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 gives it a culinary twist.
Illustration by Gerry Rasmussen
Many people will know Addie from his dinners (in the before time) and classes at Get Cooking. He was an academic, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alberta in physics.
“I was teaching and doing research, but I wasn’t seeing growth. I felt stagnated and lost inspiration for research. I was already dabbling with cheesemaking at home. I was getting more excited about food and cheesemaking and charcuterie. I worked at The Cheesiry for about six weeks, Rhonda keeps about eight sheep still. I will go again in lambing season to make a raw milk cheese.
“I didn’t rip the band-aid off. I took a year to transition. I do miss the intellectual environment yes, but academia is not meant for me, I need deadlines. In the kitchen there are deadlines—hourly, daily, weekly. No procrastination.”
Fleur Jaune cheese is Edmonton-based fresh cheeses made with organic milk. “They are not aged, yet there is so much you can do with cheese up to two months—in ramp season can make something with ramps, for example.”
Addie makes cheese on Sundays and Mondays at Meuwly’s in quantities well under the 300 litres per month allowed by his provincial licence. He is also part of the regular production team at Meuwly’s making many of their provisions and offers a Get Cooking class once per week.
Hometown?
Mumbai.
Years around food/cheese?
Since 2012, eight years.
Where would you like to live?
If not Edmonton, then the Columbia Gorge in Oregon. There is so much really nice cheese and wine and gin there.
Your favourite food and drink match?
24 month Comté and Vin Jaune, just had that on NYE.
What would you be doing if you weren’t making cheese?
Running an Indian resto in Mumbai.
What do you most appreciate in your friends?
Honesty. Frankness. Not sugar-coating things.
Your favourite qualities in a cheese?
Similarly, to not be superficial, to express the flavours of the land.
Your favourite qualities in a dish?
A really good story. Has to be really tasty.
Your favourite qualities in a wine?
I like when wine represents the grape and the terroir so you can taste the quality of the farming and winemaking and the complexity of the terroir.
Who would be at your dream dinner table (dead or alive)?
Chef Srijith (Srijith Gopinathan, San Franscisco), the only two Michelin Star Indian chef.
Who would cook?
Chef Gaggan Anand, Bankok, also Indian.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Terroir, oh and enzymatic. I use that a lot.
Current culinary obsession/exploration?
Making cheese, also delving deeper into Indian cuisine. It’s my real passion. I miss India.
Meaningful/crazy food experience?
One of the coolest things was a trip to Nagaland in India. The entire state is occupied by 16 or so tribes. We ate wood borer insects. The cook them with ginger in water. They are a little bitter, and crispy on the outside. And suprizingly aromatic, like sandalwood. They are on the Ark of Taste. I have done so many interesting food things, but this was cool.
Mentors?
Hard to define because I am self-taught. Cyrille at Partake and Kelsey at Linnea, Phillipe, sous chef at Laurent and Roger Letourneau at Meuwly’s.
Current favourite casual, cheap and cheerful after-work food
I don’t eat out that much. Steak tartare and a glass of wine. At Partake.
What’s next?
Create really good product that Edmonton can’t find anywhere else. Restaurants are important, I understand what chefs need. My cheese is in the kitchens at Smokey Bear, Biera, Partake, the Marc. And we are doing a special project at the Marc involving onion ash.
Philosophy?
Live life to the fullest and do something that’s going to make you proud.