T H E K I D S K OT TAG E F O U N DAT I O N

MUSIC B

SA DOMNDRO INEL L Y

Prairie Mill Bakery is closing its retail location to concentrate on the wholesale business. The good news is things won’t look much different; Confetti Sweets, who is taking over the southwest storefront, will still carry the bread as will Earth’s General, Blush Lane, Spud,

February is Masakage knives month at Knifewear (10820 82 Avenue, 587521-2034, knifewear.com) For the entire month of February, Masakage knives are 15 per cent off at all Knifewear stores.

Kevin Kent, founder and former chef, has worked closely with Masakage master blacksmiths to develop knives suitable for the western kitchen. “These knives are our most beloved brand and they all have a sexy look to boot,” says Kevin.

Modern Canadian Cuisine Fox Tower • 10228-104 Street bundokyeg.com • @bundokyeg

I

O

Wayne Kaiser and Christina Jiang are the owners of the newest Cobs Bread now open in The Brewery District (11956 - 104 Avenue, 780-423-9955).

Their charity partners include Hope Mission and the Breakfast Club of Canada, COBS Bread’s national partner.

Cococo Chocolatiers (10103 124 Street and 11004 - 51 Avenue, cococochocolatiers.co) uses only certified sustainable chocolate made with Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cocoa and cocoa butter that supports farming communities in West Africa.

Their chocolate is also couverture quality, using added cocoa butter instead of waxy vegetable fats or oily substitutes.

Explore their Valentine’s collection: chocolate cupids, molded hearts, fresh cream hearts or a custom copper box filled with your sweetie’s favourites. For more info on the Rainforest certification visit Cococo’s web site.

Bündok

JUN

Chef Steven Furgiuele has jumped into the crowd funding arena with an ATB Alberta Boostr campaign. The idea is to build a proper salumeriera (a larger production facility) with a walk-in curing refrigeration unit. Fuge Fine Meats are on offer in several restaurants around town and at Bon Jour Bakery. If you love Fuge charcuterie and want to move this project along, visit albertaboostr.ca before January 29.

Organic Box and the Planet Organic stores. We will miss Owen the baker’s happy face at the farmers’ markets.

NO

Send new and/or interesting food and drink related news for The Kitchen Sink to thetomato.ca.

bonjour Good bread, speciality cheese.

Tonight, or for a special occasion

8612-99 Street 780.433.5924 www.bonjourbakery.com

TICKETS

$100

D

what’s new and notable

M I N AT

E

Enjoy hundreds of wines, silent auction, live jazz, elegant food pairings and some new surprises!

Friday, February 10, 2017 from 7pm – 10pm

by Hilton (16615 109 Ave NW)

at the DoubleTree

For tickets www.kidskottage.org or call 780-448-1752

Want the latest Edmonton food and drink news delivered to your inbox weekly?

Sign up at thetomato.ca The Tomato | January February 2017 33

According to Judy

Judy Schultz

How long Is a longtime?

That’s how long I’ve been writing this column. A longtime.

It’s been eight years of columns, many written from New Zealand or elsewhere.

Happily, I’ve never missed a deadline, and it’s been great fun ranting away in The Tomato about anything from soup to nuts; but enough. Time to move on.

Mary Bailey, intrepid editor, writer and friend, has generously allowed me to use this final column as a shameless plug for my next project. (Yes! Thank you Mary!)

you know you want more...

Early on, I explored possible weaponry for each plot. Even a halfway-adequate kitchen offers a full selection of stabbers, slicers and dicers. Ice picks come to mind, as do carving knives and cleavers.

There’s a mother lode of items for enemy-bashing; meat mallets, rolling pins and wine bottles for starters.

So here we go. For six of the past eight years I’ve been a closet mystery writer. I’m not speedy, so I’ve churned out one novella a year.

Novellas—shorter than novels, longer than short stories—are a lot like good meals. You should have enough to feel satisfied, but still be a little bit hungry for the next one.

My project has a working title: Best Served Cold. I borrowed it from the French novel, Dangerous Liaisons, where somebody announced, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

The kitchen, after all, is a room that overflows with opportunity. Suppose you want to get rid of some inconvenient rodent who’s in your face, or on your back. Is it a faithless lover, a cheating spouse or an evil boss who is giving you grief? Is some badass rival constantly stealing your thunder? Whatever their

food poisoning caused by a mushroom omelet I made during class, I know what I’m talking about. Yes, friends, I nearly did in my own husband, without even trying. He still looks nervous when there’s a mushroom in the vicinity.

That, dear reader, is only the beginning.

What more do you need to dispatch an enemy? The seven final plagues? (It’s a Doomsday thing.) If you can’t murder somebody in a kitchen, you’re not trying very hard.

Regarding plots, motives and malice aforethought, show me a kitchen without malice and I’ll show you a church basement during Christmas dinner.

Malice, the essential ingredient of a murder plot, was probably invented by a chef.

Along with professional jealousy, malice is the je ne sais quoi of the professional kitchen. If you disagree, I invite you to watch a hare-brained Food Network reality show called Chopped, or any of its equally-witless knock-offs.

The mystery project was inspired by one of my all-time favourite food movies, a comedy/mystery flick called Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?

It was loaded with revenge murders that could only have happened in a kitchen or dining room.

After all those years of midnight keyboarding, I’m left with a modestbut-toothsome selection of murderous novellas, each one exploring the art of revenge in some wickedly juicy way, each one cooked up in a different Canadian kitchen, starting right here, in Edmonton.

34 January February 2017 | The Tomato

trespasses, if they deserve to be done in, the kitchen’s the place to start.

For finishing off the enemy with more prolonged drama, you’ve got your walkin freezers with malfunctioning doors, your gas leaks, your deep fryers, your ovens, your giant pots of scalding-hot liquids.

High on my list of other possibilities were broken glass and ground glass, followed by tainted clams, bad oysters and cheeses that ran afoul of some rogue bacteria.

Along the way, I found books filled with beautifully-illustrated mushrooms, all deadly. Any one of them could finish an enemy with style, secrecy and considerable personal misery.

Having attended cooking school in Italy and watched my husband suffer through

Like every writing project, mine needs a marketing plan. So far? Nothing.

Not a clue. That’s why I have six of them stacked up. If I was any good at marketing, would I still have a full carton of my first books mouldering away in the basement?

Last words: I invite you to watch The Tomato for information on where to find a series of six (or so) kitchen mysteries called Best Served Cold: Fifteen Minutes of Fame (plus five other titles), doubtless with cheesylooking paperback covers, suitable for reading in the bath, or on the bus, or while making dinner for a feckless lover you’re planning to finish off, or anytime you’re hell-bent on cooking up something so bad it’s good.

Judy Schultz is an award-winning author whose passion for food and cooking has provided fodder for years of columns and several books. writer@judyink.ca

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The Great Canadian Wine and Culinary Adventure

50+ WINERIES AND CRAFT BREWERIES • 30+ CHEFS

Meet the winemakers, brewmasters and chefs responsible for the innovation and quality evolution of the Canadian craft beverage and culinary industries.

Experience winemakers’ dinners, events, seminars and tastings.

MAY 2 – 6, 2017

S H AW C O N F E R E N C E C E N T R E E D M O N T O N , A L B E R TA

This year’s festival welcomes Italy as a featured country.

In support of the High School Culinary Challenge & Edmonton Community Foundation Grateful Palate Fund

VISIT WWW.NORTHERNLANDS.CA FOR TICKETS AND DETAILS @NORTHERNLNDS

NORTHERNLANDSFEST

NORTHERNLANDSFEST

Participating chefs include:

Vikram Vij

Jacob Pelletier

Jakob Lutes

Daniel Costa

John Jackson and Connie DeSousa

Mandel Hitzer