Six chefs. Two long tables. Two hundred guests. These are the ingredients for the second edition of the Alberta Ate Chef Collaborative Gala Dinner, the crown jewel of St. Albert's Horticulinary Festival held Friday, Oct. 2 at the Enjoy Centre.
The gala dinner's long table popularity is ongoing. It's where we share everything. The abundance of locally-grown food. The stories of our lives. And it is where we savour nuanced flavours.
The communal banquet brings together storytellers and business builders to doctors and farmers. For some diners it's a first-time adventure. For others, it's about supporting local producers.
Close to 20 area farmers and producers such as Sylvan Star Cheese, Peas on Earth, Deer View Farms and Meadow Sweet Apiaries are contributing to the lush feast.
Three of the chefs hold executive positions with St. Albert restaurants. Rino Lam, a sous-chef of XIX Nineteen's south Edmonton location, will take on the executive chef role when the restaurant opens a branch here in November.
Julia Kundera, who reprises her magic after last year's success, is the executive chef at Glasshouse Bistro, and Cory Rakowski from 12 Acres debuts his culinary talents.
Tickets for the six-course gala are $125 and are available at www.eventbrite.ca.
Below is a brief introduction to the St. Albert chefs.
XIX Nineteen
Lam's gala offering is dual. He is serving a tomato soup with mini grilled Gouda cheese sandwiches. Lam also tag teams with one of his cooks, Jordan Abbott, to prepare two canapés – quiche with duck foie gras as well as spicy tuna with a cucumber avocado salad tart.
Originally from Hong Kong, Lam was introduced to the kitchen at an early age. His maternal uncle and grandfather owned a restaurant in Macao.
"If I wanted to see them I had to go in the kitchen," he laughs.
In 1995 at the age of 16, his family immigrated to Canada, two years before Britain transferred Hong Kong's administration to the People's Republic of China.
Once in Edmonton, Lam took a culinary apprenticeship program through NAIT learning the fundamentals of French classic cuisine.
He apprenticed at Sorrentino's Restaurant for a year and the Hardware Grill for two years.
"The Hardware Grill was a tough kitchen. The attention to detail and the pressure to serve all the components together was big. There was no heat lamp. Everything had to be timed perfectly. It was there I learned what a kitchen should be."
Lam is a big supporter of independent restaurants such as RGE RD and Corso and he encourages more young chefs to set up shop.
As for the gala, "We can show what local farmers bring to us and how we can transfer it into something nice. I really appreciate their hard work. I tried to grow carrots in my back yard and it didn't turn out well."
Glasshouse Bistro
Originally from Poland, Kundera is introducing a European tang to the gala by whipping up a lemon thyme crÈme brûlée with a sour cherry confiture and a brown butter madeleine.
Kundera's kitchen influences stem largely from visiting her grandmother's farm as a child during summer holidays.
"We were sent to pick mushrooms, wild berries and fruit. My mother cooked, made preserves and charcuterie. Everything we ate was cooked from the land."
At 18, her family moved to Canada and shortly after, Kundera and her sister Zofia opened the 30-seater Café Mosaics. They expanded onto Whyte Ave. and opened Two Rooms Café and Flavours in the centre of Old Strathcona.
"It was pretty busy and we got great reviews, but it was hard to find staff and we got burnout."
The sisters sold their restaurants and took time off to reassess the future. After a stint at Planet Organic and Holt's, Kundera was hired as sous-chef at the Enjoy Centre's Prairie Bistro. Although the original bistro closed its doors, Kundera was kept on staff as executive chef for Glasshouse Bistro.
"I love cooking and family gatherings. I think it's an addiction. It's instant gratification. If someone enjoys what we cook, it makes us happy. We work long hours, but when someone tells us it's great, it makes us happy."
As Kundera sees it, the gala is an opportunity for farmers and producers to stand in the spotlight.
"It's about supporting each other to make sure we can all thrive. I understand how hard it is to work on a farm. I've done it and I appreciate having fresh vegetables that haven't sat in a truck for a week."
12 Acres
Along with Andrew Cowan of Packrat Louie's, Rakowski is cooking the second entrée, a 21-day dry aged pork loin and braised bacon with farro and burnt squash risotto.
"When meat is dry-aged it has a buttery taste. It elevates the flavour," Rakowski explains.
The kitchen has played a central role in Rakowski's life every since he was a teen. When Rakowski was 13, his father took him to Sorrentino's in Sherwood Park where he started working as a dishwasher four nights a week.
"My dad was old school. I didn't like washing dishes, but it got me out of the house and I earned some extra cash."
One day the pizza cook didn't show up and Rakowski was invited to work at the forno. A few months later he was promoted to the line.
"My true hook was working on the line with older cooks. I took to it – the friendship, the camaraderie."
By the time he was 14, Rakowski ended up on the streets away from home.
"I kept cooking. My personal life had zero effect on the kitchen and what I was doing. It was a bit of a sanctuary. The kitchen was my anchor. I learned responsibility and accountability. I learned what was expected of a chef."
His vision and philosophy for cooking is simple.
"At its core, it comes down to respect for the farmer and fisherman that are up at 4 a.m. They work 14-hour days and put their life into their work. Chefs have a responsibility to respect that. I like to highlight it and not manipulate food too much. I like to keep it simple."
Rakowski heartily applauds the entire Dig-In Horticulinary Festival for its approach to helping every aspect of society get in touch the food culture.
"I think this is a great initiative, not just for producers and chefs, but because it incorporates classes to help people get in touch with food."
