Don Genova's Blog

Food For Thought - The Last Food For Thought

This is it.  After ten years on CBC Radio, my Food For Thought column has been canceled.  It's one of those 'CBC' things...where lots of shows across the country have used the program over the past ten years, and enjoy using it, but the department that syndicates the column says they're not really supposed to be funding me and it's time for them to develop new columns so something had to go.  That's me. If you have something to say about the cancellation you can email the CBC Radio Syndication department at radiosyndication@cbc.ca.

If you want to listen to my 'audio retrospective' of the column, please click here.   In the meantime, if you want to hear new food programming I produce, please go to my 'All You Can Eat' podcast page and subscribe by clicking on the 'Subscribe to My Feed' button beside any podcast you see listed there.  There are full instructions available once you click, and for the most ease, open the subscription link in Internet Explorer, and not Firefox.  Meanwhile, now that my regular relationship with CBC has come to an end, I'm seeking sponsors for my podcast, which reaches a wide audience across North America with thousands of downloads each month.  Email me at don at don genova dot com for details if you are interested.

Meanwhile, life goes on.  I have just inked an agreement with FoodTV.ca, the website of Food Network Canada.  I will be a guest blogger for the website, writing short bulletins about interesting West Coast restaurants and food happenings.  I'll post here when the Food Network posts my posts...gee, that's a lot of posting.  Curiously, the name of one of the FoodTV.ca blogs is 'Food For Thought'.  Well, I knew that name wasn't original when I started using it ten years ago!

Food For Thought - Clam Digging, Ebb and Flow

This week on Food For Thought, clam digging on Salt Spring Island with the author of a book about tides, Tom Koppel.  You can see more photos  on my Facebook photo album.  To listen to Tom mucking about with the shovel and explaining how important tides have been to his life, click here.

Tom's book is called Ebb and Flow, Tides and Life on Our Once and Future Planet. It's a fascinating look at tides from many different historical, scientific, and yes, food angles.  You can order it from amazon.ca and save 37% by clicking on the link above.

Food For Thought - Fruit Trees

This week, a visit to a fruit tree nursery called Fruit Trees and More, near Sidney, BC, where Bob and Verna Duncan grow more than 200 varieties of apples, along with almost any other kind of temperate fruit tree you can think of.  Then there are the sub-tropicals, such as the grapefruit you see here, lemons, limes, oranges, even pomelos. 

Did I forget to mention the olive trees?  Yes, in this part of Canada you can produce fruit from Mediterranean-origin trees.  To listen to our conversation and some tips about what you need to think about when planning to plant fruit trees, click here.

Food For Thought - Chef Expands Casual Empire

This week on Food For Thought, a brief profile of Wayne Martin, former executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver.  He left that lofty position to open Crave, a casual restaurant on Vancouver's East Side.  It was a great success, and now he has a new venture called Fraiche, in the lofty heights of West Vancouver's British Properties neighbourhood.

Here is the audio file for your listening pleasure.

 

Photos reproduced here taken by Dean Sanderson.

 

Fraîche

2240 Chippendale Road

West Vancouver, BC

T: 604.925.7595

Directions:  Going north, take the West Vancouver exit off the Lion’s Gate Bridge and turn right onto Taylor Way up the hill to the Upper Levels Highway. Turn left at the highway going West and take the 21^st Street exit. Turn right onto 21^st Street (which is actually Westhill) and follow up Westhill through the residential area till Chippendale Road at the top. Turn left and drive approximately 4 to 5 blocks. 

Free underground parking below the restaurant or street parking

 

Food For Thought - Buying Local Food

This week on Food For Thought a visit to a Culinary Tourism Conference yielded some interesting info on companies and individuals trying to make it easier for consumers, chefs and other food service operators to get access to local produce and value-added products.

You can listen to the 6 minute documentary by clicking here.  At the end of the documentary I mentioned that now is the time of year to start contacting farmers or co-ops that offer Community Supported Agricultural programs, or CSAs.  Most of these programs match you up with a farmer who will deliver a box of goods from their gardens throughout their growing season.  For some general information about how CSAs work, you can visit this USDA website.

After the column aired today, I heard about one such program from a listener in Chase, BC.  It's called the Heartland Foods and Farm Tours Cooperative. There is also one at the UBC Farm.  In the Kootenays, click  here. For a listing of some Ontario programs click here.  You can find some biodynamic CSA programs across Canada at this site.

Don't forget farmers markets.  Some run year round, others will start in the spring.  Go to this Google Search page and you'll find lots of references to farmers markets across Canada.

Food For Thought - Healthy Books?

This week on Food For Thought, a gentle criticism of the many books out there that purport to get you thin, healthy or save your life.  I concentrate on two that I think offer fairly no-nonsense straight-ahead advice. They include Norene's Healthy Kitchen by Norene Gilletz and In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan.  A complete list of books and links coming soon, but in the meantime you can listen to the audio file by clicking here.

Food For Thought - Rob Feeenie Joins Cactus Club

This week on Food For Thought, the story of Vancouver chef Rob Feenie's career and how this one-time Iron Chef champion is now the 'food concept architect' for Cactus Club Cafes. Read the press release at the company website while you listen to the mp3 of the 5-minute documentary by clicking here .

Food For Thought - Big Leaf Maple Syrup

This week on Food For Thought, a taste of Big Leaf Maple Syrup,  produced mainly on Vancouver Island.  Here is an mp3 audio file for your listening pleasure.  Here is an article explaining some of the research being done in this area.

The first ever Big Leaf Maple Syrup Festival held near Duncan was a roaring success.  I got to try 15 different locally-produced syrups, and there were some real standouts, including the winner from Lawrence Lampson of Glenora Farms.  He sold out of everything he had brought to the festival, but you might want to check to see if he has any more for sale.  At left you can see one of the 'Sapsuckers', the local maple syrup producers' club, pouring sap into an evaporator.  Depending on the sugar content of the sap, it may take up to 70 litres of sap to create one litre of syrup.

Here is Paul Minvielle of Saltspring Island showing people how to tap maple trees to collect the sap.  If you are interested you can find supplies and more information at Atkinson Maple Syrup Supplies.

Food For Thought - Food Culture

This week on Food For Thought, a look at Canadian food culture through the eyes of three top Vancouver chefs, Rob Feenie, Greg Hook and Dennis Green.  Listen to the audio file here.  Funny, both Rob Feenie and Greg Hook listed Kraft Dinner as one of their favourable childhood food memories.  I also spoke about a unique theatre group in the interior of BC, Enderby, to be precise.  The Runaway Moon Theatre company has been working on a project for the past two years called 'Food For Thought'!  They don't think they stole the name from me...

Runaway Moon General Manager Jaci Metivier sent me an email about the project: 

It's a rather sprawling, mix of community art-making sessions, seasonal outdoor "spectacle" performances, fabulous food made by local artist/cooks and a catalogue/cookbook. We've had as our themes, squash, summer vegetables, corn, apples and potatoes, and community participants have made processional banners, huge vegetable ribbons that are woven into a tablecloth, potato print napkins, beaded apples, and corn "kernels of truth".

Now that's what I call 'food culture'.  Fantastic!

Food For Thought - Sake Making

Sorry for the late posting on last week's column, but here is the information at last.  Pictured at left is Masa Shiroki, who with the help of Cassandra Anderton, is serving guests a taste of freshly pressed sake, fermented rice wine that has been stewing away in a tank for 25 days.  Masa is Canada's only artisan sake maker, and just celebrated his first anniversary of operations at his small facility on Vancouver's Granville Island.  You can listen to the audio of my documentary by clicking here.

This is the press where sacks of the fermented rice are placed.  Then a heavy weight is placed on top to squeeze out the fresh sake.  The unfiltered sake is light and refreshing, not like the low-quality stuff I drank hot when I was in university!  This is best served chilled.

Visit Masa's website for much more information.

Food For Thought - The Young Man and the Sea

This week on Food For Thought, a chat with David Pasternack, executive chef at Esca, one of the best seafood restaurants in New York City, and his attitude toward cooking seafood.  Here's the audio file for your listening pleasure. and links coming up this afternoon.

In the audio file you'll hear tips about getting to know a good fishmonger and how to choose fresh fish.  I ended the piece with my admonition about buying seafood that is from a sustainable resource.  You can check this posting to find links on that.

There is a great series called Empty Seas running in the New York Times now about how West African fish stocks are being decimated by European and Chinese industrial fishers.  This link will lead you to the first story, and you'll see the other stories in the series in the 'related' box on the webpage.

Food For Thought - Had A Glass 2008

This week, a great new guide to choosing excellent wines.   The guide is called 'Had A Glass, Top 100 Wines for 2008 Under $20'.  The authors are James Nevison and Kenji Hodgson.  I took a tour of the Marquis Wine Cellar in Vancouver with them to talk about the book.  Here is the audio file for your listening pleasure.

You can save 27% off of the cover price by clicking the link above and ordering through amazon.ca.  Me, my wife and my creditors will thank you for the small portion of the proceeds I receive from leading you to the sale.

Food For Thought - Margaret's Kitchen

This week on Food For Thought, I chat with Margaret Dickenson and her husband Larry.  Margaret is the author of Margaret's Table: Easy Cooking and Inspiring Entertaining. 

You can listen to the audio file of our conversation here .  Margaret has a great website full of recipes, tips and even video instructions for some of her best dishes.  It's also where you can order her book, and her first effort, From the Ambassador's Table:  Blueprints for Creative Entertaining.

She is a graduate of the Food and Nutrition program at the University of Guelph, but 40 years of life with her husband Larry, who held posts in Canada's Foreign Service up to the rank of ambassador, gave her invaluable experience at entertaining at small dinner or cocktail parties all the way up to hundreds of people at a time.

I'll have more with Margaret and Larry in an upcoming podcast.

Food For Thought - Book Gifts 2007

This week on Food For Thought, surefire book suggestions for the foodie on your gift list.  Here is the audio file for your listening pleasure, and the list of books.  I'll have cover photos and links to Amazon.ca a little later...

 

There are many good things about giving a cookbook as a gift.  They can provide hours of enjoyment, even if the recipient never cooks from them.  Some people just like to look.
If they do cook from the book, you might get to eat the fantastic results.  And, as I like to remind people who are clumsy with scotch tape, shiny paper and scissors, they are easy to wrap.

Before I head into some of the latest books on the shelves this year, I want to remind you about some of the books I’ve already talked about this year that I feel are surefire winners, like Into The Vietnamese Kitchen, by Andrea Nyugen. This book is full of fresh, flavourful ideas, and Vietnamese salads are now part of my regular repertoire. 

Then there’s One Pot Italian Cooking, by Massimo Capra, the pork rib and cabbage dish is to die for.
Another great Italian cookbook is Two Meatballs, by Mark Strausman and Pino Luongo.  This book brings together authentic Italian with New York Italian cooking.

The Guy Can’t Cook, by Cinda Chavich, gives every guy the tools he needs to be a success in the kitchen, and maybe the bedroom.

Now, onto newer books. This year’s must have wine guide is a formula with tried and true success:  Had A Glass 2008, by James Nevison and Kenji Hodson, Top 100 Wines for Under 20 Dollars.  It’s the third edition, and sized just so you can put it in the glove compartment of your car when you’re out shopping.  Kenji Hodson explains the first edition sprung from demands from their friends who were getting excited by the world of wine. I’ll have more from James and Kenji in the new year. 

If you want to go beyond meatballs, get ballsy with this next book.  Balls! By Angela Murrills, puts everything round in perspective, from around the world, and more.

Regular listeners to this program know that my favourite place to shop for any food book is Barbara-jo’s Books to Cooks in Vancouver.  Even though Barbara-jo a specialty retailer, she’s been doing her best to even out the differences this season between American and Canadian prices.  When she takes a few days off after Christmas, she’s going to settle down with a couple of books about food you just read, not cook from.  Her first selection is The Tenth Muse, by Judith Jones, and details the life of the woman who was responsible for getting Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking published, and many, many more cookbooks.  The second book she mentioned is by Clarissa Dickson Wright, one of the Two Fat Ladies.  Her autobiography is called Spilling the Beans.

Food For Thought - Kitchen Gadget Parade 2007

Nothing like a handy pair of potato scrubber gloves for a Christmas stocking stuffer!  This week on Food For Thought, my annual gadget suggestions with Ming Wo store manager Fontaine Wong. All of the gadgets are available at Ming Wo, and the prices you see listed here are from the Chinatown shop. (and they do mail order!)

Here is the  audio file for your listening pleasure, and the list is about to be published as well.  Later this week I will be publishing a podcast with many more great suggestions from Fontaine, so be sure to check my podcast page for that.  Better yet, subscribe to my podcast from that page so you never miss another podcast!

Tender Press      $19.95        Fusion
-    gentle way to tenderize and flatten meat without
-    pounding , stabbing or using chemicals. 
By using a rolling motion ( like a rolling pin with tender teeth)
it reduces tearing and eliminates meat juice splatter.
The teeth tenderizes the meat and the bars flatten the meat.

Skrub’a       
Practical multi purpose nylon Scrubbing glove for removing dirt from potatoes and carrots and other vegetables.  Rinse after use, wring and hang dry.
Machine wash warm water or top rack dishwasher safe.
$12.95
* works great on golf balls too*

Gourmet Masher       $28.98      Chef Jamie Gwen
What makes the gourmet masher so special?
Innovative design of diamond shaped cutting tines/ blades
and a soft comfort grip handle makes preparing food a breeze.
Food doesn’t stick to the blades like other mashers.
It effortlessly mashes, rices and whips potatoes in 60 seconds.
Works with vegetables, egg salad, baby food and more…
and even blending berries for jams and jellies.
Allows for greater control over texture and food consistency.
Simply press the Gourmet Masher straight down through
the hot cooked potatoes / vegetables.

Gourmet Pastry Pro    $28.98
Designed to cut through flour and even cold butter .  No need to
Pre-sift your flour.  Just toss your ingredients into a bowl and
in seconds you get the precise consistency you need for pastry.
Dishwashersafe
Rigid stainless frame
Soft Comfort grip handle

Poach Pod        by Fusion         $12.95 pair
Simple to use and clean
Floats in water during cooking
Just crack a raw egg and pour into an oiled  pod
and place it in a pan of simmering  water until desired firmness
Simply run a spoon around the edges and gently remove the egg.
You can use to bake, mold and even make ice treats.
Great for melting butter or chocolate.

Buzz Buzz   2 in 1 Electronic Mill       Cole & Mason
Reg $79.95    Spec $63.99
Unique battery operated mill has two diamond sharp ceramic mechanisms for grinding salt and pepper.
Simply slide the top button  to choose salt or pepper and press.
Fully adjustable mechanisms for fine to coarse grind.
Viewing windows so you can tell when to refill.
Stylish Brushed stainless steel body
Batteries included    6 x AAA

U-select Peugeot Pepper/Salt Mills      
Takes the guesswork out of grinding pepper or salt.
U-select allows for the perfect degree of grind,
With 6 Pre-set levels for grind for pepper or salt.
Just adjust the mill to your preferred grind and
turn.

 

BREVILLE IKON BLENDERS
Patented Hemisphere 6 blade system, powerful enough to crush ice into snowlike consistency, while still making smoothies, pesto, and mayonnaise.

The revolutionary blade system is designed to hug the base of the bowl, therefore eliminating any food traps.   This prevents lumps in smoothies and cocktails, so that ingredients are shredded into fine and even particles.

Varies from 600, 750, 1000 watt motors.
5 speeds The 600 model offers a Pulse  & LCD countdown display.
550Xl  unit Reg $179.99   Spec. $139.99
600XL unit  Reg $229.99  Spec $179.99
800XL unit  Reg  $299.99  Spec $249.99

Food For Thought - Tribute to James Barber

Canadian culinary icon James Barber passed away last week at age 84.  This week on Food For Thought I pay tribute to him.  You'll hear clips from his TV and a very old appearance on the CBC Radio show Morningside, as hosted by Don Harron.  Click here to listen to the audio file.  To see some photos on my Facebook photo album tribute to James (and you don't have to have a Facebook account) just click here.

Food For Thought -BC Albacore Tuna

This week on Food For Thought I let a good idea out of the can...BC Albacore tuna.  That's a frozen tuna in the photo on the right, they are about 10 to 20 pounds when they are caught off the British Columbia coast, long before their bodies have a chance to build up any dangerous concentrations of mercury.

The tuna is available as a high quality canned product, cooked in its own juices with absolutely no waste.  It is also available in frozen, boneless, skinless loins, which I love to eat raw as sashimi or sear lightly with Asian seasonings.  This photo shows some of the chefs who gathered to demonstrate recipes at Albion Fisheries in Vancouver, with the loins at the bottom of the photo.  To listen to my mp3 documentary on albacore tuna, click here.

Here are a couple of the dishes they made.  You can find lots of recipes for using both raw and canned tuna at the Canadian Albacore Tuna website.  You will also find details of a recipe contest now underway that anyone can enter, with CASH prizes.  Contest deadline is December 15th, 2007.

Food For Thought - One Pot Italian Cooking

This week on Food For Thought I welcomed Massimo Capra into my 'Test Kitchen'.  Massimo is the author of One Pot Italian Cooking, and the owner of two Toronto Italian restaurants, Mistura and Sopra.  To listen to my chat with him, click here for the mp3.

You can order the book by clicking here to follow through to amazon.ca and save 37% off the cover price! 

In the kitchen, Massimo guided me through his braised rabbit with apricots and tomatoes; earlier I made some tasty back ribs cooked with julienned cabbage.  More photos coming soon!

Food For Thought - The Wine Islands

This week on Food For Thought, I look at one of Canada's emerging wine regions, the BC Wine Islands.  Pictured at left is the winery building at Morning Bay Vineyard & Estate Winery on Pender Island.  It's owned by Keith Watt, who used to work at CBC Radio, and trained me when I got my first CBC job back in Prince Rupert, nearly 20 years ago!

You can listen to the 6-minute documentary here.  To learn more about the wineries of the Wine Islands and how you can taste them if you're not in that region, visit the Wine Islands Vintners Association webpage.

Food For Thought - Two Meatballs

Okay, that's more than two meatballs you see here, but this week's show is about four chefs putting their best meatballs forward in a somewhat impromptu competition at Barbara-jo's Books to Cooks in Vancouver.

The Two Meatballs in the title are Mark Strausman and Pino Luongo, chef/partners in Italian restaurants in New York City.  They have just published a new cookbook called 'Two Meatballs', but these guys don't see eye to eye.  Here's the 6-minute audio file for your listening pleasure...

The cookbook goes much further than meatballs, but I have to admit, after watching these guys cook their favourite meatball recipes, I've been inspired to make more of my own.  You can order Two Meatballs via this link to amazon.ca and save 37% off the cover price.  You can see a few more pictures of the 'guys with balls' on my Facebook album.

Food For Thought - Soup!

This week on Food For Thought I profiled the owners of the Stock Market at Vancouver's Granville Market.  Joanne and Georges Lefebvre have been making and selling delicious soups, stocks, dips, sauces and more for over 20 years.  To listen to the 5-minute mp3 of my documentary, click here.  (photo of Joanne Lefebvre by Jon Murray, Vancouver Province)

I also talked with Barbara-jo McIntosh at Barbara-jo's Books to Cooks about her favourite soup cookbooks.  They are Soup, A Way of Life, by Barbara Kafka, and Splendid Soups, by James Peterson.  For making your own soup, you might want to try these Soup Socks!

Food For Thought - One Smart Cookie

This woman is One Smart Cookie!  She is Julie Von Rosendaal, and she helps me bake healthier cookies this week on Food For Thought.  To listen to the 5 minute documentary, click here.  Julie has a blog, as well, so if you want to check out what's going on in her crazy cookie-cutter life, check out Julie Was Here.
 

One Smart Cookie is an updated version of the original version Julie wrote several years ago.  I like this book a lot, as it's one of those cookbooks that have you saying as you page through it, "oh, I want to make that, and those, and these, too!"

You can order the cookbook through Amazon.ca by clicking here, and you'll help me support the costs of this blog while saving 37%!

My next podcast will feature Julie as well, in a fun-filled conversation that spans two recipes, including the Cinnamon Bun Crunches you see here.

Food For Thought - Denman Island Chocolate

This week on Food For Thought, a visit to the Denman Island Chocolate factory with owner Daniel Terry, pictured left.  Here's the audio documentary in mp3 format.  Denman Island Chocolate bars are available across Canada and the United States in retail outlets and by mail order.  Just visit the website for more info...

This is the new facility Daniel built to house the chocolate-making premises.  It's in a beautiful setting on a ridge overlooking the ocean.

Food For Thought - Meat Inspection Regulations

If you're looking for 'The Guy Can't Cook' contest, click here. 

This week, for listeners outside of the BC region, you'll hear a story about how new meat inspection regulations are threatening the livelihood of farmers, and meat and poultry processors in British Columbia, particularly on Vancouver Island.  At left is Lyle Young of Cowichan Bay Farm and Farmhouse Poultry, who has invested a great deal of his own money to keep his farm alive, as well as those of other small farmers on southern Vancouver Island.  You can listen to the 6-minute documentary in mp3 format by clicking here .  You can get more information on these regulations by visiting the appropriate pages on the BC Centre For Disease Control website.  And if you're thinking of upgrading our starting your own meat processing facility, be sure to visit this page from the BC Food Processors Association.

Deep-frying a Turkey

Ottawa, Thanksgiving 2007 - This is my brave brother-in-law, John Juraitis, lowering our Thanksgiving turkey into the deep-frying contraption he bought at Loblaws.  He said, 'I've never done this before, so if you're game, let's try it!'

Never being one to back away from a challenge, I said 'let's go for it', and 20 litres of vegetable oil and 63 minutes later, we had one of the most excellent turkeys I have ever tasted.  For more captioned photos, see this facebook album.   But wait, there's more!  How about a video of the turkey being lowered into the oil?  Coming soon, on the way out!

Food For Thought - The Guy Can't Cook

This week on Food for Thought, meet Cinda Chavich, author of 'The Guy Can't Cook'.  Click here to listen to the audio file.  Cinda is based in Calgary, but visited my kitchen in Vancouver yesterday to teach me how to whip up chicken saltimbocca and saffron risotto.  To see photos from our cooking visit the Facebook album I created.

CONTEST!! I have two copies of the book to give away, thanks to Whitecap Books.  Just scroll down to the bottom of this page and enter a short note into the 'Comments' box about your guy who can, or can't cook!  Dining disaster or sublime saucy success, I want to hear both kinds of stories.  Contest Deadline is Friday, October 19th.  Go for it!  (please let me know what city or town you are writing from in case some of the CBC Radio stations across the country want to read your entry)  The contest is NOW CLOSED.  Winners announced soon!

Pictured at left is the chicken and risotto dish Cinda walked me through.  If you can't wait to see if you win the book, you can always order it right now through amazon.ca and save 37% off the cover price!

Food For Thought - Barry Benepe and Greenmarkets of New York City

This week on Food For Thought, meet the man who helped put farmers and their produce back in the cities of North America.  Barry Benepe  co-founded the Greenmarket program in New York City, and was just awarded the first Jane Jacobs Medal for Lifetime Leadership.  To listen to my stroll through New York's Union Square Green Market with Barry, click here for the 6-minute documentary. 

In New York City, farmers markets had all but disappeared by the 1930’S.

Fast forward 40 years. Barry Benepee and another man, Bob Lewis, found it hard to believe they couldn’t easily buy New York State produce in New York City. And the city was looking for help to rescue Union Square.  So, the Greenmarket system was born.

It wasn’t that easy. The Union Square market took about four years to really take off. Other markets have opened then closed, and there were always the not-in-my-backyard people.

This market is clearly a success. All around the square are farmers and food producers doing a brisk business with the best of the season. The customers get to know the farmers and their produce, the farmers make a much better living than if they had to involve a middleman.

Ironically, the relationship between Barry Benepe and the late Jane Jacobs, the urban visionary Barry’s award is named after, was not always so sweet. Although Jacobs lived in Toronto for most of the last years in her life, in the past she and Barry clashed on a particular Manhattan urban renewal project.

He does admire the work of Jane Jacobs, though, and feels that she would appreciate the vitality the green market system has brought to New York City, and far beyond.  Since I moved to Vancouver about 12 years ago, I have seen four seasonal farmers markets spring up, and this year there will even be an indoor winter market every other week.  If you have a farmers market in your urban community, make sure you visit.  It’s good for the farmers, good for your health, and the health of your city.

Food For Thought - The Main

This week on Food For Thought, a profile of new Food Network cooking show host Anthony Sedlak.  His new show is called The Main.  To listen to my 5-minute documentary feature click here for the mp3 audio file.

According to the Food Network's bio of Anthony, he grew up in North Vancouver, BC and started in the hospitality industry at age thirteen, working as a bus boy at Grouse Mountain Resorts ltd. Anthony’s first taste of the kitchen was working as Line Cook, where he was soon promoted to Production Cook. By 15, Anthony became the youngest cook ever to be proficient on all stations at the restaurant. He has enjoyed great success at the resort’s high-end restaurant, The Observatory, working his way up from 2nd cook to 1st cook and then Chef de Partie, all the while completing the Culinary Art Program at Carson Graham Secondary School in North Vancouver. At age 24, Anthony is at the helm of the Observatory restaurant kitchen brigade. He represented Canada at the Hans Bueschken World Junior Chef Challenge in Auckland, New Zealand, March 2006.

In June 2006, Anthony participated in and won the Superstar Chef Challenge on Food Network. That led to him getting his show, The Main, as you can hear in the documentary.

Food For Thought - Tea for You

This week on Food For Thought, the latest in the world of tea, including the Brew-T, the gadget you see in the photo here. The Brew-T was brought to Canada by Bob Krul at Cornelia Bean Tea and Coffee Emporium in Winnipeg.  If you want to listen to the mp3 of this week's 6-minute documentary, click here.

Here's a shot of Bob holding the Brew-T. It really works well with loose leaf tea, or drip-style ground coffee.  It's best to use a clear glass mug or glass with it, so you can see the level as you approach the top of the mug.  You put the Brew-T on top of the mug, and the rim triggers an ingenious little drip-proof valve to pour directly into the container. 

My tour guide for the Tea Expo was Louise Roberge, president of the Tea Association of Canada.  If you want to read about the health benefit claims that are now approved by Health Canada, you can read this press release from the Tea Association.

And if you want to start your own specialty tea shop or lounge, contact Brendan Waye, the Tea Guy.  He has helped found at least six different specialty tea shops in Canada and has all the info you need to cash in on the boom of tea drinking!

Food For Thought - More Coffee Talk

Last week I told you about how coffee roasting is an important step in the whole java experience. This week I'm back with more caffeine-laced stories, including how a village in Thailand made a switch from growing opium poppies to coffee beans.  Listen to the 6-minute documentary by clicking here.  To the right are some of the principal folks running the Doi Chaang Coffee company, based in Thailand, but with a roasting and distribution operation in Calgary.  You will find mail order and store info on their website.

You also heard about latte art from Sammy Piccolo, three-time Canadian Barista Champion and top three finisher three times at the World Barista Championships.  He practices his art and teaches other baristas at the Caffe Artigiano locations scattered around Vancouver.

Here's some of the best art they do at the anchor location at 763 Hornby Street.   I also talked about Fair Trade coffee this week.  To learn more about what CERTIFIED Fair Trade coffee is, visit the website of the Transfair USA organization or this Wikipedia entry.  Not everyone likes the principles behind Fair Trade.  Check out this Google Search Page to find out what some of the critics are saying, including this article reprinted by the Organic Consumers Association.

You can also revisit my first take on Fair Trade coffee by visiting this Pacific Palate archive page.

Food For Thought - Roasted To Perfection

This week on Food For Thought, why the roasting of green coffee beans is so important to making a great cuppa joe. To listen to the 6 minute documentary, click here to play the mp3 file.

I watched the coffee being roasted at 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters in Vancouver, owned by the Piccolo family, Vince, Michael and Sammy. This family has a pretty long pedigree in the food service industry, starting with Vancouver's acclaimed fine dining restaurant, Villa Del Lupo.  Vince told me he got into the coffee roasting business when his son was born and he didn't want the long, evening hours as a restaurateur any more.  He is now the General Manager of the company while Michael is the roastmaster and Sammy Piccolo is one of the best cappuccino artists in the world.

You can find great examples of this art by Sammy and the other baristas he's trained at the various Cafe Artigiano outlets around Vancouver, which are all supplied with their beans from 49th Parallel. This includes the beans from Panama that were purchased by the roasters for $130 a pound.  That means at the cafes you need to part with $15 for one cup!

Food for Thought - Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

This week on Food For Thought meet Andrea Nguyen, author of Into The Vietnamese Kitchen.  She demystifies the home-cooking aspects of this fresh and vibrant cuisine. You can visit her website here. You can also listen to an mp3 of the 5-minute Food For Thought documentary by clicking here.

Andrea's cookbook is a great place to get started on making your own Vietnamese cuisine at home.  If you follow this link to purchase the book through amazon.ca, you'll save over $16.00 off the cover price.

Last night I made a couple of dishes from her book, and they both turned out in an amazing fashion.  I wanted to keep some for leftovers, and had to battle my wife Ramona to keep her from gobbling down the entire serving of this cucumber salad.  Here is the recipe , courtesy of Andrea Nguyen, which will open as a Word document.

The other recipe I made was for grilled boneless chicken thighs, which were delicious in their simplicity with a marinade consisting of oil, lime juice, fish sauce and lots and lots of black pepper.  You then make a fresh dipping sauce at the table in individual dishes using wedges of lime, salt, pepper and hot chili peppers.  Here's the recipe.

Food For Thought - Red Fish, Blue Fish

This week on Food For Thought, I tell you about Red Fish, Blue Fish, a new take-out seafood restaurant perched near the floatplane dock on Victoria's Inner Harbour.  This is a restaurant with a difference, with an important commitment to sustainability.  Even the restaurant itself is made from an 'upcycled' cargo container.

All the seafood used on the menu is sustainably caught, in accordance to the Oceanwise program.  And some of the most popular menu items besides the stellar fish and chips are the tacones, as you can see on the left.  A tacone is a jazzed-up fish taco stuffed with special coleslaw, perhaps a spot prawn mayonnaise, and your choice of cod braised in adobo sauce, oysters, halibut or barbecued wild salmon.  I would also recommend you try the Qualicum Bay scallop sandwich, which comes complete with a tempura dill pickle slice.  Bizarre, but amazing!

Here is Red Fish, Blue Fish partner Simon Sobelewski explaining to me that the restaurant is mere steps away from where the first British ships arrived and where the pathway to Fort Victoria, as it was then known, was built.

And the mastermind behind the menu, chef Kunal Ghose, who perfected his fish tacos and tacones in the years he spent at Go Fish, another take-out seafood restaurant on the public wharf at Granville Island.

It looks big in this photo, but the entire cooking operation is enclosed in a container that is about as big as a large car.  To listen to my 5-minute documentary in mp3 format, click here.

Food For Thought - Simply Summer!

This week on Food For Thought, meet Angela Tunner, author of Simply Summer.  Angela has some great tips on how to make gourmet meals in the summer without heating up your kitchen.  She loves to use the microwave oven and toaster oven to keep things simple.  You can listen to the 5-minute mp3 documentary by clicking here.

Food For Thought - Food and Travel Advice from Anthony Bourdain

This week on Food For Thought, some on-the-road eating advice from Kitchen Confidential author Anthony Bourdain.  You can listen to his entertaining advice and pronouncements in my 6-minute documentary . (mp3 format)

Bourdain's current travel and food television adventures are seen in No Reservations, on the Travel Channel in the United States and in Canada on the Travel and Escape Channel.

Food For Thought - Favourite Food Moments from School

This week with the help of some of my classmates I look back on some of the most memorable food moments from our nine months here at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Colorno, Italy.  You can listen to an MP3 of the 6-minute audio file by clicking here.  Those are all my classmates in the photo at the left.

That's Slow Food President Carlo Petrini, who came to lunch with us on a boat docked on the Po River.  I'll have a special treat for you to watch on this blog in a day or so.  Our nine months in Italy, compressed into a 20-minute photo and music show.  Stand by!

Food For Thought - Ice Cream Taste Panel

This week on Food For Thought, my taste panel made up of Sam Corea, Steve Hawkins and Cate Simpson tried out 5 different kinds of vanilla ice cream. You can hear the 5-minute audio file by clicking here .  When the last spoons were licked, the panel reached consensus on the best being 4, 5 and 1.  The also rans included Number 2, cow flavoured according to the panel, Breyer’s Double Churned Extra Creamy Natural Vanilla.  Number three, ranked lowest by the panel, is called It’s Soy Delicious, Frozen Soy Dessert, Vanilla flavoured and fruit sweetened. 

Number one was Nestle’s Real Dairy with Natural Vanilla, including fresh cream and ground vanilla bean.  Number 5 was Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. And number Four, top of the cone, so to speak, was actually a frozen yogurt made by Haagen Daaz, fooled the entire panel into thinking it was ice cream.  So the two most famous brands, in a blind tasting, ended up on top.  They were also the most expensive.  In this case, you get what you pay for.  Hope you stay cool the rest of the summer.

Food For Thought - Barcelona Public Markets

This week on Food For Thought I talk about the public market system in Barcelona, Spain.  At right is a photo of La Boqueria market, one of the most diverse and vibrant markets I have ever visited.  The City of Barcelona runs 46 public markets in the city, 40 of them sell food products.  The City believes having a good public market system will lead to happier, healthier communities.  You can hear all about it by listening to the mp3 of the 5 minute documentary here .  If you have any grasp of Spanish you can visit the markets website here.  You can see a photo album of the market here.

Food For Thought - Bringing Flatbreads to the World

Hi everyone...this week on Food For Thought I take you to a factory north of Toronto where they specialize in making naan, an East Indian style flatbread. The company is called FGF Brands, which stands for Functional Gourmet Foods.   In Canada you will find their flatbread products in Loblaws and Real Canadian Superstore outlets, with further availability described on the company website.  Jim White, a former Toronto Star food columnist and inventor of many President's Choice products, teamed up with experienced commercial baker Sam Ajmera to create a production process that could manufacture naan on a large scale, but have the product remain very authentic.  You can see some of the naan coming out of 'the world's largest tandoor' oven, according to Sam, in the photo at left.  I couldn't take pictures of any other parts of the oven...the technology is a closely-guarded secret.