A Pair Of Gourmands

Submitted by The Chef in Stead - Eating in the big city!

He says:

I just came back from Vancouver for my daughter’s grade 6-graduation ceremony, and while I was in the big city, I took the time to make two great food stops.

Every time I go to Vancouver, I have to eat at Memphis Blues BBQ restaurant. It’s about the most authentic BBQ experience you can have in BC. The service is simple: you order at the counter, go sit down and your food is in front of you within minutes. There is a brown paper towel roll on your table for napkins and plenty of sauce.

The pork ribs are smoked with a Dry Rub and you can really taste the long slow cooking of the southern states.

On my last day, I went to Thomas Haas’s brand new French pastry shop. The next time you go to the big city, you have to go buy yourself a treat from his shop. Thomas is on top of his game, and he plays at a level that makes the average pastry shop looks like pre-schoolers making mud pie! Thomas Haas is probably THE best pastry chef to choose Canada to start his business. A German native, he has proven himself in the USA and Canada. Go see him, and I guarantee that you won’t regret it - his pastries are out of this world. (I think that my wife considers his Stilton Cheesecake the best foreplay ever…)

She says:

I didn’t get to go to Vancouver, and I must say I miss my Sunday trips to Granville Island, shopping for weekend dinners according to what inspired me in the stands there. We don’t have all the little neighborhoods that offer specialties from around the world – the joke in our house is that “Chinatown” in Kelowna is the one little shop on Harvey Avenue that sells Asian veggies, sauces, and dim sum. (Which is interesting when you consider that when Kelowna was born there was a Chinatown near the railway tracks, since many of the men worked on the railway.) But we do have a wonderful farmer’s market, and there are more and more gourmet shops popping up all the time. I can enjoy working in the garden, eating strawberries for breakfast and radishes with my salad at dinner, and then I can savor the Stilton cheesecake that arrives by “special delivery” as I remember the hectic days when I lived in the city and worked with people like Thomas Haas…

Chef Martin’s Tip 15

Freezing quality vegetables for the winter… why not?

Being a chef makes you look at prices all the time. The winter is by far every chef’s nightmare - quality is down and prices are up! Making menus in the winter is no easy task, but if they can do smart buying in the summer, most chefs will freeze, dry and/or can if possible.

For example, when I freeze red peppers from my garden or from the local market in the summer, I know what I am freezing: fresh, possibly organic peppers with amazing taste, great color, and awesome quality. When winter comes upon us, I can take them out and throw them in a Red Chicken Curry casserole and everyone will wonder why they taste so wonderful!

On the other hand, the price of carrots doesn’t change that much, so choose your battles, and freeze for good quality, lots of flavour, and value.

Tomatoes, beans, asparagus and red peppers are just a few examples of what is in my freezer. There are also canned peaches and pears, and plum chutney.

The Chef in Stead - Website For Previous Chef Tips For comments or questions, you can reach Martin at 250-712-4440 or Email.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.