| 24 November 2009
Market fresh cuisine is an idea that has taken Canada by storm. All about cooking with top-quality local, and often organic, ingredients, it’s become de rigueur in restaurant kitchens across the country. Home-grown produce that’s bursting with flavour has fired the imaginations of chefs and restaurant-goers alike. Picture a plate artfully dressed with produce featuring a palette of bright colours and delicious flavours. This year’s pick of Maverick Chefs has not only pushed the culinary envelope when it comes to creating inspired fare, they’ve tossed it aside completely.
Growing fruits and vegetables in Canada is no walk in the park. With long winters, floods and drought, digging up fresh local produce year-round is an exercise in character building. Lucky for us, these seven chefs are ready and willing to take on the challenge: Ray Bear at his eponymous Ray Bear Restaurant in Halifax, Roger Mooking at Kultura and Nyood in Toronto and host of Everyday Exotic on the Food Network, Jeff Kreklau at Suede Lounge in Edmonton, Andrea Carlson at Bishop’s in Vancouver, Matthew and Jennifer Brearley at Castlegarth in Ottawa, and Jeremy Charles at Atlantica in St. John’s.
| 23 September 2009
Michael Howell is in the vanguard of a new breed of fine chefs in Nova Scotia. His passion for wine and food manifested itself early. He is a Nova Scotia native who, in typical fashion, had to “go down the road” to earn his spurs. After graduating from Dalhousie University in 1983, he went on to become an honours graduate of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. Subsequently, Michael served his apprenticeship at the Everest Room in Chicago under renowned French Chef, Jean Joho. He remembers a real highlight of that period was cooking for the legendary Paul Bocuse, who is perhaps best known as the leading light of the Nouvelle Cuisine movement and widely acknowledged as one of the greatest chefs of the era. Howell went on to chef positions in New York City, Detroit, Toronto, and the Bahamas.
As he continued to advance his career, Michael nursed the desire to return to his native province. He became increasingly convinced that Nova Scotia was a fertile field ripe for the cultivation of world class gastronomy. He was encouraged in this belief by the development of the local wine culture. As the region’s wines began to win accolades in national and international competitions, Michael sensed that big things were starting to happen and he wanted to be in on the ground floor. Nova Scotia, with its abundance of fresh seafood, fresh produce and now a budding fine local wine culture, beckoned him home. He settled on Wolfville in the heart of the fertile Annapolis Valley, which is also home to a growing number of vineyards and wineries. Here, together with his wife, Mary Harwell, he established Tempest World Cuisine in April 2003. The Tempest philosophy is to marry the best of local foods with truly international cuisine. Howell’s maverick interpretation of this idea rapidly established the Tempest as one of the top restaurants in the Atlantic region.
| 13 July 2009
Are we there yet? The splendour of wine country has too often been subject to a plane ride to another continent. In recent times it's moved closer but still lies south of the border. Today we see the fruit of our labours being built around us. It's to these temples of wine that we take you.