The Tomato March April 2017

Take a bite of your city | March April 2017 | thetomato.ca

5th Annual Tomato Top 100 A Tale of Two Distilleries

DOWNTOWN EDMONTON | DOWNTOWN CALGARY

Opening this Summer

South Edmonton at 9626 Ellerslie Road SW

Pay with a Pampa Gift Card and receive 10% back*

pampasteakhouse.com @EATPAMPAYYC @EATPAMPAYEG

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Contents

Editor Mary Bailey marybee@telus.net

Features

Publisher BGP Publishing

Copy Editor

Best things to eat or drink in Edmonton

Shauna Faragini

Contributing Writers Peter Bailey Jan Hostyn Harold Wollin

Illustration/Photography Randee Armstrong Curtis Comeau Photography Photographer Daniel Wood Gerry Rasmussen

Design and Prepress

18 A Tale of Two Distilleries Meet Edmonton’s home-grown craft spirit makers | Mary Bailey

22 The Tomato Food Stage At the Edmonton Home and Garden Show

Gunnar Blodgett, COPA Jurist

Printer

14 Tsipouro Nectar of the gods | Harold Wollin

Bossanova Communications Inc.

WebMeister

10 Let’s Brunch!

Chefs’ favourite recipes

Advertising Sales Shauna Faragini

6 The 5th Annual Top 100

26 Canadian Culinary Championships And the winners are ...

28 Northern Lands Seminars for wine lovers

Distribution

Departments

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.

For advertising information call 780-720-1361.

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.

5 Dish Gastronomic happenings around town

12 The Proust Culinary Questionnaire Eric Hanson, Praire Noodle Shop

16 Feeding People Adventures in bread land | Jan Hostyn

24 Beer Guy 365 bottles of beer on the wall | Peter Bailey

32 Kitchen Sink What’s new and notable

On the cover: Corso 32’s Pollo all’ Aceto (hen in vinegar) on the Tomato Top 100.

Photo by Randee Armstrong.

thetomato.ca

Celebrating Edmonton’s

20 YEARS

Food Culture Since 1996

Hooray! It’s

HALIBUT Season!

YOUR

Icelandic Fish Connection

Quality

Un mondo di sapori.

(un MUN-doe dee sah-POH-ree) That’s Italian for ‘a world of flavour’, which is what you’ll find every time you visit our shop.

Now let’s go make some spaghetti tacos.

Grocery. Bakery. Deli. Café.

EDMONTON Little Italy | Southside | West End CALGARY Willow Park

italiancentre.ca

WILD

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

Dish

gastronomic happenings around town

live like massimo

at long last alta

Daniel Wood photo

Alta (10328 Jasper Avenue, 780-2443635, altayeg.ca) is now open. The core team is chef/owner Ben Staley, who started his career with Darcy Radies at the Blue Pear; chef de cuisine Spencer Croteau (Rge Rd, Little Brick); general manger Jillian Fonteyne, who is a graduate of the Royal Roads hotel management program and mixologist around town Natasha Trowsdale is the bar manager. “I’m looking forward to having the whole thing over, the doing stuff I’ve never done before,” says Ben, referring to the delays and construction challenges that plagued the space; “and getting back to cooking.” We’re looking forward to dining there. Preservation is the cornerstone of the menu—many of the dishes are designed around the products of last summer, freeze-dried, pickled, dehydrated and salted. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 11-1am, no reservations. Its sibling, Alder, opens next door later this spring.

One of the most memorable personalities in cuisine, Massimo Capra, is at the Edmonton Home and Garden Show (March 23-26). “You know what I like the most about doing a show like that?” he says. “I get to connect with people. They want to talk and I pick up little ideas and quirks. Because you can’t remember everything.” Something else chef Capra likes: “I love those sandwiches at the Italian Centre. We modeled our sandwich at the airport (Boccone Pronto at Pearson), a deconstructed muffaletta, after them. Ask them to toast it for you.” His newest project is Capra’s Kitchen, a casual restaurant located in an old bakery building in downtown Port Credit. “I couldn’t just stay home and develop recipes for the restaurants. I want to be in the kitchen and cook. I cook because I enjoy it. It makes me happy.”

branching out Alison Phillips, the co-owner of Aligra Wine & Spirits has the travel bug. The former travel agent has dived back into the business as a travel consultant with The Travel Agent Next Door. “My goal is to manage our wine groups and offer this to others in the liquor industry, as well as help people realize their exotic travel dreams,” says Alison. Her latest travel adventure will be the Viking River Cruise Portugal’s River of Gold, June 15-24.

feast on this Feast: Recipes and Stories from a Canadian Road Trip by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller, Appetite by Random House, $35. One car, two friends, five months, 37,000 kilometers. The result? Over 100 truly Canadian recipes sourced from across the country including the Great White North. Feast has garnered recipes from over 80 contributors—farmers, chefs, grandmothers, First Nations elders, along with 25 recipes by the authors, from bannock to spot prawn ceviche: maple-braised pork belly to Haida Gwaii halibut. Armchair travel at its best, Feast tells a rollicking story of a large country from a culinary point of view.

Meet Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller at a book signing at Audrey’s, March 7.

manage your events The NAIT event management program offers several courses for working event management professionals.

“People in the field want to learn new strategies, harness new developments and get up to date with technology,” says Nancy Milkovic, program manager. “The courses are part of the event management professional development certificate but can be taken individually as well.” The Technology for Event Administrators weekend course offers hands-on training in new software and apps for events. Top Creative Concepts offers a way to problem solve using creative thinking. If you plan events or want to learn more about the courses, visit nait.ca/events.

50 shades of grey Oyster, a moody, colour of the winter ocean, subdued silvery grey is the newest Le Creuset shade to lust over. Inspired by, you guessed it, the inside of an oyster shell, the new colour is available across the line in cast iron, stoneware and all the accessories. If you were thinking of going grey now is the time. Available at the Pan Tree, Heart of the Home, Bella Casa and other fine housewares shops.

Photos from top: diners at ALTA with chef/owner Ben Staley (back to window); Massimo Capra; Anderson/ VanVeller co-authored cookbook Feast, Recipes and Stories from a Canadian Road Trip; Alison Phillips; NAIT tablescape and Le Creuset’s oyster shell-inspired cookware.

NAIT photo

The Tomato | March April 2017 5

THE 5TH ANNUAL

THINGS TO EAT OR DRINK IN EDMONTON

1 Randee Armstrong photo

The fifth annual Tomato Top 100 brings us less candy, more stick-to-the-ribs dishes.

Octopus is Edmonton’s new fave seafood, with three dishes on the Top 100. We’ve squeezed in as many dishes as could fit here, find the full Top 100 at thetomato.ca.

1. Spaghetti Bottarga, Uccellino It’s a rare dish that can truly transport you somewhere else, but Uccellino’s spaghetti bottarga does just that—to the sea.

The flavours are oceanic—fresh, salty, briny—and the pasta always al dente. Bottarga, a specialty of the southern Mediterranean, similar to caviar, is fish roe that has been salted, pressed and cured by the sun—intensely fishy but in a good way. Best with a crisp minerally white wine from southern Italy.

2. BC Diver-caught Octopus, Rge Rd Here is how Rge Rd does it: “We braise it slowly in a tomato stock,” says sous Davina Moraiko. “Then reduce the stock and serve with roasted hazelnuts, smoked butter, leeks and a garlic chip.” Divine.

3. Pollo all’ Aceto (Hen in vinegar), Corso 32 Cooking in vinegar is a cooking technique found in most regions in Italy. The Corso kitchen uses a 35year old Balsamico, with saba and pomegranate, charred radiccio and crisped lardo, creating a superbly balanced and flavourful dish.

4. Pappardelle, Cibo Cibo makes a beautiful pappardelle pasta, velvety– textured with just the right amount of bite. Often topped with Bolognese, it’s a rich and hearty dish with many fans.

5. Lemon Tart, La Boule The new La Boule garnered votes for the hazelnut tart, the passion fruit éclair and especially for the lemon tart. “I’ve had a LOT of lemon tarts, but this one takes the cake. Creamy, but not too creamy. Tart, but not

6 March April 2017 | The Tomato

so much that my face puckers, with delicate pastry holding it all together. It takes every bit of will power to not buy them all every time I visit. I have a new addiction.”

Amanda LeNeve

6. Nduja and White Anchovy Crostini, Bar Bricco Hard to believe this tiny morsel could pack so much flavour. So savoury—the taste rockets to the back of the palate while the shaved fennel provides counterpoint to the richness.

7. Bacon, Local Omnivore The ideal bacon in all its sweet, salty and smoky glory? Many think so. “The heaping amounts of cane sugar in our bacon rub is what really makes the flavour, that in addition to using a cold smoke versus a hot smoke,” says Ryan Brodziak, Local Omnivore.

8. Tuna Twists, X1X Tasty morsels of rare tuna. A perennial Top100 favourite.

9. Smoked Gouda Miso Ramen, Prairie Noodle Shop Number one ramen again! Sylvan Star gouda, mozzarella, garlic puree, some heat from the chile oil and crunch from the veg. “Terrific flavours” said one nominator.

10. Beignets, The Marc People say consistency is the hardest thing to achieve in a restaurant dish. The Marc’s beignets, pillowy bits of fried dough, with two sauces for dipping, hit it every time. Hard to eat just one. The Marc also gets kudos from readers for having the prettiest patio in Edmonton.

11. Honey Rosemary Bar, Violet Chocolate Company “Amazing, award-winning chocolate, not just nationally but also internationally. Once you eat these chocolates you are hooked. No other chocolate compares,” said one reader.

Nominators were also partial to the pumpkin chai bar.

Please see “Top 100” on page 8

5

Randee Armstrong photo

2

3

7

11

8

The Tomato | March April 2017 7

Top 100

17. Sourdough Rye Pancake with Jambon de Paris, Bar Clementine “A savoury small plate of Meuweley’s shaved ham on a thin crepe. A

Continued from page 6

12. Arancini, Cibo Cibo’s arancini, crispy on the outside, deliciously gooey and

delicious bite,” says Shauna Faragini.

cheesy on the inside. Yum!

18. Smoke & Oak Cocktail, North 53 North 53’s riff on Old-Fashioned

13. Cheese Burger, Glass Monkey The patties are made in-house from a nice chunky grind of sirloin, grilled, and served with lots of cheese on a toasted bun.

‘Nice and burgery’ was one comment and we couldn’t agree more.

remains top cocktail. Victoria Oaken Gin, smoked maple syrup, orange and angostura bitters, plus a spritz of orange oil to trap the smoke of the burning blue spruce. By Brendan Brewster.

14. Beef Short Rib with Wild Mushroom Risotto, X1X The X1X

19. Christopher’s Moscardini, Uccellino Chef Christopher Hyde’s

kitchen does an amazing job with braising. Readers also love the hoisin glazed short rib and the lamb shanks.

toothsome octopus dish, redolent of a long braise in red wine and served with charred bread. Perfect.

15. Asparagus, Edgar Farms “Asparagus isn’t even supposed to grow well

20. Smoked Meat Sandwich, Sandwich and Sons All their

in our province. The hard work and dedication of these family farmers makes it possible. I’m glad we have people like this living and working in Alberta. A highlight of every June for me.” Barbara LeFort.

sandwiches garnered votes, but none more than the smoked meat—makes Quebecers homesick, the mustard, pickles and potato chips are made in house and the meats are by local meat guru, Jeff Senger.

16. Egg Yolk Raviolo, Bar Bricco “The house-made pasta is tender, the egg

21. Broke Back Breakfast, Local Omnivore Imagine all their meats,

yolk is perfectly cooked, it is filled with the right amount of ricotta and it is covered in Parmesan. To die for!” says Carly Strong.

with eggs and many, many fans. One of those fans, Keith Farquarson, call this the best breakfast in the city.

12

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8 March April 2017 | The Tomato

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22. Seoul Fried Chicken & Northern Chicken We’re calling it a tie.

Seoul Fried Chicken’s OG, Grana Padano and Lime Cilantro versions all garnered noms as did their delicious corn fritters. Northern Chicken’s toothsome fried chicken (available in extra spicy too) has gained a rabid following.

23. Handheld Bennie, Juniper Bistro Amanda Clements Harvey calls the handheld bennie at Juniper Bistro the perfect food. “A balanced delight combining the creamy goodness of homemade hollandaise with the bitter-crunch of arugula, a perfect poached egg and fresh bun.”

24. Green Onion Cake, Culina Muttart Green onion cake with barbecue braised pork and spicy kimchee ‘I think about this dish whenever I drive by the Muttart; it takes Edmonton’s favorite festival food to a better level,” said one nominator.

FOR A LIFETIME OF DELICIOUS COOKING

25. Perfect Pear Newget The seasonal combo of white chocolate, rosemary, pistachios and a generous amount of dried pear makes for one deliciously chewy nougat.

26. Poutine, Café Bicyclette “The portion is big, the fries hearty, the curds plentiful, and the gravy has a sweet touch of maple. Eating this on the patio in the winter or summer is Edmonton at its best!” Jill Thursby

27. The Negroni Cocktail, Cibo The Cibo Negroni is the best in the city, according to Mike Maoine, because of the spherical ice they use—less dilution equals more flavour.

Available at The Pan Tree

28. Devil’s Butter, Kitchen by Brad Light-textured, with a perfect balance

780.464.4631 www.thepantree.ca

of seasonings and spice. Slather on bread, steak, potaoes, broccoli. Try not to scoop it up with your fingers.

220 Lakeland Dr., Sherwood Park

29. French Crullers, The Art of Cake So delicious! Check out the Art of Cake’s new location, 11807C - 105 Avenue.

30. The Big Italian Sandwich, the Italian Centre Shops Legions of firemen and football fans agree: the iconic sandwich, chock full of deli meats and cheeses with a slick of oregano-scented dressing, remains the favourite offering, especially at the downtown location.

On the corner of Lakeland Dr. and Broadmoor Blvd @PanTreeKitchen

/ThePanTree

the downtown business association presents

Downtown Dining Week TEN DAYS • THREE PRICES • DOZENS OF DELECTABLE MEALS

March 10 -19, 2017 $15, $28, $45

DINE OUT TO WIN GREAT PRIZES! Grand Prize: A Deluxe Weekend Getaway for two at the Chateau Lacombe Hotel.

28

edmontondowntown.com

The Tomato | March April 2017 9

The Pêche Cocktail, Jordan Clemens, Bar Clementine.

Going for brunch has never been more popular and we have never had so many delicious options—from casual, morningafter eggs and coffee to dress-up, special occasion dining. It’s also a terrific way to entertain at home. We asked several of our favourite brunch spots to share a recipe.

Rye Crèpes Roger Letourneau, Bar Clementine 155 grams

(1½ c) rye flour

325 grams

(2½ c) all-purpose flour

1 t

salt

6 eggs 900 ml

water

160 grams

(⅔ c) melted butter

1 oz

rhum

Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix eggs with melted butter and rhum. Combine the water with the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Add the egg, butter, rhum and mix well. Let sit overnight in the fridge, or at least 1 hour.

To make crèpes Thin out the batter with water until the consistency of cream.

Heat a frying pan with a teaspoon of oil on medium high. Once heated, ladle a small amount of batter into the pan and lift up and tilt all the way around to help spread the batter. If it’s too thick, thin out again with water. Once browned on one side add a little more oil and flip over to brown the other side.

You can serve this with eggs and ham or sauté some stone fruits in butter and syrup to pair with it. Makes about 20 crèpes.

10 March April 2017 | The Tomato

French Toast with Bourbon Bananas Foster Chef Steve Buzak, Royal Glenora Club 1 c heavy (33-35 per cent) cream 8 eggs 1 double shot espresso (optional) 5 ml

sugar

2 T

vanilla

30 ml

butter

1 lg sourdough baguette (chef picks up from Boulangerie Bonjour Bakery)

Mix cream, egg, espresso, sugar and vanilla together and set aside.

Pre-heat a large sauté pan, add butter and heat until it simmers, but don’t let it brown. Add brown sugar and whisk until melted and thickened slightly.

Add bananas and cook until they start to soften. Add bourbon and continue to cook until the alcohol is cooked out, about 3-5 minutes.

To serve: Remove French toast from the oven, plate and spoon over bananas and sauce. Serve extra sauce on the side.

Garnish with berries and mint if you like and enjoy with some crispy bacon.

Serves 4-6.

Salmon with Ginger Lemon Glaze and Candied Jalapenos

Slice baguette on a bias 1-inch thick by 5 inches long (12 slices). Place the bread in the egg mixture and let sit on both sides until soaked through. Remove the bread to allow the excess mixture to run off.

Executive sous chef Leanne Kitagawa, La Ronde in the Chateau Lacombe

1 c

fresh jalapenos, sliced

Heat the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until the butter is melted and begins to simmer. Place slices in the pan, do not crowd and cook in the pan until the toast is golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

¼ c

white balsamic vinegar

¾ c

sugar

1 stick

cinnamon

2 whole

cloves

1

star anise

Serves 4-6

Bourbon Bananas Foster Sauce 100 ml

unsalted butter

300 ml

packed light brown sugar

3 medium-ripe bananas cut into 1-inch slices ½ c

bourbon

Candied Jalapenos

Save the jalapeno syrup for margaritas.

Bring vinegar, sugar and spices to a boil and simmer. Slice the jalapenos ⅛ of an inch thick and remove seeds if desired.

Add the jalapenos to the syrup and bring to boil. Simmer until the peppers lose their bright green colour, about 4 minutes. Remove the peppers from the syrup and set aside. Boil the syrup for 15 minutes to reduce and pour back over the peppers. Cool. Best if made at least a few days ahead.

Lemon Ginger Glaze 1

onion, rough chopped

6 cloves garlic, smashed 4 1” pcs ginger root, smashed

juice and zest of 1 lemon

4 c

water

3 T

honey

1 T

cornstarch

Add onion, garlic, ginger and lemon zest to a pot and cover with water. Simmer for an hour and reduce to 1 cup. Strain.

Return liquid to the pot and add lemon juice and honey to taste. Thicken with a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch and water, whisked).

To serve: Season six chicken breasts with salt and lemon pepper. Roast.

Glaze chicken and garnish with candied jalapenos.

Serves 6 or 6-10 on a buffet.

Lion’s Head-Style Meatball with Sunnyside Egg Andrew Fung, chef/proprietor X1X. 4 oz ground smoked bacon 6 oz ground lamb 6 oz ground beef chuck 1 c

chopped green onion

2 T

cornstarch

1 T

brown sugar

1 T

red wine

1 T

minced roasted garlic

1 T

grated fresh ginger

2 T

soy sauce

1 t

salt

½ t

sesame oil

1 egg

Put all ingredients in a small mixer.

Mix well and form into 5-oz. meatballs.

Reserve.

Make a tomato sauce from 2 oz olive oil, 500 ml canned cherry tomato, 2 cloves garlic, salt to taste and braise the meat balls in the sauce for 15 minutes.

Serve with a sunny side egg.

Serves 4.

1 piece each dried morita, mulato, chipotle, ancho and New Mexico chilies (take off stems) ¼ c

canola oil

1½ T

cumin, toasted and ground

2 T

allspice, ground

1 T coriander toasted and ground 1 c

apple cider vinegar

Red Eggs Bennie on Potato Sourdough with Frijole, Fuge Chorizo

water to cover

salt to taste

Stuart Whyte, Dogwood Riverside Chef and Founder of Original Redhead Condiments

Add onions and garlic to the oil and cook until translucent. Add the chilies to pan and toast until they start to inflate. Stir beans into the onions and chilies until mixed. Add spices, vinegar and enough water to just cover the beans. Cook until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Remember to stir occasionally to reduce the chances of beans sticking to the bottom of the pot and scorching. Remove from heat once beans are cooked. They should squish between your thumb and forefinger. Use your food processor to blend until smooth add salt to taste.

Reserve. Keeps for about a week.

Yes, this recipe is long. However, several steps (hollandaise sauce and the beans) can be done ahead of time. All you need to worry about in the morning is cooking the sausage, poaching the eggs and making the toast.

Salsa Roja Hollandaise 2 T Original Red Head Condiment Salsa Roja 6 lg

eggs, yolks only

1 T

apple cider vinegar

1 sm mulato chile, toasted and ground 1 sm chipotle chile, toasted and ground

Creating Comfort Food from scratch made with Love

Brunch Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Shhhh…Brunch at Juniper is Edmonton’s best kept secret 9514-87 st Edmonton 780-490-6799 juniperbistro.com

To serve: Building your Benny

2 T

honey

salt to taste

4 slices potato sourdough

1 c

unsalted butter, cubed

4

Tips from chef: The slower you pour a steady stream, the thicker and more stable your mixture will become. If you pour too quickly, your mixture will split and your sauce will break.

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

Heat a medium size pot, add oil and bring to its smoking point.

2-4 Fuge chorizo verde*, uncased and chopped

Combine all ingredients except the butter in a food processor and blend on high.

While your ingredients are blending, heat your cubed butter in a pan on high until it reaches its boiling point. Remove from heat, and pour contents (milk fats and all) into a measuring cup with a spout.

With your egg mixture still blending and your butter still extremely hot, begin to slowly pour your scaldingly hot butter into the egg mixture in the food processor. As you pour the hot butter into the mix, your eggs will begin to cook and thicken. Set aside.

Bündok

soft-poached eggs

pickled onions, cojita cheese (a hard Mexican cheese, similar to feta) and green onions for garnish.

Food Friends Fun

Start by sautéing your chorizo verde from Fuge Fine Meats.

While the sausage is cooking, toast 4 pieces of potato sourdough from Bonjour Bakery. This stuff is to die for, big chunks of potato, fluffy innards and a crust that is so… crusty; you know what I mean.

Toast those suckers until they are golden brown, slice in half and place on your plate.

Cover your toast with frijole, then dish on the chorizo and top with your softpoached egg. I slather hollandaise all over my bennies… so do the same.

10350 – 124 Street | @YEGnoodles Take Out/UberEATS | 780-705-1777

cheese • wine+beer • espresso

CAVERN GIFT BOXES Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

March 12+26

CAVERN CHEESE SCHOOL Spring Wine+Cheese Pairings

Garnish with pickled onions, cojita cheese and some green onions.

Frijole 3 c black turtle beans soaked for 12 hours 4 cloves

garlic

2 sm

white onions

Serves 4. * Various Fuge sausage are available at Bon Jour Bakery, call first.

Please see “Brunch” on page 30.

10169 - 104 street | 780.455.1336 | info@thecavern.ca | @CavernYEG

The Tomato | March April 2017 11

The Proust Culinary Questionnaire Chef Eric Hanson, Prairie Noodle Shop, Canadian Culinary Championship Bronze Medallist 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.

Eric Hanson is the executive chef at the popular 124th street restaurant Prairie Noodle Shop. You may remember Eric from Get Cooking, or Niche, or his work with Alberta Pork. But before that Eric polished his skills and indulged in his love of travel by cooking in 40 countries in over ten years.

Eric took gold at the Gold Medal Plates competition in Edmonton last fall, guaranteeing a spot at the national Canadian Culinary Championships (CCC) held in Kelowna in February.

The competitions raise funds for the Canadian Olympic Foundation and celebrate Canadian excellence in food, wine, athletic achievement and entertainment.

Hometown?

I was born in Rocky Mountain House, but consider Edmonton my hometown.

Years cooking?

17 professionally, but cooking since I can remember—whisking meringue for baked Alaska in the kitchen with my Mom and butchering a moose outside with my Dad. Where would you like to live?

Singapore, some of the best food I have ever had. We didn’t want to leave.

Your favourite food and drink?

I’m a big bubbles guy—Blanc de Blanc and fresh seafood.

12 March April 2017 | The Tomato

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

I don’t think I could do anything without it being about food.

What quality do you most appreciate in your friends?

Trust, love and support. I have that in abundance.

Your favourite qualities in a dish?

Respect for the ingredients along with a bit of a what-the-hell attitude—a little bit Julia Child, a little bit rock and roll.

You have to be willing to have some fun with it.

A cook?

I appreciate the right attitude, if someone is ready to apply themselves then I want to share the world with them; if they think they already know better than everyone, they’ve already lost.

A wine?

I liked to be surprised; when you try something new and it knocks your socks off.

Who would be at your dream dinner table (dead or alive)?

Nicola Tesla, Malcolm X, Captain James Cook, Hans Gruber and John McClane.

Who would cook?

The future me, the best cooking me.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

I used to say fire it in—a lot. Everybody made fun of me.

Current culinary obsession/exploration?

Still doing this southeast Asian and central American mix up—Mexi Thai.

Best (cooking) thing that ever happened to you?

I worked on a South African game reserve where all the other kitchen staff were Zulu. Before I left they gave me a celebration, a native dance ceremony to accept me into their group, telling me in a symbolic way that I was ok.

Meaningful/crazy cooking experience?

The Culinary Championships. There was nothing like that triathlon— running for butter, getting ferried around in a stripper bus with the other chefs, frantically trading with chefs for ingredients, singing on the podium. I’d been planning since May and it finally came together in February. What a ride!

Mentors?

Ben Swinbourne. He was the sous chef at Berardo’s, my first real kitchen job.

Favourite casual cheap and cheerful/afterwork food?

A cider at North 53, my second family.

Philosophy?

Do the thing you are most afraid of.

The courage comes later.

What’s next?

We just opened a second location in MacEwan University called the Prairie Outpost—udon noodle bowls with things like jerk pork, and roasted tofu, something different.

G RE AT FOOD CAN S TI LL B E FU N FOOD

ST ALBERT 78 0 . 5 6 9. 1 819

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

T E RW I L L E GA R 78 0 . 3 9 5 . 1 1 19

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The Tomato | March April 2017 13

TSIPOUR O • Harold Wollin •

Nectar of the Gods

The clear liquid turns milky as it settles around the ice.

“Ouzo?” I ask as I take a sip.

“No,” Yanni waggles his finger at me.

“Not ouzo. Tsipouro—from my grapes!”

I’m in Greece on a backcountry road trip, hoping to learn about ouzo, the unique liquorice-flavoured spirit synonymous with Greek vacations.

Having just traversed the twisty roads on the far side of Mount Olympus, we’ve landed at the home of my travelling partner’s relatives.

The kitchen is a cacophony of laughter and banter. As Yanni refills our glasses, his wife fills the table with a continuous stream of traditional mezes; soft, rich feta smothered in olive oil, fried anchovies, dolmades, olives, peppers baked in feta, hummus, souflaki, fried potatoes and loaves of crisp fresh white bread.

“Eat! Eat!” she insists.

I heartily follow her instructions and sip the smooth, tasty elixir. This not-ouzo seems to pair well with everything. The first bottle disappears and a new bottle magically takes its place.

“From last year,” Yanni beams as he pulls the cork.

14 March April 2017 | The Tomato

He describes how tsipouro’s roots go back to the Byzantine era, to the monks of Mount Athos, who would ferment and distil the pomace left over from the wine press. Each monastery had its own secret recipe of aromatic herbs. Eventually the anise-flavoured spirit won the hearts of the folk and became known as ouzo. Branding and commercialization has compromised purity, and now, to be called ouzo, it requires only 30 per cent grapes. The rest is some kind of ethanol, resulting in a guaranteed hangover with a liquorice aftertaste.

phone call and returns with a big smile, “He is cooking tomorrow!”

The folk developed a taste for the stuff, and now, 500 years later, they are still making their own. In fact, most farmers will turn their entire grape harvest into tsipouro. These days there is a still in nearly every village, each with its own secret recipe handed down for generations. Although grapes make the real tsipouro, any fruit will do. For instance, in Macedonia where Mastika originates, the preferred fruit is plums, and the herb is mastic, the resin from an indigenous evergreen.

But hearing that I am a Canadian tourist, he cracks a grin for my camera.

November is late for the grape harvest, but it is prime time for tsipouro production. Yanni suggests a visit to their local still. He quickly makes a

The master fills a glass and offers a taste.

The murky liquid is earthy and a bit fruity. He ponders the readings of a hydrometer, and then pulls the top off

It’s late afternoon when we arrive. It smells of fermenting fruit and wood smoke inside the rustic building. My eyes adjust to the dim light of a lonely bare bulb. The floor is dirt and the still looks hand-made, the copper vessel glowing in the light from the open door of the oven. There’s a cot in the corner.

The still master seems wary of me.

“He thinks you might be a Euro spy,” Yanni whispers, “The EU wants to license and cripple the local distilleries.”

“Kalimera!” he says, beckoning me in.

A farmer enters and unloads large drums of fermented grapes and places wood near the stove, a measure that saves him the cost of propane. The first barrel of must (crushed fermented grapes, skin, juice, seeds and all) is dumped into the still and the fire is stoked. All eyes are on the spout. Soon it is pouring faster than the showerhead at my hotel!

the cooker, arresting the distillation.

A hatch is opened at the still’s base, releasing the bleached, steaming residue.

The hatch is closed, another barrel of must is added and the process is repeated until the farmer’s drums have been emptied.

For the second phase, the liquid from the first distillation is poured back into the cooker. The still master adds a large scoop of anise seeds. Although many like their tsipouro straight like the Italian grappa, this particular farmer prefers the liquorice taste.

The spout drips at first, then pours a steady stream. A glass is halfway filled with crystal liquid. We watch as the master measures water into it. The volume almost doubles before the clear liquid begins to turn milky.

“That is glykanisos, the essential oil of anise,” Yanni tells me. “It turns cloudy at 38 per cent. What is coming out of the still right now must be around 80 per cent.” The farmer smiles.

I feel privileged to have been invited to this hidden gem, a somewhat illicit distillery. I text a photo home. “How many people die from this stuff every year?” one friend asks. I am here to learn about this stuff so I ask Yanni.

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“You have to trust your source,” he answers. “We grow our own grapes, and my family has been getting our tsipouro made by this man’s family for generations. Unlike our economy, we aren’t dead yet!” he laughs. “We are happy to drive the extra 20 kilometres to have him make our tsipouro.”

Each village’s producer has his own personal style, striving to flavour and filter his product to a level of purity that nobody else can match. And each customer swears by the purity of his own tsipouro. As we part ways, the farmer generously offers me a bottle from this batch, and the still master fetches a bottle of his best to add to my loot.

Back at Yanni’s, his wife is busy in the kitchen.

1

2015-10-19

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“You must be hungry!” she says as she covers the table with food. I bring out one of my bottles, but Yanni again waggles his finger at me as he drops another bottle on the table, insisting that I take mine back to Canada.

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This generosity is a symptom of Greek hospitality. And it is that generosity that fuels their fierce grip on local culture in the face of the homogenization attempts by the EU. I’m happy to have discovered the true nectar of the Gods, right at the base of Mount Olympus.

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Yia Mas! Harold Wollin is the owner of Blue Chair Cafe in Edmonton. Researching and testing for the Tsipouro story was hard and thirsty work. He shares credit with Reg Prins, driving buddy and navigator.

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Photos from left: the stillroom—a nofrills still with wood-fired cooker, cooling tower at rear; the farmer and still master add distillate for the second stage (inset shows the anise seed in the cooker); the still master pours must into the cooker for the first distillation stage; the still master ponders the hygrometer.

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The Tomato | March April 2017 15

Feeding People

DO NOT FEAR

THE MALL!

Adventures in bread land

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How I learned to wrestle the dough and go with the flow at the San Francisco Bread Institute.

Flour haphazardly dusted my hair, sourdough starter clung to the crook of my neck and my arms were embedded elbow-deep in approximately thirty pounds of baguette dough. I took a moment to pause. Wrestling dough right alongside me was a former executive chef for the American Embassy in China, and across the way was an accomplished pastry chef who had just returned from a two-year stint in London. What exactly was I doing here?

Here was the San Francisco Baking Institute, home of some of the most renowned artisan bread- and pastrymaking courses anywhere. My classmates came from around the world (Brazil, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand) and all for the same reason— to learn how to make really great bread.

Or, in some of our cases, to learn how to bake bread. Period.

Bless Rosie, an energetic empty nester who had never even attempted a single loaf before setting foot in the institute.

In a class full of accomplished chefs and bakers, she was the only one who had less experience than I did. Although the course is billed as suitable for professionals and enthusiasts alike, the professionals outnumbered us fourteen to three: daunting odds, to say the least.

I was firmly in the enthusiast category.

While I adore bread, until recently my expertise was limited to the consumption of it. Cinnamon buns

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16 March April 2017 | The Tomato

and no-knead bread dominated my limited bread-baking repertoire.

That was until the Dauphine Bakery closed and my daughter’s favourite bread ever—the addictive onion and sage loaf—suddenly became unavailable.

At that moment my quest began.

My first stop was the library. I lugged home every bread book imaginable (eventually gravitating to Ken Forkish’s Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast). Next up was a visit to Owen Petersen at Prairie Mill for a container of Julie, his resident sourdough starter. Sourdough terrified me, but I knew it was an essential component of Dauphine’s bread.

I was armed and ready. Or so I thought.

After a couple of months and varying degrees of success and failure, I grew tired of the failures.

That’s how I ended up at the San Francisco Bread Institute for two weeks in early January, from 7 to 3 (sometimes later) every day.

Through a combination of lecture and lab sessions (mostly lab), we learned about everything relating to bread. The first week concentrated on breads made with yeast, and the second was all about sourdough.

It became apparent that bread is a complex creature—far more complex than I had ever imagined. The other thing was that failure was simply part of learning, something one of my instructors reminded us of, constantly.

Many factors need to be considered when it comes to making bread: the

type of flour that’s used and the enzyme and protein content of that flour; the amount and temperature of the water; the quantity of the dough and the intensity with which it is mixed; the number of times the dough is folded; how long the dough bulk-rises and proofs for; and how you pre-shape and shape the dough. Even the angle and depth at which you score a loaf matter.

Everything matters.

Our two weeks was non-stop. We scaled out ingredients for dough. We mixed and folded dough. We divided, preshaped, rested and shaped dough. We loaded and scored dough in preparation for baking. Then we baked it.

Over and over and over.

Everything we did emphasized how (seemingly) minor changes can significantly affect the final product.

Nothing highlighted that more than our endless baguette-making sessions. We made hand-mixed baguettes, baguettes with a short mix versus an improved mix versus an intensive mix; baguettes that were autolyzed (where the flour has been hydrated with the water before adding the yeast) and those that were not; baguettes that were retarded (put in the cooler overnight for the final rise) and baguettes that weren’t; baguettes with different types of preferment (poolish, biga, levain). I must have shaped over a hundred baguettes during my twoweek stint. And that doesn’t include the multitude of other breads we tackled.

But the comparisons were invaluable.

At the end of each day, we cut open all the types of bread we had made and we snifffed, felt and tasted. We compared differences in the crumb, the crust, the colour, the rise, the taste, everything.

It became readily apparent that time is key when it comes to making bread: flavour takes time to develop. The breads that had a pre-ferment of some kind (like sourdough) and longer rising times definitely tasted the best.

Beyond the science behind exactly what was happening at which stage

Jan Hostyn

of the process, getting a sneak peek into bakers’ lives was one of the most eye-opening aspects of the two weeks.

A fellow classmate from New Zealand was in the midst of touring a number of different bakeries in the United States.

He was working for free in exchange for knowledge—his plan was to open a bakery once he returned home. Long 12-hour days were his norm, yet he classified those as easy compared to the hours he typically works. And he wasn’t alone.

I have since returned home, graced with way more knowledge than before I left. Can I make a better loaf of bread?

I can only answer that with a hesitant perhaps. I’m not mixing 30 pounds of dough at a time and I don’t have access to fancy steam ovens, a crucial element in making good bread (although a cast iron pan, some bolts, and a holey old tin pan filled with ice will do in a pinch).

Nor do I have instant access to knowledgeable instructors or talented classmates.

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It’s just me. And it’s not the same.

My two weeks mainly focused on white bread and understanding the basics. And I can make a decent loaf of bread (sourdough and otherwise). My daughter actually loves my recreated onion loaf. It’s when I venture into 100 per cent whole grain territory with some sprouted barley and a bit of Julie added (my indispensable sourdough starter) that I’m not so sure about. But then again, whole grain bread isn’t going to behave like white.

There’s a course on baking with ancient grains coming up—that may be my next adventure.

Right now I am content experimenting and eating the experiments. On those occasions when I do wander into a bakery, I’m happy to pay whatever they ask, knowing full well that it’s not nearly enough.

Jan Hostyn is so addicted to toast she keeps a spare toaster tucked away in case of emergencies.

The Tomato | March April 2017 17

A TALE O

DISTILL Mary Bailey, with photos by

It took a change in legislation to create an opportunity for home-grown spirit makers (and craft beer). Up until 2013, Alberta’s high minimum production levels made it impossible to be small—craft operations serving a local market were simply not in the cards. When the minimums were abolished, the idea of small-batch, hand-crafted local spirits became a reality.

That change, coupled with the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board (the single trading desk responsible for all Canadian grain sales) allowed the sale of grain directly from farmers. Finally, Alberta had a chance to catch up with craft spirit makers in other, more benevolent jurisdictions, such as British Columbia.

Hansen Distillery and Strathcona Spirits are the newest Edmonton-based entrants on the craft spirit landscape.

Kris Sustrik and Shayna Hansen, Hansen Distillery Hansen opened before Christmas in a large space in the west end. A businesslike distillery area in the back holds an array of shiny copper and stainless steel equipment and wood barrels. Out front is a bar and social space designed for events. Throughout the space are reminders of their roots—photos, artifacts and Shayna’s Left: Kris Sustrik of Hansen Distillery.

Facing page: Strathcona Spirits’ Adam Smith.

18 18 March MarchApril April2017 2017 | | The TheTomato Tomato

OF TWO

LERIES Curtis Comeau Photography

grandfather’s 1928 Ford Model A perched in the corner.

Their products celebrate the family’s story, how they came to Alberta, and, how they made moonshine. You could say the new distillery is a continuation of the old family business, except now, it’s legal.

“Shayna’s grandparents and father taught me how to distill as a hobby,” says Kris. “I started with sugar shine (essentially, alcohol made from sugar). Once I got used to running a still I started to learn to work with grains.”

“I was a welder. Shayna and I grew our welding company, then sold it in 2014. I took a power engineering ticket; I was going to work for somebody else using my steam ticket.”

The skills Kris learned are the ones needed to run the boiler and process equipment in a distillery.

“Then we thought why not do it ourselves? We always make decisions together, we step off the diving board together,” says Kris.

“I went on to get a master distillers certificate from Prohibition University. In May 2016 we went to the AGLC, then built the shop. We worked for six months straight and started to distill in November.”

Please see “Distilleries” on next page.

The TheTomato Tomato | | March MarchApril April2017 2017 19 19

Distilleries Continued from page 19

Kris walks us through the distillery while explaining the process.

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“The mash cooker, a steam-jacketed vessel, is what we use to convert the grain starches to sugar. Most of my equipment came from Craft Distillers in Massachusetts. I wanted to use copper because it removes more sulphites from the spirits.”

This liquid is then put into the still.

While we are chatting, Kris is giving instructions to the still man; “push it to 70, then we’ll switch tails.”

As the liquid runs through the distillation column it’s cooled and condensed. The first part of the run is called the heads, which contain all the cogeners, compounds that give flavour; the second part is called the heart, the pure high-strength alcohol. The art of distillation is in the precise amount of head to heart—too much creates a rough, unpleasant spirit, not enough and it could be lacking in flavour. The tails are generally not used by craft distillers. Kris gives his to his father to clean machinery.

“From grain to vodka is a week to 10 days, then it is redistilled which we do through 20 plates on the copper reflux column,” says Kris. “We make gin from the vodka that has been distilled 30 times, then it takes about three weeks to a month to mellow the flavours of the botanicals. We bottle when the gin tastes right.”

Hansen’s buys their grains from Blue Acres Farm, a family member near Stettler. Border Crossing Rye, made from 100 per cent rye grain, is flavourful, spicy and has all the grain notes, with warmth rather than heat on the palate. The End of the Line Moonshine is made from 100 per cent wheat, which gives it some earthy, grainy notes. The Barn Owl Vodka is made from 100 per cent Triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye, and this gives it a slight sweet finish.

“Overall I’m getting good reviews, lots of people like the vodka and I think the gin gets better every day,” says Kris.

The business is not for the faint of heart, with small margins, competition from deep-pocketed multinational brands and heavy taxes. “Almost half of the price is tax (federal and provincial tax),” says Kris. The couple are optimistic. “We were able to self-finance and plan to be profitable in five years.”

As we leave, Kris stops at a barrel covered in a hand-written scrawl. “This will be our first barrel of Canadian Rye Whiskey,” he says and invites us to sign it. “We plan to open that in three years.”

Hansen’s Distillery is open Monday to Saturday for tours, off sales and cocktails. 17412 111 Avenue, hansendistillery.com.

Adam Smith, Strathcona Spirits The distillery is in a tiny building off Whyte Avenue, with an equally tiny sign. Inside are stainless steel vessels that Adam picked up at a-going-outbusiness-sale at a central Alberta dairy, then repurposed for fermentation; a small still named Mary, named after his great-grandmother, who was a gypsy tea-reader and a larger copper-bottomed still called Grace, named after Adam’s grandmother, a farmer’s wife from Saskatchewan. Outside in a shed is a jerry-built grinder where Adam grinds the hard red wheat he buys from a farm near the airport, 23 kilometres away. We buy food from much further.

“We make two products right now, Badland Seaberry Gin and Single Grain Wheat Vodka, says Adam. “Our vodka is a light, smooth and round spirit; the gin is a bit more out there. I felt bold about putting it to market. Some of the juniper is foraged from the Badlands,

20 March April 2017 | The Tomato

and being wild and freshly picked, is very piney with pronounced flavour. We use wild sea buckhorn berry, which is native to around here. It’s tart and offers a unique balancing effect in the midpalate. We also use bitter orange, sweet orange, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and angelica botanicals,” says Adam.

a small copper pot still and started practising. I was going to hire a distiller.

But, on my travels I met a master distillery in Oregon and we had a few beers that night. He started mentoring me—he’s the guy I call at 2am when some expression of the botanicals is off,” says Adam.

“I am a lover of wheat. Not only do we live in the grain belt and it’s part of our cultural heritage, it distills wonderfully.

“What we are doing is so new in Alberta, people don’t even know the language around distilling. I talk about a distillery and people ask me what beer I make. To get something like this started with so many unknowns, we really had to depend on the support of friends and the community.

“Our vodka, while it is highly rectified, coming off the still at 95 per cent alcohol and then carbon filtered, still retains characteristics of the wheat, which is intentional, he says. “It has structure, it has flavour, it has aroma, it's neutral enough to be used in all kinds of cocktails, but it still expresses the wheat spirit. I’m proud of that.”

How did a former beer and music guy end up as a distiller?

“We were doing an interesting thing, an underground music club. I was also working for a craft brewery at the time.

I went to the west coast and saw a nice little distillery on Vancouver Island. I thought ‘it’s amazing what can be done in such a small space.’”

When the minimum production rule was dropped, the possibility of becoming a craft distiller became a reality.

“I toured the west coast visiting about 25 distilleries in California, Oregon and British Columbia, then across North America, visited 15 distilleries in the Ozarks and Mexico. Then I bought

“Taxation is heavy, comprising just under $20 of the cost of each bottle.

It seems like we’re just collecting taxes for the government and get to skim a bit off to keep the lights on. For craft distilleries to thrive in Alberta we will need to see a graduated tax system, something like the Alberta craft brewers have, and we are seeing what that has done for that industry in Alberta.

“We want there to be recognition and appreciation of the smaller economies of scale we work with and the jobs we create. The craft beer world calls it ‘jobs per pint.’”

Like craft brewers, the nascent distillers know they are on the cusp of something interesting. They know they are creating an industry that has potential for a positive impact at the community level, creating new jobs, businesses, tourism opportunities, and, let’s not forget about civic pride.

“Gotta love Edmonton,” says Adam.

“People have been very supportive.

We will be open to the public eventually,” (Adam is shooting for this summer) “so people can poke their heads in on a weekend; something else to do in Strathcona.”

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“We’re driving the local economy when you buy a drink from us.” he says.

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“We have a tiny team right now, but we’re growing, fast, and we’ll be doing it all right here in Old Strathcona.” strathconaspirits.ca

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Gin maven Mary Bailey, WSET Dipl is the editor of The Tomato food & drink.

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The Tomato | March April 2017 21

FOOD STAGE Thursday, March 23

5pm Mariel Montero and Humberto Hernandez, Huma: Mexican Comfort Food Mariel Montero and Humberto Hernandez are from Puebla, the spiritual home of mole. Both have travelled, working in kitchens around the globe,and Mariel was a Chopped Canada contestant before opening Huma. “Our goal with Huma is a friendly place where you can have good food every day."

6pm Will Kotowicz and Peter Keith, Meuwly’s, Secret Meat Club While Will Kotowicz is a self-taught charcutier who has built a repertoire of techniques and recipes at the Duchess Bake Shop and Sangudo Meats. Peter Keith worked in top kitchens in Edmonton and Vancouver (Hardware Grill, Jack’s, Chambar) whilst pursuing his passion for cooking competitions. He has competed in over 15 international events and won the gold medal with Culinary Team Alberta at the 2012 Culinary Olympics. Together they have created Meuwly’s and the Secret Meat Club—top-quality Alberta charcuterie made with local ingredients. Meuwly’s retail location will open on 124 Street this fall.

22 March April 2017 | The Tomato

Friday, March 24

2pm Josh Ferry, Match Eatery & Public House Chef Josh has been in the restaurant industry 17 years specializing in high volume, multi-unit restaurants. Josh has appeared on Breakfast Television, Dinner Television and Shaw TV. He enjoys teaching culinary skills to both beginners and kitchen veterans.

3pm Steve Buzak, Royal Glenora Club: Brunch O’Clock with RGC Culinarians Steve Buzak is the executive chef and the director of food and beverage at the Royal Glenora Club; his training includes NAIT and Vancouver’s Dubrulle Culinary School. We love chef Buzak’s generous attitude towards his community; he features local suppliers in his menu offerings; he is a Gold Medal Plates competitor; he cooks at Capital Care’s Feast on the Field. He is also a champion ice carver.

4pm Will Kotowicz and Peter Keith, Meuwly’s, Secret Meat Club

Saturday, March 25

5pm Micheal Giasson, Have Mercy: Southern Comfort Ribs with Bourbon BBQ Sauce A graduate of the NAIT culinary program, Chef Micheal Giasson spent several years cooking in the Cayman Islands and in the Rockies. Now he interprets the flavours of the Deep South at Have Mercy. Chef will be making Southern Comfort ribs, pork ribs with a signature bourbon barbecue sauce.

1pm Tony Le, Century Hospitality Group: BBQ Party Appetizers Chef Le’s formal culinary education was at NAIT, but he credits following his mom around the kitchen for his early inspiration. Now as corporate chef of the Century Hospitality Group, he inspires his team to exceed their guests’ expectations with beautiful, playful and delicious food meant to create warm and lasting memories.

6pm Massimo Capra, Food Network, Chopped Canada Chef Massimo Capra’s culinary training began in Salsomaggiore, Parma. Chef came to Toronto in 1982 and, in 1997 joined forces with Paolo Paolini, formerly of Splendido Restaurant to open Mistura Restaurant, followed by Sopra Upper Lounge in 2006. Recent projects include Boccone Trattoria Veloce and Boccone Pronto at Pearson Airport and Soprafino Restaurant at Hamad International Airport in Doha Qatar. He is a regular guest on CityLine and has hosted and judged many television shows, including Gourmet Escapes, Restaurant Makeover and Chopped Canada. He is also the food editor for Canadian Home Trends magazine and an award-winning author.

His latest venture, Capra’s Kitchen opened earlier this year.

2pm Massimo Capra, Food Network, Chopped Canada

3pm Karlynn Johnston, The Kitchen Magpie: Baking Up Prairie Classics Karlynn is the creator of the popular blog TheKitchenMagpie.com. Blogger by day and bourbon drinker by night, Karlynn also managed to find time to create Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky (Appetite by Random House.) This bestselling cookbook can be found at

all major book retailers, while Karlynn herself can usually be found avoiding anything that has to do with cleaning her kitchen. She is currently working on cookbook number two, to be released next year.

known for Duck Tots, a toothsome Asian-inspired riff on poutine: Thaibraised duck leg with deep-fried tater tots, hoisin aioli and Srirachi with lime.

This is chef Biddlecombe’s second time on the Tomato stage. “I love competing, I like being on stage, I like the attention.”

CULINARY BOOT CAMPS

4pm The Tomato ProAm Watch home cooks pair with the professionals to cook up something delicious.

5pm Daniel Huber, Second Line Food Services: Étouffée: A Cajun Classic Chef Daniel Huber loves bourbon, popups and southern food, not necessarily in that order. “Bourbon has amazing food affinity, from salad dressing right on through to dessert.”

1pm Ayumi Yuda, Ikki Izakaya: Sushi 101 and Deco-Sushi “I’m doing this Japanese pub thing in Edmonton to show Japanese culture, and I’m doing the Tomato Stage at the Home Show to explain sushi. What is the difference between an izakaya and a sushi bar? An izakaya is a Japanese pub.

In Japan an izakaya is about 80 per cent drinking, 20 per cent eating, whereas a restaurant is the opposite. People in Alberta like to drink—when I’m working I’m not drinking, but sometimes when I clock out I can drink too. I must have got the drinking genetics from my father.”

Sunday, March 26

PREPARE FOR YOUR NEXT CULINARY ADVENTURE! NAIT’s Culinary Boot Camps reveal the secrets to cooking and baking like a pro through hands-on practice, lectures and demonstrations in our state-of-the-art kitchens. Get your culinary skills in shape through lessons on planning, preparation and flavour pairings.

Learn from NAIT’s celebrated chefs. Registration opens in February.

PASTRY BOOT CAMP [BAKG330] Mon – Fri | July 10-14 | Fee: $1,475 (+ $500 material fees) CULINARY BOOT CAMP [CULG305] Tue – Fri | July 11-14 or July 18-21 | Fee: $1025 (+ $400 material fees) GOURMET BOOT CAMP [CULG306] Tue – Fri | July 18-21 | Fee: $1025 (+ $400 material fees) FOR THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE BOOT CAMP [CULG310] Tue – Fri | July 18-21 | Fee: $1025 (+ $400 material fees) CURED MEATS, CHEESES AND PICKLES BOOT CAMP [CULG330] Tue – Fri | July 11-14 | Fee: $1025 (+ $400 material fees) MEAT BOOT CAMP [CULG340] Tue – Fri | July 11-14 | Fee: $1025 (+ $400 material fees) Enlist today!

Call NAIT at 780.471.6248 or register online at nait.ca/bootcamp

12pm Levi Biddlecombe, Packrat Louie: International Fusion NAIT-trained Red Seal chef Levi Biddlecombe of Packrat Louie is best

2pm Karlynn Johnston, The Kitchen Magpie: Baking Up Prairie Classics

A LEADING POLYTECHNIC COMMITTED TO STUDENT SUCCESS

The Tomato | March April 2017 23

Beer Guy 365 bottles of beer on the wall Walk the Camino.

Sail to the Galapagos.

Climb Machu Picchu.

@themarcedmonton

www.themarc.ca

Folks my age have been making bucket lists recently, then heading off somewhere: touring the breweries of Belgium by bicycle. Running the Boston Marathon. Seeing Garth Brooks nine times. I may be the only person in Edmonton who hasn’t been to Iceland yet. No, I haven’t been to the Reykjavík Phallological Museum but I hear it is lovely. (Go ahead, google “penis museum”. Actually, maybe don’t.)

One friend joined a choir, another picked up the ukulele. I poured a beer— and then 364 more of them. My goal for 2016 was to drink a different beer every day of the year, take a pleasing photo of said beer and post the photo to the interwebs. It was a modest resolution compared to my fellow beer geeks who record every beer they drink on apps like Untapped. Calgary beer writer Don Tse has tried 16,479 beers as of February 2017.

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24 March April 2017 | The Tomato

I started on New Year’s Day with an IPA from London’s Meantime Brewing and continued on, more or less, every day until December 31, and an Alley Kat Olde Deuteronomy Barley Wine. In between I drank 92 IPAs, 46 pale ales, 33 stouts, 26 porters, 25 pilsners/lagers, 15 saisons, 14 session ales, 11 brown ales, 6 sours and a few dozen in assorted other styles, from bock to rauchbier to weisse. About half came from British Columbia or Alberta breweries, another quarter from Ontario, Oregon or California, the rest from Quebec and other provinces, the U.S. and all over the world. I had an Irish stout brewed by the Malka Brewery at Kibbutz Yechi’am, Galilee, Israel. A friend brought me a pale ale he had carried in his suitcase all the way from Valdivia in southern Chile.

I drank an Icelandic imperial stout to celebrate Iceland’s victory over England at the Euro soccer tournament.

Here’s the beauty of this global beer buffet: most of these beers I bought

and drank in Edmonton. Albertans are some of the luckiest beer drinkers in the world—a burgeoning local craft beer scene plus access to hundreds of great beers from around the globe. What a time to be alive.

My quest reminded me that beer is a social beverage, best enjoyed with a friend or two. The most memorable beers were less about the beer and more about the context—where I was and who I was with. Call them beer epiphanies—that perfect moment when you know that all is right in your world, you are where you are meant to be. I remember a Four Winds sour consumed with lunch at Koerner’s Pub at UBC, just before my son graduated from university. Or, discovering Golden Road Brewing at Grand Central Market in downtown LA and enjoying a breakfast beer with pals.

Sometimes the moment was better than the beer. I’ll call this the Azorean paradox. Through the first half of the year I was (mostly) successful in trying a different, unique beer each day. Then I travelled with my wife to the Azores, delightful Portuguese islands in the middle of the Atlantic, to celebrate the 50th birthday of a good friend and fellow beer geek. Great friends, wonderful weather, decent food, spectacular scenery and terrible beer.

Actually, check that—just indifferent beer. Beer taps were everywhere, but always with the same bland lager— Sagres or Super Bock from mainland Portugal or Melo Abreul from São Miguel. An island entirely devoid of ale—no stouts, no pale ales, no IPAs. But did this stop us? No, we drank that Euro lager bravely, tulipa glasses held high. In fact my lager enthusiasm made my wife question my beer geek credentials: how can I complain about crappy beer back home when I had no problem with it in the Azores? Beer and me—it’s complicated, dear. This year, she’s just happy we can eat dinner without me primping my beer for photographs.

Peter Bailey

Beer-a-day six-pack So many great beers enjoyed on my #beeraday tour, but here are six favourites, available at finer beer shops like Sherbrooke Liquor, Keg ’n Cork, deVine Wines or Color de Vino.

Beau’s Lug Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill, Ontario I’ve been enjoying this Kölsch-style beer for years in Ontario and I’m happy to see Beau’s finally make the trek to Alberta.Welcome! Lug Tread is top fermented like an ale and then cold aged, or lagered, so it has the characteristics of both; crisp and quaffable with a nice full maltiness.

Collective Arts Ransack the Universe IPA, Hamilton, Ontario

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New hops were one of the stories of 2016 and this juicy IPA had a couple of the coolest hops, Mosaic and Galaxy, plus Citra, Centennial and Chinook. This salad of hops makes for an aromatic and flavourful IPA, with notes of tropical fruits, mango and citrus. Nice and punchy with 85 IBUs (International Bittering Units).

Troubled Monk Pesky Pig Pale Ale, Red Deer, Alberta One of my favourite new Alberta breweries, right outta Red Deer, an easy diversion from the QE2 highway. Stop in to their tap room, you deserve a break. I remember trying this pale ale in my kitchen one winter evening, no preconceptions, and I said out loud, “This is the real deal.” It was and it is.

Bench Creek Black Spruce Porter, Edson, Alberta Another great Alberta story, quality brews produced—literally—in the backwoods in the middle of thick spruce forest off Highway 16 near Edson. I tried the porter in February at Beer Revolution in Edmonton, picked up a growler at the brewery in April and then kept coming back to it throughout the year. A hearty tasty black porter with a nice bitter edge.

Four Winds Pale Ale, Delta, British Columbia Frequent trips to B.C. in 2016 meant getting better acquainted with the excellent brews of Four Winds. A memorable moment came at YVR, where the wine bar Vino Volo was serving this classic west coast-style pale ale, redolent of Cascade and Centennial hops. Crisp and snappy but not overly bitter at 38 IBUs.

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA, Bend, Oregon Deschutes goes from strength to strength. Pick any of their beers and you can do no wrong. Here Citra and Mosaic hops give a very juicy, citrusy (grapefruit) taste and aroma. Sweet, fruity and bitter, in perfect harmony.

A refreshing and alarmingly drinkable beer.

Peter Bailey is still building his bucket list and biding his time until he’s old enough for a Viking River Cruise. He’s on Twitter and Instagram as @ Libarbarian.

The Tomato | March April 2017 25

Canadian Culinary Championships 2017

The winners on the podium.

From left are chef Joe Thottungal (silver), Coconut Lagoon, Ottawa; chef Jinhee Lee (gold), Foreign Concept, Calgary; and chef Eric Hanson (bronze), Prairie Noodle Shop, Edmonton. Gold Medal Plates and the Canadian Culinary Championships have raised over 12 million dollars for Olympic athletes.

What better way to celebrate Canada’s 150 than with a trio of chefs that reflect our cultural mosaic? How fitting to have a woman on the podium again. The last was Melissa Craig, nine years ago, too long. The individuals on the podium and the flavours on the plate this year are the future of Canada’s food culture. Hold on! It’s going to be a thrilling ride.

Jinhee Lee, gold Foreign Concept, Calgary A decade ago, Jinhee Lee arrived in Canada from South Korea to brush up on her English skills and broaden her knowledge of western culture. She signed up for a cooking course where an instructor’s well-turned Hollandaise inspired her to switch directions and enroll in SAIT’s Professional Cooking program. Today she’s our national culinary champion.

Following SAIT and a stint on the line at Belgo, she was hired by chef Duncan Ly to be third cook at Hotel Arts. She worked her way up the ladder until she became executive chef at the hotel’s Raw Bar, all the while refining her alternative Asian cuisine. While at Hotel Arts, Ly and Lee, then acting as sous chef, brought home the silver medal from the 2014 Culinary Championship.

This year, with a new restaurant, Foreign Concept, Lee and Ly (with Ly now acting as sous chef to his

26 March April 2017 | The Tomato

former student) won the gold. In doing so, Lee aced all three events, including the challenging Black Box competition. While most chefs struggled to tame the salt cod component, Lee steamed up a cod and cabbage dumpling and sliced and milk-soaked thin pieces into cod sashimi, an impressive dish.

It’s been a quick rise over the past decade and Canada is now proud to have Jinhee Lee firmly at the top of our culinary world.

John Gilchrist, Calgary senior judge.

Chef Joe Thottungal, silver Coconut Lagoon, Ottawa I fell hard for the cuisine of Kerala at the Onam Sadya, an annual harvest feast of curries, pickles, fruits and nuts, in meticulous order, on banana leaf. The dinner was hosted by chef Joe Thottungal at his then new restaurant, the Coconut Lagoon. That was a dozen years ago. Two weeks ago, Thottungal won a silver medal at the Canadian Culinary Championships, with dishes that spoke forcefully of his dual loves, Canada and Kerala.

Thottungal comes to his own place via the South Indian state of Kerala, where he was born, to Mumbai where he trained, to his first kitchen job in Saudi Arabia. He launched his Canadian culinary career at Toronto’s

Centro in 1998, working his way up the food chain with jobs in various Ontario hotels and at the fine dining room of the Windsor Casino, before the dream of his own place became real. Thottungal opened Coconut Lagoon in 2004, determined to introduce the abundantly-flavoured dishes of his homeland to Canada’s capital. And now to the wider country.

Anne de Brisay, Ottawa senior judge.

Eric Hanson, bronze Prairie Noodle Shop, Edmonton Hanson’s win last fall at Edmonton’s Gold Medal Plates was not without raised eyebrows. Somebody asked me; ‘How can a guy that cooks in a noodle shop be the best? How will he stack up against the deep field of competitors at nationals’? The questions have been answered. How we eat and how we cook these days is light years away from a decade ago. Talent is found in all sorts of places. Eric’s exuberant, freewheeling approach to food was best exemplified at the CCC by his black box dish—salt cod brandade in a broth of beer, honey and bacon thickened with quail egg, made electric green by the addition of oil made from leeks— dramatic and delicious.

Mary Bailey, Edmonton senior judge.

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NORTHERN LANDS Seminars and Tastings, May 2-6

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Mythbusters: Who says you can’t pair wine with…

What to drink with Indian, Central American, Mexican Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian food. With chefs Vikram Vij and Eric Hanson.

Wine & Health: The Truths, Myths & Somewhere In-betweens Learn the truths, myths and maybes from two Harvard-trained physicians/wine lovers/writers, doctors Ian D’Agata and Michael Apstein.

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Don’t miss this panel with some of the most accomplished Riesling producers in the country: David Paterson, Tantalus, Rhys Pender MW, Little Farm, Charles Baker, Charles Baker Wines and Tom Pennachetti of Cave Spring Cellars, especially if you are under the impression that Riesling is ho-hum. Moderator: Ian D’Agata.

s d r a n Aw

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Syrah: The Future of Big Reds in BC? Taste and discuss the rewards and difficulties of BC Syrah. Check out this lineup!

Andrew Windsor, Tinhorn Creek, Severine Pinte, Le Vieux Pin, John Skinner, Painted Rock, Bertus Albertyn, Maverick, Mike Bartier, Bartier Bros, Nikki Callaway, Quails’ Gate, Joe Luckhurst, Road 13, Sophie Laurent, Burrowing Owl.

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contact hello@thetomato.ca 28 March April 2017 | The Tomato

Baker, Charles Baker Wines, Jak Meyer, Meyer Family, Darryl Brooker, Mission Hill, Jean-Benoit Deslauriers, Benjamin Bridge, Paul Speck, Henry of Pelham, Ezra Cipes, Summerhill and writers Ian D’Agata, Vinous, Stephen Brook, Decanter, Will Predhomme, Predhomme Inc. Moderator: Rhys Pender MW.

Bubbles: Celebrating Canadian Sparkling Wines Explore the styles of sparkling wines produced across the country with Jean-Benoit Deslauriers, Benjamin Bridge, Heidi Noble, JoieFarm, Ezra Cipes, Summerhill, Paul Speck, Henry of Pelham, Jakub Lipinski, Big Head, Joseph Luckhurst, Road 13, Matt Dumayne, Okanagan Crush Pad.

Cool Climate Reds: Syrah, Gamay and Cabernet Franc Elegant, fresh, savoury and expressive, Canada’s cool climate reds compared to their counterparts from around the globe. Michael Bartier, Bartier Bros, Michael Apstein, winereviewonline.com, Will Predhomme, Predhomme Inc, Mary Bailey, The Tomato food & drink.

Pinot Envy: Canadian Pinot Noir Pinot Noir specialists pour wines that highlight the differences in vineyard sites, clones and vintages: David Paterson, Tantalus, Grant Stanley, 50th Parallel, Jak Meyer, Meyer Family, Paul Pender, Tawse, Jakub Lipinski, Big Head.

Canada’s Big Reds: Yes We Can! Canada is not able to produce full-bodied structured red wines? Let’s blow that hoary old chestnut right out of the water: Darryl Brooker, Mission Hill; Elaine Vickers, Blasted Church; John Skinner, Painted Rock; Sophie Laurent, Burrowing Owl; Charles Baker, Stratus; Tony Holler, Poplar Grove; Severine Pinte, La Stella; Joseph Luckhurst, Road 13; Paul Speck, Henry of Pelham.

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Brunch Continued from page 11

3 lg carrots (10 ounces), coarsely chopped

Roasted Little Potatoes

icing sugar for dusting (optional)

“We use Little Potato Company potatoes for this recipe, because although they are a little potato they are fully matured. In addition there is no washing, they are ready to go right out of the bag! Tip: potatoes must be dry, otherwise they will steam not roast.” Brad Smoliak, Kitchen

by Brad 2 lb little potatoes 2 T canola oil/cold pressed 1-2 t kosher salt or Malden salt ½ t coarse-ground black pepper

Cut potatoes in half and toss with 1 T canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the potatoes in a 400ºF oven, on a unlined baking sheet, for about 20-30 minutes, or until golden and fork tender. Toss with cold-pressed canola oil, season. Serve on the side for brunch.

They are also great at room temperature.

Horseradish Sour Cream Dip 1 c crème fraiche (see below) 2 T lemon juice 2 t cracked black pepper (not ground) 2 T creamed horseradish.

Blend all the ingredients together in a metal bowl. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until needed, great on potatoes, no matter how you serve them.

Crème Fraiche 1 T buttermilk 1 c whipping cream

PLAIN. NOT OUR STRONG SUIT. Bubbles and Burgers 1 bottle of Taittinger Brut Prestige 2 Black Angus Burgers with Truffle-Parmesan Fries $135 for 2 people — great before the game!

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Mix the two, place in a jar with a tightfitting lid and leave in a warm spot for 24 hours. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Flavour with horseradish, mustard, can be stirred and cooked in sauces too.

4 lg

eggs, separated

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Toast the almonds for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. When cool, grind almonds with the sugar to a fine powder in a food processor. Do not let the nuts turn into a paste.

Add carrots to a food processor and chop until very fine. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF. Butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan.

Whisk flour with the baking powder, lemon zest and pinch of salt. Add ground almonds to the flour mixture. Add carrots and the egg yolks to the bowl and stir until blended.

In a large stainless steel bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold into the flour mixture onethird at a time until the batter is just blended.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is just set. Let the cake cool in the pan, then unmold onto a serving plate. The cake can be wrapped in foil and refrigerated for up to 1 week. Just before serving, sift icing sugar over the top if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8.

Michela’s Chocolate Breakfast Cake 3 eggs 120 g sugar 120 g melted butter

Italian-style Breakfast Carrot and Almond Cake

150 g melted dark chocolat

Italians are not known for a big hearty breakfast, often it’s coffee and a brioche, and cake. Podere san Quirico, an agriturismo in Castelnuovo Berardenga near Siena, served several delicious cakes at breakfast. These two were favourites during our stay.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

80 g

flour

1 pkg yeast (approximately 17gr)

½ T finely grated lemon zest

In a mixing bowl mix eggs with sugar.

Add the flour and the yeast. Mix again, then add melted butter and chocolate.

Mix all together and put in a baking tin, about 24 cm. diameter. (Usually I use the baking paper to cover the tin otherwise use the butter and flour) and put it in the oven for about 20 minutes; check for doneness with a toothpick. The cake will rise and fall down when it comes out of the oven.

salt

Serves 6-10.

2 c whole blanched almonds (10 ounces) 1½ c sugar ¾ c

flour

2½ T baking powder

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Kitchen Sink restaurant buzz Get ready to dine downtown during Downtown Dining Week, March 10-19. Enjoy a variety of two-course lunches ($15), three-course dinners ($28), or executive dinners ($45) at several downtown dining spots including the Cavern, Chateau Lacombe, De Dutch, Hardware Grill and The Marc.

Visit edmontondowntown.com/diningweek for menus.

Lots of news from the Juniper Café & Bistro (9514 87 Street, 780-4906799, juniperbistro.com): the Handheld Bennie hits the Tomato Top 100 again, they now offer catering for family and business events and you can have their good food delivered via Skip the Dishes.

Bubbles and burgers? Oh yeahh. Here’s a dinner we can’t resist; a bottle of Taittinger Brut Prestige with two Angus beef burgers and truffled Parmesan fries, $135. At Hardware Grill, 9698 Jasper Avenue, 780-423-0969.

Love a nice chewy pretzel? Check out Zwick’s Pretzels (12415 107 Avenue, 780-451-8882, zwickspretzels.com), offering pretzels, sandwiches (on a pretzel bun, natch), sides and a soup, along with sweet and savoury dips. Yum! Now that the pretzel jones has been satisfied, all we need is a cinnamon bun shop. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Bar Clementine (11957 Jasper Avenue, 780-756-4570, barclementine.ca) now offers brunch from 10am-4pm on Sundays with dishes in the $10$20 range, brunch cocktails and a special wine list along with coffee from Transcend. No reservations. We love Roger Letourneau’s thoughtful, Frenchinspired cooking and can’t wait to see what he does with the brunch lexicon.

Recent openings: The long awaited ALTA (10328 Jasper Avenue, 780-2443635, altayeg.ca), Tuesday-Saturday, 11-1am. Love those hours, no resos, no tipping. Baijiu, (10359-104 Street, baijiuyeg.com) Kevin Cam’s new spot in the Mercer Building, with a focus

32 March April 2017 | The Tomato

on fine cocktails and Asian-inspired plates; drinks by Tommy Cheng, food

by Alexei Boldireff, deliciously fun.

Expect seasonal Canadian cuisine with a short and sweet wine and cocktail list at Bündok (10228 104 Street, 780-4200192, bundokyeg.com). Open TuesdaySaturday 5pm ’til late.

wine tastings happenings and events Experience a French Canadian sugar shack at Café Bicyclette’s (8627 91 Street, 587-524-8090) long table dinners in a tent, with a menu of dishes from a variety of French-speaking cultures and countries, March 24, 25, 31 and April 1, 6 and 7. Not just any tent; think comfortable and heated outfitter tents with an urban rustic vibe.

Tickets, $75/p+, reservations, 587-5248090 or book on OpenTable. Bien sûr!

The Glass Monkey (5842 111 Street, 780-760-2228, theglassmonkey.ca) offers their popular Monkey Business, five courses paired with five wines, Thursday, March 23 and, Wednesday, April 26, 6:30 pm, $79/p++. Call Janine or Rob 780-760-2228 for tix.

Bündok (10228 104 Street, 780-4200192, bundokyeg.com) welcomes Roberto Giannelli, of Brunello producer San Filippo, for a winemakers dinner Wednesday, March 15, $150/p.

To book: info@bundokyeg.com.

Upcoming tastings at Aligra (1423, 8882 170 Street, Entrance 58, 780-4831083, aligrawineandspirits.com): March 14, 7pm, Great Wines Around $20, $20/p; April 4, 7pm, Wine Winners for Easter Dinners, $25/p. Visit aligrawineandspirits/events to book.

Tastings at Hicks Fine Wines (109150 Bellerose Drive, St. Albert, 780569-5000, hicksfinewines.com): Bar pours, Friday and Saturday afternoons; wines from the Enotri Wine Agency, March 10; Native Grapes of Piemonte, Thursday, March 15, 7pm, $75.

Congratulations to Hicks manager

Marcia J Hamm, who was awarded the WSET Wines and Spirits Diploma in February, joining Juanita Roos, Margaux Burgess, and Mary Bailey.

Meet and taste with Luis Pato at Vines of Riverbend, $30/p, Thursday, March 23, info@vineswinemerchants.com and dinner at Ernest’s (NAIT, 11762 106 Street) Friday, March 24. Tickets $95/p, email twright@nait.ca.

Tickets are on now sale for the Northern Lands Dinners. The Italian winemaker dinners are Wednesday, May 3; the Canadian Italian collab dinner is May 4. On Friday, May 5 there are several winemaker dinners. Will it be Hardware Grill with Calgary’s Cam Dobranski, and chef Andrew Fung from X1X? Both chefs began their careers at Hardware. The dinner promises to be an extraordinary culinary reunion, paired with wines from Darryl Brooker, Mission Hill, John Skinner, Painted Rock, Summerhill’s Ezra Cipes, and Leslie LeQuelenec from Clos du Soleil. Or chef Shane Chartrand’s amazing food paired with NK’MIP winemaker Justin Hall’s delicious wines at Sage at River Cree Resort? Visit Northernlands.ca to book all dinners.

Don’t miss The Italian Centre Shops monthly Chef ’s Inspiration Series with recipes, demos and dinners.

Each chef presents a pop-up dinner at Spinelli’s Southside (104A Street and 51 Avenue) featuring the recipe paired with wines selected by Juanita and Kelsey Roos of Color de Vino. Chefs include Brad Smoliak (Kitchen by Brad), Blair Lebsack (Rge Rd), Lino Oliviera (Sabor) and Doreen Prei (Get Cooking). Book at the italiancentre.ca.

Massimo Capra headlines The Tomato Cooking Stage at the Edmonton Home and Garden Show (edmontonhomeandgarden.com) March 23-26, along with lots of local talent.

Visit thetomato.ca for chances to win tickets and to cook with the pros at the Tomato Pro Am.

product news Love gin and tonic? Eau Claire Distillery launches two new tonic waters April 1. Find the Original and Elderflower tonic waters at retailers around the province. Check eauclairesoda.ca for locations.

New at Heart of the Home (High Street, 12539 102 Avenue, 780-7054928, heartofthehomeyeg.ca): Le Crueset’s Oyster collection in enamelled cast iron and stoneware; Sophie Le Girafe natural rubber children’s accessories and the Mealtime melamine set ($65), and spring designs from Fringe Studio (mugs from $16.50).

This newish store in the High Street is chock full of useful and beautiful items for your home and kitchen.

Fin’s Seafood (278 Cree Road, Sherwood Park, 780- 449-3710) now stocks Haida Wild seafood from Haida Gwaii, BC, as well as Paradise Valley Pork and Brandt Lake Wagyu. Fin’s introduced the fine meats and the Haida Gwai products at an event at the Common with chefs Jessie MorrisonGauthier (The Common/Grandin Fish & Chips), Edgar Gutierrez (Tres Carnales/Rostizado) and Shane Chartrand (Sage). Chef Chartrand, who has been using Haida Wild for several years, tells us that the razor clams, ling cod and spot prawns sourced by this company can’t be beat in terms of freshness and flavour.

Get your Newget at the Make It! The Handmade Revolution, March 24-26 at the Northlands EXPO Centre (7515 118 Avenue) on Friday, March 24, 11am -9pm; Saturday, 10am-6pm and Sunday, 11am-5pm. Tix $5.

Dull knives are dangerous and smash food. Knifewear (10820 82 Avenue, 587-521-2034, knifewear.com) wants to save you from being dull and cutting your finger off. Learn to sharpen and keep your blades in tip top-condition with their hands-on classes: Cut like a Chef, 9am Saturdays, 9am and 10am Sundays, and the Sharpening Class, on

what’s new and notable Thursdays, 6pm. Call the shop to book, $65 each.

at the cooking schools Laissez les bons temps rouler! On Saturday March 11, 18 and Tuesday March 21, Tracy and Brad at Kitchen

by Brad explore the food of New Orleans and Mardi Gras—jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish étoufée. Start with pecan hummus, crab and artichoke dip and end with everybody’s southern favorite dessert, pecan tart. The North American Italian class explores Italian classics with a North American twist.

Learn to make fresh tagaliatelle with Bolognese sauce, fluffy and light potato gnocchi, vegetable sides (contorni), classic Sunday gravy and a chocolate and cherry tiramisu, Saturday, March 4 and 25 and Tuesday March 7. Classes at Kitchen are $145/p+, email info@ kitchenbybrad.ca or call 780-757-7704 to book. Visit kitchenbybrad.ca after March 15 for April classes, or contact for private classes or kitchen parties.

The ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen (Main Level, 10035-105 Street) offers handson cooking classes even for non-cooks.

ATCO Adult Cooking Basics Part 1 covers kitchen safety, knife skills, food storage guidelines and you learn to make soup and biscuits, Saturday, April 22, $50/p+. Part 2 teaches menu planning, nutrition basics and the concept of planned-overs, Saturday, April 29, $50/ p+. Adult Cooking Basics Part 3 is all about meat, what cut to buy and how to cook it, Saturday May 6, $50/p+. Visit atcoblueflamekitchen.com for the entire spring schedule.

Kinnikinnick (10940-120 Street, 780732-7527, kinnikinnick.com.) corporate chef Lori Grein demonstrates recipes for piecrust, cakes, cookies and roux using the gluten-free Kinnikinnick All Purpose Flour Blend, March 16, 17, 23 and 24, 10am-1pm. On April 6, 7 and 13, 10am-1pm, chef Grein creates quick and easy dishes ideal for Easter Brunch.

Come for a taste; take the recipes home.

Love to cook? Learn a new skill, play with unfamiliar flavours or brush up on technique at a NAIT Cooking Class. Here’s a couple that caught our eye. Cheese Making Fundamentals: learn how to make your own ricotta, mascarpone and mozza, Tuesday, March 21, $155+ materials fee. Sign up early for the always popular BBQ Basics, Saturday, April 29, $150+ materials fee, or take a Tour of India to learn about the flavour profiles and pantry essentials in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines from several regions: three days starting Monday, March 27, $255+ materials fee. Find all the spring classes at nait.ca/culinary.

Lots of classes at the Pantree (220 Lakeland Drive, #550, Sherwood Park, 780-464-4631, thepantree.ca): Mediterranean Classics with chef Stefan Cherwoniak, ceviche, paella, patatas bravas, Tuesday, March 7, $95/p; Sausage Making, with chef Richard Toll, bison, chorizo and duck and orange sausage, Tuesday, March 28, $95/p; Learn to use your Cookware with chef Michelle DeLand and Bill Marshall from Zwilling, Monday, May 8, $30/p includes a glass of wine and a $25 gift certificate.

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The Tomato | March April 2017 33

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 Bugs

MAR 2 @ 9:30PM, MAR 8 @ 9:30PM The Nordic Food Lab sends a chef and a foodscience researcher around the world to investigate cultures and establishments that serve meals containing insects.

Tampopo

MAR 3 @ 9PM, MAR 4 @ 7PM, MAR 6 @ 7PM A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business.

The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.

Seed: The Untold Story

MAR 5 @ 4:30PM

The film follows passionate seed keepers protecting a 12,000 year-old food legacy. As chemical companies control the majority of our seeds, farmers, scientists, lawyers, and indigenous seed keepers fight a David and Goliath battle to defend the future of our food.

Metro Cinema at the Garneau

Metro Cinema receives ongoing support from these Arts Funders:

8712-109 Street | metrocinema.org

Your LOCAL choice for Gluten Free since 1991

Gluten Free, Fresh 10940 - 120 Street Open Tuesday to Saturday www.GetItFresh.ca 780-732-7527 GLUTEN FREE HAS NEVER TASTED SO GOODÂŽ

The Great Canadian Wine and Culinary Adventure

100+ WINERIES, CRAFT BREWERIES & CRAFT DISTILLERS • 35+ CHEFS MAY 2-6, 2017 • EDMONTON, AB Northern Lands has so many opportunities for you to meet the winemakers, brewmasters and chefs from across Canada and our feature country of Italy. Join us for grand tastings, seminars, producer dinners, trade tastings....and there's even a Secret Italian Wine Party!

TUESDAY MAY 2 • Vinitaly Canada Edmonton: il piacere

del gusto Italiano – meet over 40 winemakers and principals from Italy at this grand tasting. Food by Corso 32’s Daniel Costa.

WEDNESDAY MAY 3 • some of Edmonton's top chefs

pair their cuisine with wines from Italy, the most influential wine producing country in the world.

WEDNESDAY MAY 3 • shhh....it's a secret. There will be

an Italian wine party… with live music... it will be epic.

THURSDAY MAY 4 • the Italian and Canadian

winemakers team up for a couple of transatlantic dinners

FRIDAY MAY 5 • 17 restaurants. 18 dinners. 35 chefs. 47

Canadian producers. One unforgettably delicious night.

SATURDAY MAY 6 • Meet Your Makers - the largest

all-Canadian gathering of winemakers, brewmasters, distillers and chefs!

TUESDAY MAY 2 & SATURDAY MAY 6 • Ramp up your

wine knowledge with quaffable seminars from the experts!

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