Dish – July/August 2014

Clockwise from left: Blair Lebsack, Colin McFall and Rob Ingram finish plating the beef short ribs with pumpkin puree and roasted beets served at 2013 EALT dinner nature’s bounty

The Edmonton and Area Land Trust (EALT) hosts their second annual celebration of local food and the land and its bounty Sunday, September 7, at Tam Anderson’s Prairie Garden & Adventure Farm near Bon Accord. Nature’s Nourishment, a five-course seasonal exploration of Alberta cuisine with wines to suit, will be created by noted Edmonton chef Blair Lebsack. Chef Lebsack has long championed local foods and the farms that grow it. Tickets.

Clockwise from left: Blair Lebsack, Colin McFall and Rob Ingram finish plating the beef short ribs with pumpkin puree and roasted beets served at 2013 EALT dinner
EALT photo

Growing good times in St. Albert

Jim Hole
Jim Hole

Mark your calendars for St Albert’s Dig In! Horticulinary Festival, October 10 -11 at the Enjoy Centre. The event promises to be a clever interactive experience with hands-on workshops and demos on edible landscaping, baking, meat cutting, jam-making and pickling. Get ready to enter your best pickles or pie in the retro Pickles and Pies contests. Not to be missed: a foraging tour of the Grey Nuns white spruce forest. And, there’ll be beer. A highlight will certainly be the Alberta Ate Chef Collaborative dinner featuring chefs Blair Lebsack (RGE RD); Julia Kundera (The Glasshouse Bistro); Karine Moulin (Hotel Arts, Calgary); Doreen Prei (Edmonton Petroleum Club); Danielle Job (Holt Renfrew Café); John Riedler (The Raven Bistro, Jasper); Jan Hansen (Heritage Park, Calgary); Brad Lazarenko and Steven Furgiuele (Culina). Tickets are on sale now.

On Our Table cutting board
On Our Table cutting board
The perfect cutting board according to Kevin (and he should know)

“Best cutting board ever,” says Kevin Kent, owner of Knifewear about the new On Our Table boards available at his Whyte Avenue knife shop. Why does he love them so much? “The boards are made with end grain walnut, durable, sexy, and kind to your knives; not too wide to fit on a kitchen counter, and extra long so there is lots of working area. The top is flat all the way to the edges and the sides are rounded under; you can put your bowl under the lip and move food off the board easily. The back edge of the board is flat, easy to store on its side when not needed. They are made in St. Albert so the wood is already seasoned to our dry climate.”The perfect board indeed, $265.

the right meat makes a great burger

Steve Buzak exec chef, Royal Glenora Club, in the butcher shop at Sunshine Organic Farm.
Steve Buzak exec chef, Royal Glenora Club, in the butcher shop at Sunshine Organic Farm.

When it came time to find a local supplier for the hamburgers on the menu at the Royal Glenora club, exec chef Steve Buzak went to the Horvaths at Sunshine Organic Farm, whom he had met at the City Market Downtown. They raise cattle (including growing their feed) on their ranch near Warburg, then butcher it on site. It’s quite the burger — loaded with brie, tomato chutney, fried onions, double smoked bacon and, Steve says, “all the groceries: lettuce, tomatoes, pickles.”

¡arriba, abajo, al centro, pa‘ dentro!

El Cortez is coming
El Cortez is coming

Coming soon, El Cortez, a real live tequila bar! Yes, one that plans to be certified by the tequlia authenticator from Guadalajara no less, according to co-owner Michael Maxxis, Los Angeles-based (Edmonton-raised) music video director. Cocktail go-to guy Brendan Brewster is creating the El Cortez cocktail program and Alex Sneazewell is the exec chef.“Our menu is evolving around Mexican dishes, tortillas and tacos for sure, but it’s based on modern Latin cuisine with influences from Peru and Spain,” said Alex. Scott Dodds, Eli Diamond and Steve Traikovski bring several years of front of house and bar experience to the venture. El Cortez has a very cool look so far and we look forward to enjoying beautiful artisan tequila there. Opening mid-summer. El Cortez, 8230 Gateway Blvd, elcortezcantina.com

old time food

Chef Jasmin Kobajica has signed on as the culinary director for Fort Edmonton Park, to oversee all food service in the park, including the Park’s in-house catering service and Johnson’s Cafe, Mahogany Bar, Jasper House Bakery, Bill’s Confectionery, Midway Treats and Treasures and Masonic Hall. It’s a bit of a departure for chef Kobajica who spent a decade at the Chateau Lacombe, where he was an early champion of raised-in-Alberta food. Chef’s Kobajica’s locally-sourced menu offerings are inspired by the park’s mandate to provide a historically relevant experience.

Chef Jasmin Kobajica
Chef Jasmin Kobajica