Earlier this month, Ellen and Jenn along with some new friends, enjoyed an exquisite culinary experience at the Canadian Culinary Federation (Winnipeg branch) Gala. As supporters of Culinary Team Manitoba, who will compete in the World Culinary Olympics in Germany later this year, we knew the dinner would please the palette beyond our expectations.
Chef formed teams and each team delivered a course. We talked to three of the chefs and asked them to share their passion about cooking with us through 5 Questions.
Chef Joe Lindhorst/Culinary Arts Instructor at College Sturgeon Heights Collegiate
Chef Joe Lindhorst and his students prepared the Game Course – Smoked Duck Breast with Roasted Beet Salad, Vegetable Chips & Beet Canola Vinaigrette at the CCFCC Gala.
Q. 1 What drives your passion?
Doing it with professionalism. I believe that if you ‘re going cook something, it should be done properly.
Q. 2 What is the one meal that you make for your family that makes them smile?
I make this one dish- a pan-fried pickerel with fresh tomato and basil buerre blanc ( a white wine reduction). I have never gotten anything less than “wow that’s amazing” as a reaction to it.
Q. 3 What are some key ingredients that you need in your kitchen?
The essentials – fresh herbs, butter, spices, high-quality oils like olive and canola oil.
Q. 4 If you could cook anywhere in the world, where would you be?
Outside of Canada, I would have to say Northern Italy. Northern Italian cuisine is considered to be one of the best in the world.
Q. 5 What is your favourite food/meal/recipe to eat?
There are so many to choose from…but I would have to say a good, fresh pasta with fresh ingredients!
Andy Ormiston/Chef of the Year/ Culinary Arts Instructor at Lord Selkirk Regional Secondary School
Chef Andy was presented with the Chef of the Year award at the CCFCC Gala. Andy and his students made the salad course for the gala: Mixed Herb Canola Salad with Toasted Mixed Seeds on a Herbed Parmesan Strip.
Q1.What drives your passion (to cook)?
I have been around since before food t.v. and I just love doing what I do because I get to be creative. As a teacher, I get to pass this on to students. The food industry is always evolving, partly b/c of food tv, which is both good and bad. When I was going through culinary school, all chefs were European born and stuck to the classics. Now, we have the opportunity to try something new every day, we can bend the rules or throw them out the door. For example, take the Ceasar salad. When I was an apprentice, a Caesar salad would have been unacceptable; now you can find a Caesar salad as one of the top sellers in the menu in 9 out of 10 cities.
Q2.What is the one meal that you make for your family that makes them smile?
Pork back ribs or flank steak. Once a week we also do a meatless dish at home; ground round hamburger helper is one of our favourites.
Q3.What are some key ingredients that you need in your kitchen?
Couple of different kinds of Olives, canola oil, sea salt, herbs de provence (herb blend), miso.
In our kitchen we also like to be sustainable, stay green and buy local. For example, we do all of our frying in canola oil, and we get our eggs from a local producer who makes his own feed.
Q4.If you could cook anywhere in the world, where would you be?
Denmark. In a way, Denmark is a lot like Manitoba. It has become a dairy and hog producing country, and they get their produce from Spain. Copenhagen is home to NOMA, named Best Restaurant in the World in 2010 and 2011 by Restaurant Magazine.
Q5.What is your favourite food/meal/recipe to eat?
There are a few: B.C. Sablefish, lamb shanks, a bean soup I used to get in the Greek islands and my mother’s hamburger stroganoff.
Chef Raymond B Czayka/Culinary Arts Instructor at Kildonan-East Collegiate
Chef Raymond and staff and students from Kildonan-East Collegiate created the soup course at the gala: Chicken Vermouth Soup with Seared Saffron Medallion Spinach Canola Oil and Tomato Concasse.
Q1. What drives your passion (to cook)?
I have been on multiple Culinary Teams representing Manitoba, Ontario, and Canada at the Culinary Olympics held in Germany(1988,1992), and the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg(1990, Ontario Team, and 1994 as Team Canada), and have been asked this question many times, and to this day, it’s still the same. We all (professional cooks) have access to the same ingredients, it’s what we do with those ingredients that drive my passion. Simple ingredients prepared freshly, with a different dressing, salsa etc. is exciting. To come up with different, tasty food combinations is what keeps me going. We have much more product available from around the world now, that it’s even more exciting, exotic grains, fruits, and vegetables. New products are being developed as well, for example, Extra Virgin Canola Oil, which MJ Feeke featured in a Sorbet at the Chef’s President’s Ball a couple of years ago.
Q2.What is the one meal that you make for your family that makes them smile?
My wife is an excellent cook, and an even better baker, and with my cooking abilities, our family eats almost anything, alike just about as much. If I had to choose 1 meal, it would have to be our Christmas Eve dinner before church. My wife’s heritage/family is Icelandic & English, mine is German, so we have Icelandic specialities; smoked and cured lamb, I make marinated salmon(Graved Lox), imported cheese(Cambozola, Havarti, Brie) and homemade Icelandic brown bread, and of course all of the Christmas baking.
Q3.What are some key ingredients that you need in your kitchen?
I make my own seasoning, so that’s one ingredient, but sometimes S & P works better. Butter is a no-brainer. I have different oils for different recipes; I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil for certain applications, and I also use Canola Oil as well. We have a garden, and when we dig up the potatoes, there’s nothing like cutting a fresh batch into potato sticks and deep frying them into French Fries. Of course, I only use Canola oil for this.
Q4.If you could cook anywhere in the world, where would you be?
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been to Europe many times competing, and the markets there are unbelievable; the variety, freshness, and quality are mind-boggling, so I’d have to say anywhere in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, or Luxembourg. However, if we could have European-style outdoor markets here, I’d stay and cook here. Our cuisine/cooking rivals anything else cooked anywhere.
Q5.What is your favourite food/meal/recipe to eat?
I don’t have a single favourite. I do like a well aged Filet Mignon, fresh Nova Scotia lobster, Hollandaise sauce(on anything), Cambozola cheese, sashimi, grape tomatoes right out of my garden, raspberries off the bush, and of course dark European chocolate. What I REALLY appreciate though is a very well made sauce or reduction. It shows me whoever prepared it can really cook.
Be Well…Wendy
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