“Last year’s inaugural workshop was a roaring success, so I’ve expanded the workshop to 20 participants and I’m bringing in food writing experts from the US and Canada,” explains independent food journalist Jennifer Cockrall-King, workshop coordinator. “It’s part food-writing workshop, part food and wine tour in the incredibly vibrant Okanagan Valley when local products are at their peak and just before the wine harvest.”

2010 instructors include:

• Dianne Jacob is a California-based writing coach, editor, and author of Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Articles, Memoir, and More. Re-issued in July 2010, the book won the Cordon D’Or International award for Best Literary Food Reference Book. www.diannej.com

• Born in Vancouver, Claudia Cusano is Italian by blood, and thus grew up with a love of food, family, and friendship. Claudia is the editor for NUVO magazine, a lifestyle magazine for the Canadian sophisticate. www.nuvomagazine.com

• Liane Faulder is The Edmonton Journal’s food columnist and appears in the Bistro section on Wednesdays, and on Saturdays in Lifestyle. She is also food columnist for CBC radio’s afternoon program in Edmonton, Radio Active. An award-winning reporter, Liane’s features have been published in Reader’s Digest, Today’s Parent, Venture and Chatelaine magazines.

• South Okanagan’s own Rhys Pender, is a wine educator, freelance wine writer, wine judge and consultant to the industry. In 2010 Rhys became the 4th Master of Wine (MW) in Canada. Rhys is a regular contributor on wine to publications Wine Access, Scout Magazine, CityFood and Montecristo. http://www.wineplus.ca/

• Cuisine Canada member Jennifer Cockrall-King is a food writer (www.foodgirl.ca) with over 13 years of contributing to publications in Canada and the US. In 2008, Western Living named her as one of the “Top 40 Foodies Under 40.” She teaches food writing courses with MacEwan’s Writing Works in Edmonton and at UBC Okanagan. And she is the producer of the Okanagan Food & Wine Writers Workshop because it’s just too good here not to share it with like-minded people.

Registration is limited to 20 writers in order to give each writer personalized instruction. The cost of the workshop is $650 — a few early bird spots are still available at $575 (email to inquire), and includes all professional development seminars, field trips, wine touring, meals and activities, excluding travel to and from the workshop and accommodations. Special workshop room rates are available at the host hotel, the Penticton Lakeside Resort.

Detailed workshop information is available on the Okanagan Food and Wine Writers Workshop Website, or by contacting workshop coordinator Jennifer Cockrall-King at 780-242-3663 or jennifer@foodgirl.ca.

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the exciting and interesting finds from Manitoba:

Cold Pressed Prairie Oils
We’ve all seen cold pressed canola oil.  How about cold pressed flax, sunflower and  hemp for salad dressings, dips, or finishing oils.  Grown locally, and often pressed fresh in front of your eyes, the oils are full of Prairie sunshine.  The cool climate is considered a major factor in the higher polyunsaturate content in the oils, meaning heart healthy.  Watch out for mustardy camelina oil which may be coming out soon, thanks to work from the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie.

Unique grains, pulses and lentils
Canada’s Prairie provinces are the global production leader for chickpeas, pulses and lentils.  Healthy, and homegrown.  Other unique grains, from quinoa, spices and Cavena nuda “oat rice” are coming out in the mainstream.  How about split pea snacks?  Not just for South Asian namkeen and khoraki snacks any more, these crunchy goodies come in classic potato chip flavours, with none of the potato chip guilt.  Or check out local grains in finished products.  Artisanal bakeries are taking advantage of the goodness.

Hemp everything
Manitoba is Canada’s hemp foods leader.  With over 6000 acres in hemp production, look out for a wide variety of processed product.  Whole or hulled hemp seeds for baking, snacking, and everything in between, through hemp protein isolates for health and wellness, hemp nut butter, and hemp-milk beverages.  Nutty, tasty, and extremely healthy.

Big time for Bison
Bison has come full circle, from being the original prairie delicacy, sustaining the Aboriginal communities, to being the trendy meat of choice in restaurants across the region.  Burgers, satays, stews, bison has come back big time.

Varietal Honeys
Clover or buckwheat honey is beautiful, but how about borage or raspberry blossom honey?  Look for niche varietals with unique floral characteristics.  Blended honey is another treat, look for honey spreads and honey butters with Prairie fruits, or real butter blended in.

Smoked Fish
Who’d have guessed that some of the best smoked fish comes from the centre of the country.  Gimli-style smoked lakefish is unlike anything else.  Smoked goldeneye anyone?

Classic Confectionery
No questions, this is your mom and dad’s candy.  Maybe even your grandparent’s candy.  Classic, comfortable, and oh so kitsch.  Fluorescent pink popcorn, and prizes are just a few of the options.

Multicultural Ready to Eat
Ukranian and Icelandic influences are hitting the multicultural frozen or ready-to-eat fare.  Look for classic pickled foods and other homestyle items to lead the trend.

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing…
How about pairing one of Manitoba’s top tourist destinations with a marketing strategy for Manitoban and Canadian foods?  This is Randy Cameron’s plan. Cameron, General Manager of The Forks Market, along with Manfred Villing, President of Wittmann Foods, are organizing the “Canada’s Home Grown Marketplace”. Here, uniquely Canadian food products will be showcased and sold to the 4 million visitors who come to The Forks each year.  They are actively seeking products, and building contacts with interested vendors.

Photo – courtesy of Travel Manitoba

Better than burnt smores?

For many children summer camp meant hiking, canoeing, scraped knees and adventures. The postcards home were scribbled out of guilt and only when rained forced us indoors .

But the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver’s Summer Camp sends kids into the kitchen not the woods — rain or shine. Under the tutelage of Chef Barbara Finley, young would-be chefs  learn to navigate a kitchen, prepare meals and plan a healthy menu.

Parents might imagine their children returning home with expanded palates and able to help prepare dinner, but what did the kids think? Was it Hell’s Kitchen or The Best Summer Ever?

In the spirit of summer camp postcards, Amy Proulx asked some young campers to write about their adventures at cooking camp. Below are letters from two of the attendees. They gush about gnocchi, plan on profiteroles and even sing the praises of kitchen safety.

The kids are as remarkable as the program and its instructor.

Spencer baking bread at camp

Dear Chefs and Food Writers in Canada,

I’ve been busy at summer culinary camp, a course that teaches us children to cook like chefs.  This course is held in the Northwest Culinary Academy, a professional cooking school.  Chef Barbara Finley is the head chef and instructor.

Every day we have a three course menu that we prepare.  First, Chef Barb shows the class how to make the specific recipe.  We are then separated into groups.  Chef Barb selects people that attended the Northwest Culinary Academy as group leaders.  We are also taught about kitchen safety like how to handle a knife properly and other safety tips such as cleaning up a spill immediately or to never run in the kitchen.  Once we’re finished with one or two foods, there is a snack break with juice, water and fruits or vegetables.  Once we finish our last item on the menu everyone is happy because the end of the day is the time to eat what we make!

Personally, I think that the course is an amazing course because it really teaches you to be responsible around the kitchen.  The summer camp is also a great way to meet new people but the best part, I think, is the food.  We learn tons of amazing recipes and they all taste delicious.  When I finish the course I know I can make delicious food by myself and I definitely know I’ll be coming back.

Bye for now,
Spencer Louie, 11 years old

I’m having a great time at the Culinary Camp at Northwest Culinary Academy. We’ve been making a lot of amazing things that I never knew I could make. Everything we do is great fun and at the same time I’m learning a lot. For example, Gnocchi is amazingly simple. I always thought it would take hours upon hours to make it. The sauce we made for the Gnocchi was really simple too! I’m beginning to think that the Italians just want to make it seem difficult to make their food so that they can keep their secrets to themselves. But, we aren’t just doing Italian food, we’ve done some foods from all around the world.

The first day was all breakfast foods, like smoothies, scones, raspberry French toast… things of that sort. The other days we made recipes for a patio party, French food and the best BC has to offer. I’m really looking forward to making these things at home. I think I’ll start with the profiteroles. They were really good! And, not as difficult as you would think!

My favourite thing about this camp is that it really makes it easy to do it yourself. Even at home, I can make these wonderful concoctions with relative ease. Next time I see you, I’ll have a full, three course meal made for you. And, you’ll love it. Without a doubt. Hope to see you soon.

Kyle Jenkins, 14 years old

______________________________
Chef Barbara Finley is the chef-instructor for the Northwest Culinary Academy’s Summer Camp. She is also the director of the Project Chef Program, educating youth across the lower BC mainland about the wonders of cooking and eating fresh.

For more information about the programs, please contact the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver.

Photos © Leeanne Munn and published with permission. More photos of this camp can be found on Leeanne’s photostream.

Judith Lane

Judith Lane is a Vancouver-based wine, food, and travel writer who contributes regularly to the Georgia Straight, Taste, BC Restaurant News, Flavours, Vines, and gremolata.com who will go almost anywhere for a good story and a glass of wine. She’s also an in-demand judge for wine, food, and cocktail competitions, including the several at the annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.

What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Mains. Anything savoury. Right now spatchcocked lemon chicken is a favourite as is mérquen rubbed grilled chicken.

Who or what got you interested in food?
An aunt who lived on a farm in Manitoba. Her breads and buns were amazing, as was her flavourful braised beef.

What inspires you?
Fresh ingredients like spot prawns and pink salmon fresh off the boats at the False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf, local mushrooms–chanterelles and pine, and just-picked veggies from our Farmers’ Markets which go year round in Vancouver.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
Fish and chips and orange crush which I was allowed each birthday at my daughter-and-Dad restaurant dinner. Still love fish and chips.

What’s the first dish you remember making?
Cakes because I loved to decorate them. My mother would serve them at tea time to her envious friends.

Proudest food-related moment?
Turning out dinner for 12 in my teensy 5′ x 8′ kitchen.

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
My Mom’s boiled tongue complete with taste buds, and stuffed heart…not great kid food.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
Sizzle.

Favourite cooking smell?
Garlic.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
Bison burgers, bannock.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the unwearable haute couture of food?
Somewhere in between. Its ‘hauteness’ is often altered enough so that it can go mainstream.

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
I actually liked the taste of soap as a kid but detest cilantro…it overpowers every dish it’s used in rather like a bully or an attention-getting kid who says “look at me, look at me”.

What non-local foods can’t you live without?
Lemons, pepper.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
Good olive oil, and Solera Pinot Noir Balsamico made by Okanagan Vinegar Brewery in Peachland, B.C.

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
Don’t know–my only ‘gadget’ is a Waring blender.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
My chef’s knife given to me many years ago by a chef friend.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about ______ again, I’d be happy.
Goat cheese. There are thousands of cheeses in the world. Let’s see something else on menus and in the dishes we make.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Jacques Pepin. He’s an enormously generous man, and a sparkling table companion. (I had the pleasure of dining with him a few years ago and the experience is worth repeating.) I cook simply and find that chefs are the easiest and most appreciative dinner guests.

What would you prepare for him/her?
Fish or chicken.

What was the last thing you ate?
Mérquen-rubbed grilled chicken (mérquen a Chilean spice mix based on smoked goat’s horn chili).

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
Go back to my previous profession, designing and making clothes.

Beet soup -- the simple life

Stefan Zauner started his culinary journey by attending the Schloss Hofen Culinary Arts School in Lochau, Austria. Upon graduation he began his career working in world-class facilities in Austria, Switzerland, and Bermuda.

In 1989, after moving to Canada, Stefan began working at the award winning Post Hotel Relais & Chateaux in Lake Louise, Alberta.
The majority of the past decade Stefan has been working in Toronto’s finest hotels including the Sutton Place Hotel, The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and Conference Center and The Delta Chelsea Hotel.

In the spring of 2006, Stefan moved to Saskatoon where he was the Executive Chef at the renowned Delta Bessborough Hotel and then later held the Executive Chef position at TCU Place Saskatoon’s Art and Convention Center . Stefan has joined the Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts as the Corporate Chef in 2008.

What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Desserts.

Who or what got you interested in food?
At and early age of 14, I was given the opportunity to work with a great Chef who has traveled the world.

What inspires you?
Every day there is a new creation in food in an industry that doesn’t stand still.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
Kaese spaetzle. I’ll still make it for my kids today.

What’s the first dish you remember making?
It still doesn’t have a name.

Proudest food-related moment?
One night 8,500 people came, ate, enjoyed themselves. And it all went well…

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Still think about…still wonder if I should have eaten huo zhu zi*.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
Laughter.

Favourite cooking smell?
Roasted garlic.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
The apple pie.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the un wearable haute couture of food?
Let’s cook with what nature gave us and let the scientist battle this one out…

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
Love it! Need it! Cant get enough!

What non-local foods can’t you live without?
The banana.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
Our combi therm.

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
The can opener. Hide that thing somewhere. Get rid of it.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
A turn of the century (1900), “Chef the Chef” High Carbon 13-inch chef knife made in le Creux de l’enfer, Thiers, France.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about __________ again, I’d be happy.
Foie gras.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Anyone.

What would you prepare for him/her?
Anything.

What was the last thing you ate?
Roasted beet soup (that one of our students made) and a ham sandwich. The simple life.

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
Live and work on a farm.

Photo © foodista. Published under a Creative Commons License.

Jennifer Cockrall-King

Jennifer Cockrall-King splits her time between Edmonton, Alberta, and Naramata, BC in the Okanagan where she eats, drinks, writes and teaches food writing courses. Her articles have appeared in Canadian Geographic, Maclean’s, the National Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Slow Canada, Homemaker’s and on CBC Radio among others. She posts them on-line at her website, when she manages to find a few spare moments. She is also the co-founder and the co-publisher of The Edible Prairie Journal, a print publication which began in 2004 and now continues on-line at www.edibleprairie.ca.

What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Definitely mains. I used to have a sweet tooth, but I am definitely more interested now in savoury foods, especially the flavour-packed foods of hot climates. One day I’ll make it to my “culinary homelands” of places like the Middle East or Vietnam and Thailand.

Who or what got you interested in food?
My immediate family loves good food, and my grandmother on my dad’s side was a great, basic Prairie home cook. (My other grandmother is a notoriously bad cook — well, notorious within our family. I don’t think she ever threw a dinner party so no one outside of our family knows how truly bad a cook she is!!) But my Grandma Cockrall canned peaches, pears, sauerkraut and pickles. I got the basics from her. My parents were and still are quite avid foodies. They used to have incredible dinner parties with friends in the 1970s, where they made really cutting edge dishes. I guess they taught me how to be a fearless cook and an adventurous eater.

What inspires you?
I guess I am on the endless search for the “ultimate” in any kind of food: the freshest, most “carroty” carrot, the most savoury tarragon leaves, or the best lobster tail on the planet. I love the basic flavours of food. I get frustrated when there’s too much going on in a dish and I can’t taste the pure elements.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
As a kid my favorite dinner was probably something shamefully processed, so I will “refuse to comment” on that

What’s the first dish you remember making?
Melted cheese on Triscuits in my Easy Bake Oven. The cheese used to get all over the light-bulb that was the heat source in those contraptions. But it was a fun way to spend an afternoon — baking cheese appetizers for passersby in our neighbourhood.

Proudest food-related moment?
Probably when I got my first “big” article published. I got a full-page food article on saskatoons published in the National Post in 2000. I loved it because it was so “prairie” yet it got some play in a national food venue. (Remember this was way before local was the new exotic.)

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Knowingly or unknowingly!!?? Lord knows what I’ve eaten unknowingly, but eating cold, sliced beef tongue was the most difficult thing I’ve had to choke down. I was 14 years old and I really thought I would die right then and there. But I had to try it to be polite. Since then I’ve eaten all sorts of weird things, like bison testicles, but nothing was as difficult as choking down that jellied beef tongue as a 14-year-old girl.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
Oh, good question. Probably the hiss and pop of something hitting a hot frying pan.

Favourite cooking smell?
Caramelizing onions for French onion soup. Somebody should bottle that smell.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
Pancakes with saskatoon berry “topping” which is essentially a cooked compote of saskatoons.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the unwearable haute couture of food?
I think it’s cool to experiment but I’m sure it’s a “hit or miss” kind of cooking and eating. When I cook, I like to go for the sure bets. I hate misses when I’m dining and especially when I’m cooking, so I tend to not get too interested in making “smoke of rapini in a gelatinized bubble” and stuff like that.

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
LOVE IT. I’ve got a huge patch of it in my garden because I can’t stand stale cilantro. The more cilantro, the better.

What non-local foods can’t you live without?
Chocolate. End of story. Citrus is a big one too.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
My stash of organic dark chocolate. I spare no expense on good, organic chocolate.

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
Most kitchen gadgets are over-rated. I am not very comfortable with most machines and gadgets, so I keep it simple. I use my mixer once every few months, and I don’t own a food processor. And those are good all-purpose machines. So something like a “salad shooter” would be totally useless to me, but I do like the concept of being about to shoot vegetables around the kitchen. Ha. I also find it weird how there are such specific one-use-only utensils. I even think it’s stupid to have different types of forks. I mean, who can’t eat salad with a normal fork. You need a special, smaller, flatter fork?? Don’t get me started on that weird cake separator fork-thing. I would have never cut it in Victorian times.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
My ceramic Japanese chef’s knife. I NEVER sharpen knives, but I hate dull ones. It’s the perfect solution.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about ______ again, I’d be happy.
LIVER. I even strongly dislike foie gras. It’s a filter organ and it tastes bad. I have no idea why people even eat it. Liver pate reminds me of dog food. Yuck.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Well, just for pure fun, it would be Gordon Ramsay because he’s such a force of nature and probably a really fun guy to have dinner with. Also, he could teach me some new swears because mine are the same old ones I’ve been using for years. But really, I would want to cook for Stephen Harper so I could force him to listen to my rantings about how we need to start labelling our foods properly and stop being the patsy for international aquaculture and agriculture companies who farm products here outlawed by other countries.

What would you prepare for him/her?
I would prepare a comparative tasting of organic wild salmon and some farmed salmon, then some other comparative tastings of various fruits and vegetables all grown in Canada. I wouldn’t tell him which is which, but I’d see which ones he eats more of.

What was the last thing you ate?
I just made (and ate) the grilled fennel, grilled onion and arugula salad from Lucy Waverman’s weekend National Post recipe column. It was delish!

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
If I could conjure up any sort of talent I wanted, of course, I’d be a rock star. Doesn’t everyone want to be a rock star?

Rose Murray

Rose Murray, an internationally published food writer, cookbook author, broadcaster and teacher. For more than three decades, she has appeared widely in magazines and newspapers such as Canadian Living and The Globe & Mail.

Rose lives in Cambridge, Ontario and is resident cook on Kitchener CTV’s Noon News. Author of ten cookbooks, her most recent is A Taste of Canada: A Culinary Journey.

What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Mains.

Who or what got you interested in food?
I guess the first person was my mother on the farm, then Monda Rosenberg got me interested in a food career.

What inspires you?
Travel and exploring various food cultures.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
I loved an old-fashioned turkey dinner and still do.

What’s the first dish you remember making?
Corn Chowder.

Proudest food-related moment?
When I won both gold and bronze for Hungry for Comfort in the 2004 Cuisine Canada/University of Guelph National Book Awards.

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Chicken feet in Hong Kong.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
Bacon frying.

Favourite cooking smell?
Turkey roasting or baked beans in the oven.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
Old-fashioned Split Pea Soup.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the unwearable haute couture of food?
Unwearable haute couture (nice way of putting it).

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
Love it.

What non-local foods can’t you live without?
Lemons, oranges and coffee.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
Caviar.

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
Bread machine or slow cooker.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
A good chef’s knife my deceased friend John Freeman made for me.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about ______ again, I’d be happy.
Cook cheese.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Edna Staebler because she loved and ate everything I made and appeared to really enjoy it.

What would you prepare for her?
I’d prepare a roast chicken dinner with lemon mousse for dessert.

What was the last thing you ate?
Yogurt.

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
Teach English.

Barbara Barnes is a freelance home economist living in Edmonton, AB. and sailing out of Sidney BC. She is the former manager of the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen, the last gas utility home service department in North America, and has written over 20 cookbooks under their banner. She has just completed her last two cookbooks for the “Kitchen”. She continues to write columns for the Calgary Herald and is featured in bi-monthly food segments on the CTV Edmonton Noon news. She is a frequent contributor to the galley column in Pacific Yachting Magazine.

What’s your weakness?
Dessert or mains? I think that I have a floating weakness, some days it is a savory main courses and others, it is just plain and simply CHOCOLATE!

Who or what got you interested in food?
I can’t really remember when I first got the food itch, but I come from a long line of good everyday cooks and I had a great home economics teacher in high school.

What inspires you?
I am inspired by trying new ideas that I can translate into recipes and helpful tips for everyday people.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
My favourite dinner was my mother’s pyroghys every Friday night. At ninety years old she still makes them and I still love them!

What’s the first dish you remember making?
A chocolate cake mix for my birthday cake.

Proudest food-related moment?
The highlight of my career, was the opportunity to do food segments on CTV’s Good Morning Canada.

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
There have been many, but eating garlic ice cream at the Gilroy garlic Festival on vacation with my daughter is the first to come to my mind.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
The beep on the coffee pot telling me my morning coffee is ready to drink!

Favourite cooking smell?
A prime rib roast of Alberta beef.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
For me, a prime rib roast of Alberta beef.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the unwearable haute couture of food?
Molecular gastronomy is interesting, but it is not for everyday cooks. I am an everyday cook.

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
Cilantro is an acquired taste. My most memorable dinner was on our boat tied to a dock in Secret Cove and involved fresh Dungeness crab served with Cilantro Lime Mayonnaise, great wine and the company of good friends.

What local foods can’t you live without?
Sylvan Star Aged Grizzly Gouda and Alberta beef and my homemade raspberry vinegar.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
Quality!

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
I am a gadget junkie! The ones that don’t meet the grade in my compact kitchen go to Goodwill. I would have to say, a pineapple corer. Many people like them, but I think my cleaver works better.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
Right now it is my new Weber gas grill. I love BBQ! Otherwise, it is my cleaver. It was a gift from Martin Yan. I was his warm-up act on the cooking stage at the Calgary Stampede for a number of years.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about ________ again, I’d be happy.
Tofu.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
My dream would be cook a meal for the late Peter Gzowski and my Gido. I listened to Peter for years in the test kitchen at ATCO. I never met my Gido, but from what I hear he was the last of the great Ukrainian armchair philosophers. I think that the two of them would provide great dinner conversation. I probably would invite my late father as well. He would be hurt if wasn’t included in a great dinner conversation like this one.

What would you prepare for him/her?
Beef Tenderloin with Pinot Noir Sauce or if it was summer, my signature dish, Chicken with Raspberries and Caramelized Garlic, using my garden raspberries and homemade raspberry vinegar.

What was the last thing you ate?
Margarita Grilled Salmon with grilled corn and asparagus.

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
I guess I really would be retired!

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
University of Guelph
Ontario AgriCentre Patio, 100 Stone Road West

The event also includes a book signing session with Colorado State University professor Temple Grandin. A world renowned livestock handling specialist, consultant and best-selling author, Grandin is also known for her work in autism advocacy. She will sign books from noon to 12:30 p.m. (People are encouraged to bring their own books as quantities will be limited).

Editors Note: If you’re a Cuisine Canada member and involved in an event for a Canadian food cause, let us know. We’ll post a notice for you.

Karl Wells

Karl Wells is a food writer and restaurant reviewer with The Telegram in St. John’s Newfoundland. He has hosted and produced many television food segments for CBC in the past two decades and currently hosts the popular Rogers TV programme, One Chef One Critic, seen throughout his home province. In addition to judging many culinary competitions, such as the upcoming Gold Medal Plates in St. John’s, Karl has served for many years as enRoute Magazine’s Best New Restaurants’ Newfoundland panelist.

What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Mains. I love high flavoured braised dishes. Lamb shank is one of my addictions, cooked slowly on a low heat for a few hours. Shrimp and lobster are also favourites, especially when done very simply.

Who or what got you interested in food?
My father. He was a chef with the now defunct Newfoundland Railway before I was born and cooked professionally for several years before becoming a grocer. (We lived above our grocery store when I was growing up.) My dad cooked with an ease and efficiency that I found fascinating. I was also a big fan of the early television cooking shows featuring Jehane Benoit and then Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet. I also took great delight in reading my mother’s collection of cookery books.

What inspires you?
In the culinary world it would be the passion displayed by folk who make great food, be they cooks, farmers, chocolate makers or whatever. Nothing thrills like hearing a true believer talk enthusiastically about the quality of grass fed beef or making the ultimate chocolate truffle.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
Macaroni and cheese with lots of Canadian cheddar on top and crispy at the edges. I will always love it. Who doesn’t enjoy macaroni and cheese? I’d like some now as a matter of fact. In fast food it would be fish and chips. We have the best fish and chips in St. John’s. When I was growing up it was a real Friday treat.

What’s the first dish you remember making?
My grandmother taught me to make apple pie when I was 10. We’d make a bunch of them together at first but afterward I did it all by myself. Then I learned how to make baked beans because I liked them and making baked beans didn’t look that hard.

Proudest food-related moment?
Believe it or not I had the opportunity to make crème brulee for the actor, William Hurt, at a private dinner. He was in St. John’s making a film. He said my crème brulee was as good as the crème brulee he’d enjoyed in Paris. It probably wasn’t but it was nice of him to say so. He has a well-educated palate.

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Chocolate coated insects. Essentially they tasted like crunchy chocolate.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
The sound of meat sizzling on a skillet.

Favourite cooking smell?
Bread when it comes straight from the oven.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
Moose stew with local root vegetables cooked in a little Canadian beer.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the unwearable haute couture of food?
The latter, mostly. It has its place as an adjunct to more traditional methods of cooking but I wouldn’t care for a meal prepared entirely by using molecular cooking techniques. It’s getting too far from real food for my liking.

Cilantro – can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
I’ve acquired a taste for it, especially in some Indian dishes.

What non-local foods can’t you live without?
Obviously many types of fruit like mangoes, oranges and bananas. Oh, and peanut butter. I cannot survive without peanut butter.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
Real caviar from sturgeon but only on extremely rare occasions. I have champagne taste and a beer budget I’m afraid.

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
I’m not a kitchen gadget person but my uncle was given a George Foreman rotisserie oven that takes forever to clean. It has a million parts. Sticking a chicken in the oven is much simpler and just as good. He never uses the thing. I think the landfills must be full of such devices.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
My dad’s 2-cup ladle that he used when he cooked professionally.
It’s pretty special because every time I see it or use it I think of him and the wonderful meals he and my mom cooked for us. It’s over sixty years old.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about  ______ again, I’d be happy.
FOAM. I hate the stuff. So many chefs decorate their plates with it that it has become a culinary cliché.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Clement Freud. He was a great foodie and great wit. I particularly enjoyed his food writing.

What would you prepare for him/her?
My moose stew. I think he’d love it.

What was the last thing you ate?
A meal prepared for me by a lovely Russian couple. They’re new friends of mine. It began with mushroom soup and ended with blinis filled with cream cheese and topped with blueberry preserves. There were lots of interesting dishes in between with names that I cannot pronounce. One featured pounded out pork cutlets that had been cooked with cheese on top.

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
I’d be a professional actor.