Culinaire #14.4 (September 2025)

We’re preserving summer with these recipes from Calgary and Edmonton chefs

Making the Case

A mixed bag of perfect September wines 36 Etcetera… What’s new?

38 Open That Bottle

With Peter Keith of Edmonton’s “The Hub”

14 / No. 4 / September 2025 16 Spice it Up – Hot Dogs

22 The Wonders of Walleye

Versatile and delicious, walleye is a perfect choice for a satisfying dinner by Morris Lemire 24 Shifting Tastes

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, we’re leaning into the comforts of the season, and that means capturing the best of late-summer produce. For this issue, Katarzyna Kowalewska has given us a photo of a vibrant raspberry jam as a simple, yet beautiful, representation of preserving the harvest and savouring summer flavours well into fall.

Elevate your hot dogs and make them a regular part of your meal rotation by Mallory Frayn 18 The Sweet Life: Caramunchies Founder Makes a Living Making Snacks

The inspiring story behind Alysia Lok’s snack company, Caramunchies by Lucy Haines

Recipes for different and unique pickles to add some zing to your meals by Natalie Findlay

How climate change is transforming Alberta’s food and wine scene by Lauren Kalinowski

28 Step by Step:

Short Cut Sheet Pan Lasagna

A delicious and fuss-free lasagna recipe for the busy back to school season by Renée Kohlman

30 Give European Lagers a Try

The original European pale lager is often overlooked By David Nuttall

32 September Spirits

For when days tend to be warm and evenings start to get chilly By Tom Firth and Linda Garson

How was your summer?

I’m guessing it was pretty wet if you staycationed, but I hope it was delicious wherever you were, and that you found time to cook outside, eat outside, and enjoy a few cold sips outside too.

I love how many summer festivals there are now in every city and town, and for every interest – particularly, for me, the food festivals and the cultural festivals where I get to learn and try new foods, and meet new producers and restaurants that I may not know yet.

On that note, we had a staggering number of new restaurants open since our July/August issue went to print late June. So much so that it took more than three pages in this issue to tell you about them (and there were some that didn’t quite make the grade and that we didn’t feel we could honestly stand behind and recommend to you). It’s a

lot of work visiting them all and trying their menus and drinks lists so we can let you know what we think is good and why you should visit, but you don’t hear any complaints from anyone on our team.

It’s interesting to see all over the province, that we can’t ever have enough Italian food options - in all its forms, whether that’s pizza or more elevated dishes (or both in one restaurant), and evidently burger bars just never go out of style!

Our 13th edition of the Alberta Beverage Awards took up most of our July, not only organizing into flights and judging blind many, many hundreds of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages of every type you can think of, but then the ginormous task of tallying the scores. We can’t wait for October for you to see all the results!

And before I bid you farewell, just

a little reminder that our Edmonton Treasure hunt is coming up fast on Sunday September 14, and places are available for one of the most fun and rewarding discovery days of the year! Sign up as a team of two or solo, on our website at culinairemagazine.ca/ treasure-hunt.

Cheers

Linda, Editor-in-Chief

Jason Dziver

Alberta / Food & Drink / Recipes

Editor-in-Chief/Publisher

Linda Garson linda@culinairemagazine.ca

Advertising

Melissa Mitchell melissa@culinairemagazine.ca

Editor Carmel Loria carmel@culinairemagazine.ca

Managing Editor

Tom Firth tom@culinairemagazine.ca

Assistant Editor

Quinn Curtis quinn@culinairemagazine.ca

Multimedia Editor

Keane Straub keane@culinairemagazine.ca

Design

Kendra Design Inc

Contributors

Natalie Findlay, Mallory Frayn Lucy Haines, Lauren Kalinowski Dong Kim, Renée Kohlman Katarzyna Kowalewska, Morris Lemire, David Nuttall

Contact us at:

Culinaire Magazine

#1203, 804–3rd Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2P 0G9 403.870.9802

info@culinairemagazine.ca

@culinairemag

@culinairemag

@culinairemag facebook.com/CulinaireMagazine

Our contributors

Katarzyna

Kowalewska

Katarzyna is originally from Poland, and she has found her home here in Alberta. It wasn't until she married a chef that she found her passion for food and beverage photography, and now works as a freelance photographer, creating drool-worthy images of food and vibrant drinks. Her equally important love is portrait photography. Katarzyna is also passionate about baking, a big-time bookworm, and crazy about puzzles.

Mallory Frayn

Mallory is a clinical psychologist, founder of Impulse Psychology, and writer in Calgary. Through both therapy and writing, Mallory's goal is to help people build healthier relationships with food. She has written on food and psychology-related topics for various publications, including a column for Psychology Today. Mallory’s work has also been featured in Eater Montreal, Time Out Montreal, and more. Follow her on Twitter @drfrayn.

For subscriptions, competitions and to read Culinaire online: culinairemagazine.ca

Lauren Kalinowski

A freelance writer who lives and works in downtown Edmonton, Lauren is a creative writing graduate, project manager, and mother of four. She loves to cook for a full table, eat everything, and always has an opinion. Her work has been featured in Canadian literary magazines Existere and Queens Quarterly. She regularly contributes culture, arts, and food writing to local Alberta publications.

Culinaire Magazine acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut'ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their home in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta. We are committed to support Indigenous chefs and amplify their voices to bring awareness of the food and culture of the First Nations.

Proudly printed in Alberta by Burke Group.

Congratulations to the Italian Centre Shop who celebrated the 10th anniversary of their Calgary store this summer with a Spaghetti Westernthemed pancake breakfast for more than 2,000 people! Of course we love their products, and we applaud their support for local producers and their unwavering commitment to community.

And to Brett McDermott, owner of Our Daily Brett, on its 10th anniversary. Ever the entrepreneur, the Calgary market and café has evolved and grown, as well as sister businesses: Neighbour Coffee, Actually Pretty Good, Business & Pleasure, and Super Variety. We celebrate his community spirit and generous support for local not-for-profits.

And congrats too to Buco Pizzeria and Vino Bar, who have been serving up their Neapolitan pizzas, modern Italian assaggini (little tastes), entrees, and grilled dishes, to the appreciative St. Albert community, and celebrated their 10-year anniversary this summer!

Big Rock is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a rebrand and an eyecatching and bold new look for the next chapter of their journey. Also big-time community players, they’re celebrating in style with the return of ‘Barn Burner’, a day-long music festival at the Brewery with an all-Canadian lineup, on September 13!

SAIT School of Hospitality and Tourism is celebrating 75 years! And can claim credit for the careers of a vast proportion of our restaurant chefs and food service professionals. The

anniversary is marked with some major new projects, such as the new Highwood Kitchen & Bar, and plans for a Banff Hospitality & Tourism campus.

Monogram Coffee’s Ben Put is Canada’s 2025 National Barista Champion – again! He’s now been awarded the national title seven times, and this year in a milestone year too for the World Barista Championship as they’re celebrating their 25th anniversary. Put will now represent Canada in Milan next month, and we’ll be cheering for him at a distance!

Feed The Soul has launched an Indigenous dining guide to help you discover and support Indigenous-owned restaurants in Amiskwaciwâskahikan – or Edmonton. It highlights local favourites like Culina, Bernadette's, Native Delights, Paper Birch, Homefire Grill, and Bibo – places where you’ll find not just great food, but community and culture too. If you haven’t visited them yet, now’s the time @feedthesoulyeg

Burger spot, Lil Empire now has a fourth Calgary location. As well as their stores in Bridgeland, Capitol Hill, and Annex Ales brewery, you can now get your smash burger fix in the Beltline at 1103 4 Street SW, street level under Two Park Central. As well as the signature Empire burger, all your favourites are here in this bright and very modern, quick service, dine-in or take-out, burger joint: with cheese, spicy Korean, plant-based, a variety of hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, nuggies,

dirty fries, poutine, and our particular passion – the rich and tasty, beef and pork chili cheese fries! Milkshakes are on offer too, and all good value. Don’t forget the Puppy Patties! Seven days, 11:30-9 pm. lilempireburger.com

Zest Kitchen and Bar is Edmonton’s new late-night burger haven, blending upscale comfort with a relaxed vibe. Located at 10127 100A Street NW, it’s ideal for family dinners or even spontaneous burger runs. Run by the team behind Zest Elevated Hospitality, you can expect top-tier service. Chef Tony is serving up favourites like the Zest Cajun Fried Burger and spicing up the menu with dishes like coconut shrimp and refreshing mango lassi. Seven days, 11 am-late.

Panoramic downtown views are not the only attraction of Calgary’s Crescent Heights – there’s no stopping the culinary scene here! The latest addition is the third location in five years for pizza restaurant, Actually Pretty Good. (We have to say we disagree with the name. It’s a little deceptive – they’re actually bloody good!). A complete buildout from the cosmetic shop before, now it’s a tiny, very colourful spot with just four booths, and such fun and interesting choices of 12-inch, New York-style thin crust pies, and three rotating 18-inch by-the-slice. If you’re dining in between 2-5 pm there’s a whopping 25% off all food. Don’t miss the Kale Caesar! 1028 Centre Street N, seven days lunch and dinner, actuallyprettygood.ca

A second PYRO location has just opened in Edmonton's Crestwood neighbourhood, and they’re bringing the heat! Located in the former Rebel space at 9106 142 Street, PYRO 142 is offering many favourites from the flagship Sherwood Park menu, along with some exciting new dishes –including Alberta beef from the province’s top farms! The stylish new space and smart-casual menu make it a perfect spot for an intimate date night or an outing with the whole family. Seven days, pyrogrill.ca

Be transported to Venice at the new L’Olivo Cicchetti & Lounge. Tucked away at the back of Lina’s Italian Piazza in Calgary’s Inglewood village, this gorgeous space with a huge tree right in the middle, serves up “cicchetti” – small, and thoughtfully created Italian sharing dishes (the best things come in small packages, right?), which means you can try more of them! You’ll be glad to know that Giuseppe di Gennaro is back leading the kitchen (remember Capo down the road in Inglewood?), so while it’s a relaxed atmosphere, we’re assured an elevated dining experience. Chill in the lounge next door for a cocktail before (or after) your dinner. From 5 pm, closed Sunday/Monday. 1023 9 Avenue SE, lolivo.ca

The Hub is now open in Whyte Avenue’s historic Hub Cigar Building, and ready to support Edmonton’s next wave of culinary entrepreneurs. Created by former Meuwly’s owners Peter Keith

and Glendon Tan, it’s already home to exciting new spots like Beb’s Bagels and Balay Coffee – quickly becoming a go-to destination for Edmontonians to discover fresh, local flavours and support small businesses. 10345 82 Avenue NW, @balaycoffee.yeg and bebsbagels.ca

It’s a room with a view at Bow & Bend Rooftop – and a patio too! A vacant office building in Calgary’s west end has been totally renovated, and is now home to Element Hotel by Westin with 226 extended-stay hotel suites – and a bar and lounge on the 12th floor! It’s modern and upscale, yet relaxed, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a westfacing patio (mountain views!). Two Riverwalk rooms are also available for private dining and events. Head Chef Ashutosh Salunke’s locally sourced menu reflects the diverse local dining scene with something to please all tastes, and Bow & Bend is rightly proud of their creative cocktails, featuring spirits from local distilleries. You’ll know where to find us! 833 4 Avenue SW, seven days from 5 pm, bowandbendrooftop.com

Kondattam not only means ‘celebration’ in Tamil, Calgary’s newest Indian restaurant IS a celebration! A celebration of authentic regional Indian cuisine - from the clay oven tandoori dishes of the North to the dosas and coconut curries of the South. Owner Sudha Thangavel has long dreamed of this restaurant, and together with her husband Chef Saravanan Senniappan (owner of the Big Fish Open

Range restaurants) they’ve created a jaw-droppingly gorgeous space, travelling to India and filling a shipping container with incredible artifacts, furniture, and spices for a truly genuine Indian experience. Kondattam has a big menu, and you’re going to be completely spoiled for choice of crispy fried appies and snacks, breads, biryanis, and curries (with your choice of spice level!) and so much more, including must-try cocktails, but the knowledgeable staff are happy to help you choose. 1006 1st Street SE, 11-late, closed Mondays. kondattam.ca

Nero is now open in Edmonton’s historic Molson Brewery building, serving up delicious cocktails and traditional Italian flavours with modern culinary techniques. A cousin restaurant to the well-loved Rosso and Bianco, its sleek interior – complete with Roman pillars and a refined chandelier – makes it the perfect spot to impress a guest with a cocktail or enjoy some of their antipasti, house-made pastas, woodfired pizzas and more. Tuesday to Sunday lunch and dinner. Neroeats.com

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In addition to their South and West locations, Ryuko has also opened in Calgary’s Beltline, at 10 Avenue and 14 Street SW. If you’re a fan of their other two locations for your Japanese food, you’ll love this one! The lunch and dinner service menus are exactly the same, and you’re in good hands with Head Chef Kevin in the kitchen, but there’s a different

vibe in this busy 90-seat space. Studio North have done a great job with the decor – it’s city-style, and light and airy with big windows, and a wall of words (love, family, dragon, tiger) in the shape of Tokyo’s iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower. Watch out for brunch coming soon! 1004 14 Street SW, Wednesday to Saturday noon-close, ryuko.ca

Even more reasons to visit Calgary’s Beltline district! Unfiltered Wine Bar has opened at 1020 14 Street SW. First-timers in hospitality, community-minded husband and wife owners, Nina and Haafiz Hasham, have realised their dream of the last two years, and opened an unpretentious space for conversation over great sips and snacks. They built and created everything themselves, including the walls, the tiling, and Nina’s handmade, oak-finished dining tables…! There are flights and blind tastings, and a super delicious tiny food menu - try the potted crab and the truffle and red wine burratini, you’ll thank us! From 3 pm (1 pm Sundays), closed Mondays. winebarunfiltered.com

Edmonton’s West Side now has its own Hanjan Korean restaurant! After huge popularity at its Whyte Avenue, Downtown, and South 99th Street locations, the Seoul food favourite has expanded west, opening at 10401 Mayfield Road NW. Seven days from noon-late. hanjan.ca

Millo Millo is a new bakery in Calgary’s Glenbrook/Killarney area, so called as everything is made from flour, and ‘mil’ is Korean for ‘wheat’! Owner Yujeong Kim was a baking instructor in Korea before emigrating to Canada, and she fed her own sourdough starter every day for a year to bake everything here from scratch herself. You’re drooling the minute you walk in this little 10-seat café with its case full of freshly baked viennoiserie, sourdough breads, signature pretzel bagels, canelé and madeleines, Basque cheesecake, and Kim says the black forest and lemon curd cakes (by the slice or the whole cake) are also very popular - all washed down with a strawberry matcha latte! 3003 37 Street SW, seven days 8-4 pm.

Right next door is the new Freo, slang for Freemantle, in Western Australia, where owner Chef Chris Jo started on his career path at Perth Culinary School. On arriving in Canada, Jo has cooked in a Japanese restaurant in Red Deer and at Visionary Catering, but his passion is Western breakfast/brunch fare, and he does it extremely well. His signature burger and Chicken Parm Waffle top the favourites list, but the bennies, toasts, and omelettes, are all so tempting! We wolfed down our wonderful Chorizo and Butter Bean Stew. For those with a sweeter tooth there’s plenty to keep you happy here, it’s all so flavourful and fabulous, and with very friendly staff! 3003 37 Street SW, seven days 7-3 pm, freoyyc.com

Everyone's favourite, Made By Marcus, has just opened their newest location in Edmonton's Mill Creek. A great addition to the neighbourhood, this big new space has plenty of seating inside and out, so be sure to bring your friends! Seven days from 11-11, madebymarcus.ca

The Sweatered Hen is now open for dinner. Since its launch last year, Chef Andrea Harling’s cosy little restaurant on Calgary’s 17 Avenue SW, has rightfully earned a reputation for memorable breakfasts, brunches, and lunches, but now from Wednesday to Saturday, dinner is served from 4–8 pm too. Sip, snack, stay, is the order of the day! Harling’s menu has always showcased Alberta produce, and the evening menu too, with plates of seasonal ingredients built to share.

“Ganny's” warm cheese biscuits with herb

garlic butter are still here, and we really enjoyed our hummus, broccoli kale salad, and ragu pasta. Check out Sous Chef Cosmo’s desserts and be happy when you have Cleo as your server! 819 17 Avenue SW, thesweateredhen.com

NOtaBLE – The Restaurant has undergone a major rebrand, and a reimagined concept with the launch of NOtaBLE - The Steakhouse! We’ve always loved the wood-fired flavours, and can happily tell you that nothing has changed there; our favourite NOtaBLE dishes are still on the menu (those crispy potato rolls and rotisserie chicken!) and now Chef Noble has added a premium steak experience. notablesteak.ca

Plaza 1000, in Calgary’s Downtown West End, is home to a new Italian restaurant, Mille Restaurant and Café! And what a home, this reimagined space by the Astra Group is beautiful – glitzy, with 1,000 sparkly crystals hanging from the ceiling, and glam – which is how you’ll feel eating Head Chef Rodney Luzentales’ menu of refined takes on modern Italian home cooking, many recipes from owner, Jenna Bazzana’s family (just order the Calamari & Patate, it’s a contender for the best in the city!). We couldn’t be happier for Bazzana, who last year closed Sauce Italian Kitchen & Market, her restaurant of ten years. Weekdays lunch and dinner, weekends from 3 pm. 1000 7 Avenue SW, milleyyc.

In our sprawling, landlocked Alberta plains, finding high-quality, wild Canadian seafood can be challenging. From lengthy supply chains to misleading labels, it can be difficult to find a trusted and sustainable source. That’s where Skipper Otto, Canada’s first Community Supported Fishery, comes in!

Created in 2008 by Sonia and Shaun Strobel, Skipper Otto is revolutionizing the way Canadians source their seafood, one catch at a time. From humble beginnings helping Shaun’s dad, Otto, fetch a fair price for his catch and connecting him to other seafood lovers, Skipper Otto has grown to support more than 45 smallscale independent fishing families in coastal and Indigenous communities. Already a trusted source of seafood for thousands of home cooks across Alberta - including in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer - Skipper Otto’s vision has always been simple: to empower Canadians to eat well while doing good. So why exactly should we care about where our seafood comes from? In Canada, 90% of what is caught is exported, while 80% of the seafood eaten here is imported from foreign fisheries. Read that again! “This is happening because the industrial seafood system is rooted in extraction, not in just and sustainable fishing practices”, shares Skipper Otto CEO, Sonia Strobel.

Luckily, Skipper Otto takes the guesswork out of buying seafood. On every label, you’ll find who caught your seafood, when, where, and how. From flash-frozen sockeye salmon, Albacore tuna, halibut, and sablefish, to oysters, scallops, spot prawn tails and more, members can order as little or as much as they like, when they like. There’s no set subscription box, just delicious wild seafood, direct from the source.

To taste the Skipper Otto difference, simply visit skipperotto.com, sign up for a share of $100 or more (these are the dollars you’ll use to buy your seafood), and begin shopping their full range of products. Choose your closest pick-up location at skipperotto.com/pick-uplocations, and your fresh catch will be delivered for you to collect. Better yet, Skipper Otto has just launched home delivery in Calgary starting this September!

An incredible seafood feast is only a few clicks

Preserving Summer

BY KEANE STRAUB PHOTOS BY DONG KIM

The heralds of autumn are as plentiful as the harvest. Sustaining summer comes naturally to Albertans – we’ll do anything we can to have one more warm evening, one more hot, sunny day, and of course, one more taste of all the flavours the province has to offer.

Jay Magnaye’s culinary education is rooted in family and industry. “My parents cook a lot, so I learned about palate and seasoning at an early age.” Working in several different restaurants throughout Calgary expanded his knowledge and technique, from pasta making at Il Songo to understanding the seasonality of Alberta produce and incorporating it in dishes at Rouge.

These days you’ll find Chef Jay at Calgary’s Hutch Café, where he continues to show his dedication to the culinary arts. “I just love cooking. I’ve always loved feeding people and seeing the reactions when they take the first bite.”

The menu at Hutch Café shines with traditional, approachable French fare with highlights such as Bone Marrow and Escargot, Wild Mushroom and Truffle Vol au Vent, and Chef Jay’s favourite, Seafood Bouillabaisse. “This one is really good. It’s loaded with a variety of seafood like mussels, scallops, and prawns in a rich broth.”

Chef Jay shares this recipe here, highlighting ingredients that can be easily found from local producers during

This month’s Alberta chefs are no strangers to making good with what’s provided, be it pickling, fermenting, and using every bit of the bounty possible. Don’t fear the flip of the calendar: with these recipes, the tastes of summer will linger a little longer.

harvest including onion, fennel, celery, garlic, and potato. “This is a simple recipe, but it has to be done right. It’s one of the first French dishes I learned when I started cooking.”

“Recipes should not be a rigid document on how to cook. Do what feels best and right for you. If you’re all out of a certain seafood, or prefer only fish, switch it up to suit your taste.”

Bouillabaisse Serves 4

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped fennel

¼ cup chopped celery

1 Tbs chopped garlic

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 bottle clam juice/liquor

1 potato, cut into large dice

Pinch of saffron

1. Sweat onions, fennel, celery and garlic in a bit of oil with a pinch of salt until they soften.

2. Add the clam juice and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer for around 10 minutes.

3. Add the potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or until tender.

4. Add the saffron, then add the seafood by order of cooking time, starting with the ones that cook longer to the ones that cook quickly.

5. Serve with crusty baguette and garlic aioli.

In the restaurant chef gets fish bones, and makes stock by simmering the bones and passing it through a food mill to add body to the soup.

Seafood of your choice - mussels, clams, prawns, etc.

The seasons drive Jeremy Ouellette’s kitchen. “I try to let what’s available and bountiful determine what I’m going to be cooking day-to-day.” From there, he draws on his experience to decide what technique to use. “It might be something I learned in different kitchens, or something I’ve eaten that I want to recreate.”

Both Chef de Cuisine and General Manager at Calgary’s Bar Chouette, he takes pride in the pasta program with dishes such as Sweet Pea Agnolotti but favours dishes that he can change up with the seasons. “During the summer months we serve a beautiful BC Ling Cod served over an array of summer vegetables like asparagus and garlic scapes, but this could easily change to Taber corn and chanterelles in September.”

If you are thinking of preserving, the planning starts early on. “Preserving food is a labour of love. The time you’re putting in will be paying you back through the winter when you’re getting tired of eating beets, potatoes, and carrots.” Be meticulous when you’re cleaning, canning and storing, he advises. “The last thing you want is to lose all the hard work you put in.”

Tomatoes are plentiful at this time of year, and Chef Jeremy takes a different approach to preserving them. “Tomato leaves are often underutilized, if at all, and they usually end up in the compost.” His recipe for Tomato Leaf Tagliatelle with Heirloom Tomato Passata uses all the parts of those beautiful, flavourful globes hanging on the vines. “This is a lesserknown way to use up fresh heirloom tomatoes and presents the familiar flavours of a Caprese salad in a new and interesting way.”

Tomato

Leaf Tagliatelle Serves 4

80 g tomato leaves that have been blanched, drained well, and chopped

2 Tbs + 2 tsp (40 mL) water

240 g egg yolk (about 12 yolks)

500 g double zero (00) flour

1. Blanch tomato leaves in salted water until tender, then transfer immediately to an ice bath. Drain very well, and place in a tea towel. Squeeze out any excess liquid. Chop and add to blender with yolks and water. Blend until smooth.

2. Add to a bowl with 00 Flour. Combine until a shaggy mass forms (use a stand mixer with dough hook if preferred), turn onto a clean work surface and knead until smooth.

3. Wrap tightly in cling film, and let dough rest for at least 30 minutes.

4. Roll out on your pasta machine to the 2nd thinnest setting. Cut the sheets to desired length (chef likes 30-40 cm sheets). Allow them to air dry slightly so they are pliable, but have a slightly leathery feel. This helps the texture. Roll and hand cut your tagliatelle or use the cutter on the pasta machine.

Heirloom Tomato Passata

2¼ kg ripe heirloom tomatoes

2 cups (500 mL) good quality olive oil

To taste sea salt and fresh basil

1. Clean your tomatoes, cutting away any non-edible pieces. Cut into quarters (or smaller if the tomatoes are very large) and add to a heavy bottomed pot. Cover with olive oil, and place over low heat.

2. Cook until tomatoes are fully softened. Add a bunch of basil to quickly infuse the oil. Season with salt.

3. If you have a food mill, scoop out the solids and push through the food mill. Alternatively, the tomatoes can be hand crushed, or using a potato masher, for a similar texture.

To

finish

Heirloom Tomato Passata

Stracciatella (can substitute burrata, ricotta, or other fresh cheese)

Fresh basil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced Splash EVOO

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Add garlic to another pot with some olive oil. Cook gently, without colouring. Add tomato passata.

3. Drop tagliatelle in the boiling water for about 1 minute then add to the tomato sauce, with a little bit of pasta water. Let pasta finish cooking in the sauce, adding more water if it needs to cook a little longer.

4. Transfer the tagliatelle to a plate and add any sauce in the pan. Top with stracciatella, and garnish with olive oil and basil.

The co-owners of Edmonton’s Kommune Snack Bar, Richie Dimitriou and Kevin Jepson are quick to give credit where it’s due. The menu at Kommune was developed in collaboration with Chef Christine Sandford, and while she’s no longer in the kitchen, Jepson says, “She helped lay the foundation. The spirit of her work lives on through our evolving team and the direction we continue to guide.”

Dimitriou points out that Chef Sandford considered the culinary journeys of both owners, with nods to Greek, German, and even Japanese cuisine. Small bites and shareables range from crispy potato cakes and Alberta lamb tartare to Berlin mustard eggs and the Tamago Sando. As Dimitriou puts it, “These dishes really say something about what we’re doing: nostalgic but fresh, rooted but experimental, and above all, craveable.”

Extending Alberta’s short growing season includes pickles and preserves at Kommune. “Don’t overlook the freezer,” says Jepson, adding that frozen fruits and berries are perfect for winter desserts. And keep track of scraps. “They’re lowwaste, and high in flavour.”

Here, they share two vegetarian favourites that make use of local harvests. The Sour Crunch Salad is as good as it

sounds with fresh dill, cucumbers, and a zingy horseradish vinegar. “This is Berlininspired and East European in soul,” says Jepson. “It’s fresh, punchy, and beautifully minimalist.”

The recipe for Beet Tartare comes from Kommune’s current Chef Robert Coe. “This blends the resourceful food ethos I grew up with in rural British Columbia and Alaska — where preserving and minimizing waste was a way of life — with the flavours of my British and East European heritage. The result: a dish that’s sweet, smoky, and layered with umami.”

Sour Crunch Salad

Serves 2-4

1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced

½ cup marinated mushrooms

1 Tbs pickled hot peppers, sliced

¼ cup fresh dill

1½ cups crunchy lettuce (romaine or iceberg)

Dressing:

Horseradish vinegar: Macerate radish peels/scraps in white wine vinegar (10% by weight) for 5–7 days

5 parts horseradish vinegar

1 part pickled pepper brine

1 part cold-pressed canola oil

1. Combine the cucumber, mushrooms, hot peppers, dill, and lettuce in a large bowl.

2. In a separate jar, shake the dressing ingredients until emulsified.

3. Toss salad just before serving.

Pro Tip: The dressing keeps well in the fridge for up to a week and brightens everything from grain bowls to roasted root veg.

Beet Tartare

Serves 2-4

200 g beets, peeled and cubed

Cold-pressed canola oil

Seasoning salt of choice

4 tsp fresh goat cheese (smoke it if you can!)

½ tsp sweetened balsamic glaze

Garnish:

Crispy fried onions

Preserved lemon peel (finely diced)

Pickled hot peppers

Fried capers

Fresh dill

1. Toss cubed beets in canola oil and seasoning salt. Roast at 375° F for 30–60 minutes, depending on size. Let cool.

2. Mash or finely chop beets, then mix with goat cheese and balsamic glaze.

3. Plate in a shallow mound and top with your garnishes.

Pro Tip: Smoking the goat cheese with a cocktail smoker adds a beautiful depth. But even without it, the tartare brings warmth, brightness, and texture to the table.

Influenced by classical cooking and Filipino cuisine, and inspired by local producers, Chef Earl Briones crafts menus that are both eclectic and adventurous at Edmonton’s Coterie. “Alberta has amazing local producers of different specialties and they make my job simple with their stellar products.”

Dishes like the Pickled Tomato and Mustard Green Salad use a Filipino pickling technique, while the Tuk Tuk Sausage Roll is a classic with layered flavours of coconut green curry, mushy peas, and pickled tomatoes. “By letting local products shine through application and technique, I can tell stories through food,” explains Chef Earl.

Overripe or just right? Chef Earl says it all depends on what you’re going for when pickling, preserving, or fermenting. “Overripe is sometimes a better choice. Overripe tomatoes yield some of the most robust flavours in the end.” But if you’re looking for a crisper pickle then err on the firmer side when selecting produce.

His recipe for Seared Trout with Farro and Preserved Spring Vegetable Salad is a nod to Chef Earl’s love of pairing fish with preserved vegetables, and his Filipino heritage. “I also just love fermentation in general,” he laughs.

For best results, accurately measure your brine, and be patient – a good ferment can take more than a week and is dependent on temperature and time. And don’t worry if you can’t find garlic scapes

for the pistou. “Use your favourite green herb instead. Traditionally, a pistou is made with basil.”

Fermented Vegetables

400 g your favourite market veggies, sliced or chopped. (Chef used carrot, cucumber, radish, and garlic)

2 cups (500 mL) water

15 g kosher or sea salt

32 oz wide mouth glass jar with a clampstyle lid

10 g any spices or herbs you like, such as peppercorns, dill, caraway, bay leaf, etc.

1. Place vegetables and spices/herbs in the mason jar to the bottom of the neck, leave 2.5 cm of space to the top.

2. Stir salt and water together until dissolved. Pour over the vegetables to about 1 cm below the top of the jar.

3. Close the lid tightly and place out of direct sunlight in 20-24º C.

4. You’ll see bubbling around day 2. After day 2, observe for bubbles, gently loosen the lids to let some gas escape once or twice a day to ensure the fermenting gases don't overtake the process.

5. The vegetables are ready from day 4-10. The longer they sit, the tangier they'll be. Taste on day 4 to find your preference. Chef usually lets the process continue until day 7 or 8.

6. Once you decide the level of sourness you like, place the jar in the fridge where it will keep for a couple of months.

Seared Trout with Garlic Pistou, Farro, and Fermented Vegetable Salad

Serves 1

150 g trout

80 g farro, boiled

30 g fermented vegetables with brine 15 g garlic scape pistou

2 tsp (10 mL) olive oil

15 g salt

1. Lay the trout on a plate covered with paper towels to allow the skin to dry a bit before searing. Season the flesh.

2. Place trout skin down in a hot pan to allow the skin to crisp while the flesh cooks. Press down gently with a spatula to ensure even contact with pan.

3. Once the skin is seared and the flesh has cooked about 80% through, flip trout and quickly sear the other side.

Farro and Fermented Vegetable Salad

1. Rinse farro under cold water in a strainer. Add to salted boiling water and let cook for 30 minutes.

2. Once cooked, strain and cool.

3. In a bowl, add the fermented vegetables with at least 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the brine, the boiled farro, and olive oil. Mix and season with salt and pepper. Let sit for 2-3 minutes.

Garlic Scape Pistou

In a blender, add 100 g garlic scapes, 1/3 cup + 4 tsp (100 mL) olive oil, 20 g parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until all ingredients are emulsified.

Keane Straub has travelled from Tofino to Charlottetown, sampling the different flavours Canada offers. The passion people have for their craft and culture inspires Keane to tell their stories.

T Hot Dogs Spice it Up

BY MALLORY FRAYN

he humble hot dog is an oft-forgotten choice, either reserved for feeding the kids in a pinch before soccer practice, or while on-the-go at a sporting event, or after a late night out.

However, there’s no reason it can’t be incorporated into your staple meal rotation, taken up a notch with a different bun, cooking, and condiment options. Especially now that the month of September tends to stay warmer and warmer even as we enter fall, it’s an opportunity to keeping grilling and enjoy outdoor time, so the dog is the perfect meal option to go for. And because it is a prepared meat product and

TO BUN OR NOT TO BUN

Classically, the hot dog is served in a soft, white bun, and while we are all for tradition, many other farinaceous products can play the role, or shall we say, roll.

Baja-style flour tortillas, like the ones at Calgary’s Fresh Adilla, are pliable yet sturdy, to contain a multitude of Mexican-inspired condiments. Pita is also an option, whether you choose to fill the pocket itself, or roll up the works falafel-style. You could even whip up a batch of pancakes for a breakfastoriented hot dog feast, serving it a la the McGriddle, with plenty of maple syrup. Basically, if it’s bread of some form, it can probably act as the vessel for a hot dog.

Want to avoid gluten altogether because of an intolerance or just preference? Try serving your dogs in a lettuce wrap, using either iceberg or Bibb varieties. Cutting the hot dogs into chunks may make this option easier to eat. You could even serve the works family-style, allowing everyone at the table to assemble their own wrap with the toppings of their choice.

most of the cooking is already done for you, it affords you the opportunity to put your resources into other aspects of the dish rather than slaving over the hot dogs themselves. When it comes to choosing your dog, there’s no judgment. Sure, you can find a fancy, artisanal product, but sometimes all you want is the gold-standard, all-beef wiener. Whatever your preference, all the tips below can apply. You can keep it vegetarian if that tickles your fancy, or go with a chicken or turkey dog. The dog itself is usually going to be fairly neutral in flavour, so you can add a wide variety of toppings without things clashing.

BOILING IS BORING

Because hot dogs are technically already cooked, and are simultaneously difficult to overcook, it makes them a good candidate for a wide array of cooking methods. Most will opt to boil or grill, and there’s nothing wrong with either, but you don’t need to limit yourself. Roasting in the oven with a goodly amount of olive

oil, herbs, and garlic is one way to infuse more flavour. If you go this route, scoring the dogs ever so slightly is a good idea so that they do not rupture. They won’t take long either, particularly if you use a hot oven (think 425º F or so) and broil to finish to help char the exterior.

Deep frying is another method to experiment with. Even if you don’t own

an actual deep frier, you can shallow fry them in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, both of which do a good job of holding heat. Why not try a carnival inspired dog and even batter the works first? Tempura or beer batter are both great choices and will create an awesome textural contrast to the hot dogs themselves. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, making your own corn dogs is a fun activity to do with kids, and much tastier than the ones you get out of a freezer box.

Let’s say you do opt for boiling; you don’t have to use just water. Instead, you can make a court-bouillon, which is basically a quickly cooked broth for poaching a variety of foods, traditionally seafood. All you have to do is add in a stock cube, herbs of your choice, shallot, and some lemon, and simmer your dogs in this until they are done. From there, you could serve as is, or finish on the grill or under the broiler for some extra flavour.

GET YOUR CONDIMENTS IN

Ketchup, mustard, and relish are all reliable classics, and sometimes, they are all you want. Other times, spicing up your dog with the kitchen sink of condiments is the direction you want to take things. Before pulling out random ingredients and dousing them on, it’s helpful to first think of a theme, so that you’re mixing compatible flavours. The theme could be centred around international flavours, or even taking inspiration from another dish and applying it to the dog. For example, an easy one could be a BLT dog, topped with

plenty of mayo.

According to a recent survey, Albertans are apparently above the national average when it comes to their love of pizza-style dogs. If you’re not familiar with the concept, the gist is that you load up your dog with pizza toppings like tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni, and then broil the works, bun and all, until it resembles somewhat of a pizza. The only thing left to decide is whether you feel confident in your capacity to devour it all with your hands, or need to call in the help of utensils.

If we go back to the three basics: ketchup, mustard, and relish, they serve as a nice guideline for how to create balance with alternative ingredients. Ketchup offers sweetness, but also some umami notes, and could easily be substituted for a tomato jam or

Mustard is both sour and spicy, and so subbing it out for something like kimchi or horseradish is very doable.

Relish adds sweetness too, but also texture and pickled notes, so sauerkraut or pickled, shredded carrots could stand in. Putting it all together, you could do a trio something like barbecue sauce, grainy mustard, and grilled pineapple salsa. Don’t be afraid to get creative. You can always taste the flavour together before doctoring your hot dog, so if they don’t work, you’re not wasting too many ingredients if you want to restart.

bacon, lettuce, tomato, and

caramelized onions.

The sweet life: Caramunchies founder makes a living making snacks

BY LUCY HAINES

Say you’re sitting on the couch, watching a movie… you want a snack, right? Something a little sweet, a little salty – munchies. Most of us wouldn’t take a moment like this and decide, “I’m going to make a snack like this, and make a career of it.” That’d be crazy, right?

Well, call her crazy, then, but it’s exactly what Edmonton’s Alysia Lok has done with her growing snack business, Caramunchies. The caramel-centric corn flake clustered snack (in several flavour varieties) is a hit – it’s been a long time in the making, as start-ups are, but it’s a hit –with sales growing across Alberta and even expanding beyond retail and online sales into the world of fundraising.

“The tumble of crunchy cornflakes with that sweet caramel – that’s a match made in snacker’s heaven. And seven years on, there’s no real direct competition making something like this, knock on wood,” laughs Lok, who says she eats the chewy,

creamy, melt-in-your-mouth snacks by the bowlful at home, and comes by her love of all food honestly. Growing up in a large family that loves to cook and share meals (Lok’s dad has long been in the food industry), Lok says it’s those happy memories of family dinners at grandma’s house that fueled the desire to make a business out of offering people cheer through food.

But it wasn’t a straight line to the 2017 launch of Caramunchies (starting with tubs of clusters sold at farmers’ markets, before moving to the familiar 85-gram bag in four flavours). Holding a degree in nutrition and food science from the University of Alberta, the born and raised Edmontonian, Lok, first spent several years in the financial sector, as an advisor and mortgage broker, before asking herself the key question, “What am I passionate about? What can I do that really excites me?” Memories of shared food and laughter at family get-togethers

provided the answer, Lok says. “Food is my love language. My mom was a banker and my entrepreneur dad, who worked in restaurants and understood the risks involved – that family support has been all-important.”

So too was the U of A mentorship program for start-ups (ThresholdImpact Venture Mentoring Service (TIVMS), which develops, inspires and empowers entrepreneurs through group mentorship experiences with leaders from varying industries. The accelerator forced Lok to hone her business pitch and focus goals, while gleaning wisdom from her lead mentor Chris Huebner, CEO of Lloyd Sadd Insurance.

“We spent over a year together until we couldn’t offer her any more,” recalls Huebner, adding he saw Lok’s entrepreneurial potential early on. “The one thing I advised Alysia was to ‘get out of your own way. Spread your wings and challenge yourself’. And she’s doing that.

She’s an awesome, genuine person who has the skill set to accentuate what she’s really good at.”

As a new mom, Lok says some of those lessons learned, how to develop a core team, for example, and growing the fundraising side of the business, has allowed her to take a step back from the company’s day-to-day operations. “Chris helped me achieve my goal of having Caramunchies be operational without me there all the time. It’s been more than full-time and at first the business couldn’t run without me. But by 2021, I got there, learning it comes down to having the right team – it’s so important for our trajectory.”

That small team, which includes operations manager Julia Cindric, and a newcomer on the production/packaging side, is a work family Lok cherishes. “The best compliment as a boss is hearing that it doesn’t feel like you’re coming to work each day.”

And Lok’s degree came in handy with the entrepreneurial adventure too, providing technical know-how and a curiosity to experiment with flavour combinations. Using high quality butter to create the caramel base for the decadent treats, the playful maker regularly rotates flavours and toppings, including best sellers like salted caramel and chocolate drizzled flavours, but also seasonal treats like a London Fog Latte, Pina Colada, and even a surprising Cheetos-esque variety (think flaming hot nacho cheese influenced, sweet and savoury, Chicago mix style).

Once in a while, customers even land a pecan square or caramel candy too.

“As a small business, we can pivot quickly. A customer had made a joke that we should do something with Cheetos, and we launched that as a limited flavour. We get to collaborate too, with other businesses and organizations,” Lok says, pointing to a matcha white chocolate drizzle treat she created for a recent Animethon held at Edmonton’s MacEwan University. Currently, some 90 percent of the product is sold in Edmonton, (the remainder in the Calgary area), and created at a ‘small but mighty’, 1,000 square-foot commercial kitchen in Edmonton’s Park Allen neighbourhood. Depending on the season, some 300 to 2,500 bags are produced in a week, with Caramunchies now in retail spaces like Freson Bros, Italian Centre Shops, Ribeye Butcher Shop and other local specialty spots.

Lok admits there are challenges in creating an indulgent, luxury snack product, something that can go by the wayside when money is tight, or, for instance, when there’s a pandemic. “Before then, I was doing three to four farmers’ markets each week. COVID also created an increase in ingredient costs, just as we were launching our online shop. But we’ve made good connections (Sobey’s in Beaumont provides the cornflakes for Lok’s product line) and resisted a price increase even as we’ve changed packaging. We haven’t paid for advertising either, as we still rely largely on word-of-mouth (social media too).”

The 37-year-old businesswoman has also made giving back to the community a priority. A portion of the profits from each snack pack sold is donated to local food security programs, food banks, etc. The Caramunchies team is likewise invested in hot lunch programs in Edmonton, (providing the ingredients and a team of volunteers) to feed those in need.

“When I was a student, I volunteered with my parents at a local soup kitchen. That stuck with me, that so many people in our city don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” she says. “That’s part of our mission. We know we want to be more than just a delicious snack.”

Going forward, Lok says farmers’ markets still play a key role in connecting with existing and potential new customers – testing out new flavours, getting feedback. Though most of the company’s business is still in Edmonton, having online fundraising sales and a greater presence in Calgary (even Banff, where Lok says there is great potential for holiday selling, etc) bodes well for Lok’s ambitions of expanding the brand.

Fairly new to the company, the fundraising side of Caramunchies sees a dedicated website (caramunchiesfundraising.com) and a program offering organizations Canadawide (schools, sports teams, non-profits) a sweet way to raise some funds while growing the Caramunchies brand.

“We’re so thankful to our community, our customers, who’ve let us live our dream of making a living making snacks.”

Lucy Haines is a long-time freelance writer, specializing in travel, food, arts and entertainment. When she isn't writing, Lucy is a busy mom to four fantastic kids, and enjoys singing and performing in the local community theatre scene.

Pickled!

The earliest pickles were made by fermentation. Where naturally occurring bacteria on vegetables such as cucumbers, cabbages, and onions, under the right circumstances, convert sugars into acetic acid and makes them last a long time. Fermentation plays the long game.

The short cut - vinegar pickling. Vinegar pickling works because microbes don’t like acid. Without the microbes; the pickled vegetables or fruits will also last a lot longer.

The most revered pickling vegetable is the cucumber. But there are many options to choose: carrots, green beans, beets, ginger, cauliflower, radish, onion, asparagus, celery, fennel, peppers… but this is not an exhaustive list. The best results come from vegetables that will not get too soggy. You want them to stay

firm and crunchy when pickled.

If you’re thinking that only vegetables are allowed to be pickled… nope. Pickled fruits make delicious accompaniments to all kinds of dishes.

The basic structure of the quick pickle is vegetable (or fruit) + vinegar + salt + sugar.

There are many options of vinegars on the market. Try different combinations to achieve unique flavour combinations with different ingredients. The pickled red onions use a rosé wine vinegar in its recipe. It is more delicate, not as pungent and is delicious with the sweeter red onion - plus the colour is beautiful.

Quick pickling is a great way to use up both fresh or “on their way out” veggies or fruit. Pickling will elongate their shelf life plus add a zing to your meals.

The process is the same for all the folllowing quick pickle recipes:

1. Fill your jar with hot water to warm. Drain jar.

2. Add ingredients to jar.

3. In a medium stainless-steel pot, combine the liquids, sugar and salt.

4. Bring to a boil over mediumhigh heat, making sure the salt and sugar have dissolved. Immediately remove from stove and let cool a couple of minutes.

5. Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar, leaving 2 cm of headspace.

6. Wipe the rims clean and let cool. Seal tightly with the lids and refrigerate.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATALIE FINDLAY

Japanese-style Pickled Cucumbers

Makes 1 regular pint jar

1¼ cup cucumber, thinly sliced

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 Tbs ginger, thinly sliced

1¼ cup (300mL) rice vinegar

¼ cup (60 mL) water

2 Tbs (30 mL) soy sauce

1 Tbs (15 mL) mirin

Follow process from previous page. Fill your jar with veggies layering in sesame seeds garlic and ginger.

Pairs well with: soba noodles, chicken, fish, rice.

Rosé Pickled Red Onion

Makes 1 regular pint jar

½ red onion, thinly sliced

¼ tsp mustard seed

3 bay leaves

¼ tsp peppercorns

½ cup (120 mL) rosé wine vinegar

½ cup (120 mL) water

½ tsp sea salt

1 Tbs sugar

Follow the process from previous page. Fill your jar with sliced red onions, mustard seeds, bay leaves and peppercorns. Pairs well with: vegetables, fruit salad, fish, tacos, sandwiches.

Pickled Fennel with Orange and Thyme

Makes 1 regular pint jar

1 small bulb fennel, thinly sliced and fronds

¼ tsp pink peppercorns

¼ tsp mustard seed

6 sprigs thyme

1 orange, juice and zest

½ cup (120 mL) white wine vinegar

¼ cup (60 mL) water

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp sugar

Follow the process from previous page. Fill your jar with the fennel slices layering in the fronds, peppercorn, mustard seeds, thyme and orange zest.

Great paired with grilled meats such as pork, fish and chicken. Also makes a quick appetizer of crostini, goat cheese, pickled fennel with the orange zest and walnuts.

Pickled Thai-Style Veggie Medley

Makes 1 regular pint jar

1½ medium carrots

1/3 cucumber

4 cm daikon radish

¼ bell pepper

3 Thai red chilis

4 sprigs Thai basil

1½ cups (360 mL) rice wine vinegar

½ cup (120 mL) water

2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbs sugar

Follow the process from previous page. It is nice to have a variety of cuts (but not necessary). Slice the carrots into thin rounds. The cucumber into triangles. The daikon into matchsticks and the bell pepper into chunks.

The chili peppers will add a light flavour if left intact. For more heat slice one or more of them open.

Add all vegetables along with the chili peppers and basil to the jar.

Pairs well with: pad thai, curries, eggs, chicken, fish.

Pickled Sweet Peppers

Makes 1 regular pint jar

1/3 cup red pepper

1/3 cup orange pepper

1/3 cup yellow pepper

1 clove garlic

¼ tsp mustard seed

¾ cup (180 mL) apple cider vinegar

½ cup (120 mL) water

1 Tbs sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

Follow the process from previous page. Roughly chop peppers and add to jar. Pairs well with: peppers for fajitas and complements your veggie bowl.

Pickled Celery

Makes 1 regular pint jar

3 stalks celery

¼ tsp peppercorn

¼ tsp mustard seed

3 small stems dill

¾ cup (180 mL) white vinegar

¾ cup (180 mL) water

2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbs sugar

Follow the process from previous page. Thinly slice the celery and pack into jar. Pairs well with: anything. They add the pickled taste as well as some crunch.

Pickled Pineapple and Jalapeño

Makes 1 half pint jar

¾ cup pineapple

½ jalapeño

¼ white onion

¼ tsp coriander seed

1/8 tsp cumin seed

¼ cup (60 mL) white wine vinegar

¼ cup (60 mL) water

1 Tbs sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

Follow the process from previous page. You can use canned pineapple for this, or chop fresh pineapple into small cubes. Thinly slice a fresh jalapeño (remove seeds for less heat if desired) and white onion.

Add pineapple, jalapeño and onion to your jar.

Pairs well with: beans, chicken, fish, tacos. Can also top a bowl of vanilla ice cream with it and a drizzle of olive oil.

Saffron Pickled Cauliflower

Makes 1 large mason jar

3 cups cauliflower

½ tsp peppercorns

¼ tsp coriander

3 cloves

8 sprigs thyme

1½ cups (360 mL) white wine vinegar

¾ cup (180 mL) water

1 tsp (5 mL) honey

1 tsp kosher salt

Follow process from previous page. Make sure you cut your cauliflower into florets. It’s easier to pack in the jar and serve.

Pairs well with: Indian food and brightens roasted vegetable bowls or cheese and charcuterie plates.

Natalie is a freelance writer, photographer, and pastry chef. A graduate of Cordon Bleu’s pastry program, she manages her own business too to create custom-made cakes.

BY MORRIS LEMIRE

Walleye is the number one fresh water white fish in Canada, and its flavour is the reason. They are a game fish much loved by sport fishers as a feisty, yet manageable catch. A culinary treat, versatile and delicious, they are one of the very few freshwater species to rival trout. A large part of the pressure on walleye populations comes from its sheer popularity.

The commercial fisheries for walleye in Canada have recently become a more lucrative industry, in part because very little of the fish is wasted. The fillets are sold in retail outlets for food, the head, scales and bones are used in the production of collagen, and what’s left goes into pet food. This value-added strategy, developed by the Icelandic Ocean Cluster (a fisheries innovation hub), has demonstrated how to increase the value of several species, moving from tens of dollars, to hundreds of dollars, even thousands of dollars per fish. Yes! You read that right. This helps explain why fish is packed and shipped already cleaned and deboned. Nothing is thrown away, resulting in less waste, lower shipping weight, and fewer fisheyes to freak-out the squeamish.

There is no longer a viable commercial fishery for walleye in Alberta. The walleye available to consumers in Alberta comes from Lake Winnipeg, or from one of the Great Lakes. In the past, walleye was readily available in a wide mix of Alberta waters. Today, the population is dependent on ecological management, specifically the re-stocking of lakes.

The above value-added changes in the commercial fishing for walleye have made it imperative to use the right name for the species you are selling in an international market. Here, we’re talking about Walleye (Sander vitreus), a member of the perch family. Pickerel belongs to the same family as pike. In the sports fishing world, in different areas of Canada, the common names walleye and pickerel are interchangeable. When the catch is for personal use, it doesn’t matter one way or the other.

As consumers, we live in a marketdriven economy, and therefore share the responsibility for harvesting both salt and freshwater fish. That gives us the right to question every step of the

process from procurement to shipping. Most sellers, store owners and market vendors, will welcome the opportunity to engage with their customers, so ask: ‘where was this fish caught, by whom and when?’ ‘How was it shipped?’ ‘How long has it been in your shop?’

Salt-water fish is labeled sustainable by The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and there is similar labelling being planned for freshwater fish in Canada, but it isn’t quite ready yet.

Sports fishers and commercial fisheries know firsthand that freshcaught fish doesn’t smell. That’s because the fish has not been exposed to air. Once in the open air the oxygenation of the slippery protective film on the fish begins. That is largely

why store-bought fish often has a whiff of what those of us who shop with our noses, call “fishy”. The offending chemical, TMC for short - which in low concentrations, is harmless, can be easily washed off. As soon as you get home, take the fish out of its plastic wrap, and using your hands, gently rinse it under cold running water, softly rubbing each fillet. Using a tea towel, pat the fish dry. Next, continuing with your bare hands, gently rub fresh lemon juice over each piece of fish. Nine times out of ten, this will get rid of any offending smell and set it up for cooking.

If you are going to cook the fish right away, leave the lemon on the fish and continue with the recipe. If you are going to cook it hours later, or even the next day, make a mild marinade using salt and pepper, another tablespoon of the lemon juice, and a tablespoon (about 15 mL) of olive oil, cover and refrigerate. Of course, when you are cooking the fish, you will bring the temperature up to 57° C or 135º F, thereby neutralizing any possible contamination, whatever its source.

You can pan fry walleye in butter, with or without batter, which by the way, you can make with beer. You can also deep fry it, or as my mom used to do, bake it whole, which makes it easy to separate the rib bones from the meat. Cooked whole over an open fire, as is often done when sport fishing, is pretty hard to beat.

In our kitchen, we like the recipe below because it is simple, quick to prepare, and it doesn’t mask the flavour, or the texture of the fish. As we mentioned above, most freshwater walleye available in public markets is

already filleted and deboned. Using our recipe, it speeds up getting supper on the table in under a half hour.

This recipe, slightly adapted from pollock to walleye, comes from Grand Manan Island, a little piece of heaven in the Bay of Fundy. Any white fish, saltwater or fresh will work, but walleye from Norway House at the top of Lake Winnipeg is a very good choice.

This is a baked fish recipe in two parts: the fish in a lemon-olive oil emulsion, finished with a bread, herb, and tomato topping. The full flavour lies in using both parts of the recipe, as one complements the other. Use a shallow casserole dish, big enough so you can lay the fish without crowding or stacking the fillets.

BAKED WALLEYE

Serves two, plus a young child

1 clove garlic

4 to 6 Tbs (60-90 mL) olive oil

2 Tbs (30 mL) fresh lemon juice

½ tsp freshly ground pepper

½ tsp salt

1 kg walleye

1. Lightly crush and chop the garlic, and place in the casserole dish.

2. Add about four tablespoons (60 mL) of olive oil to the chopped garlic.

3. Add in the freshly squeezed lemon.

4. Using a fork, stir until the olive oil emulsifies, changes colour, and combines with the lemon juice.

5. Add the pepper and salt and stir again. 6. Lay the fish into this emulsion, and turn over several times to coat well.

Topping:

1 cup bread cubes about ½-1 cm. Slightly stale sourdough bread works well

3 Tbs (45 mL) olive oil

1 cup tomatoes, chopped the same size as the bread cubes

1 Tbs herbs: dill, thyme, or parsley

1 tsp ground pepper

To taste salt

You want just enough breadcrumbs to lightly cover about half of the fish. You don’t want to smother the fillets.

Put your fish dish into a pre-heated oven set at about 350º F. In 10 minutes, check for doneness, and turn the whole casserole dish 180 degrees. In total, cook for about 15 minutes, depending on the type of fish and the thickness of the fillets.

Tip: If you are using frozen fish, you don’t have to thaw the fish, just increase your cooking time by about five minutes.

Morris Lemire lives in Edmonton where he spends the summer gardening and winter skiing. He likes winter, in part, because citrus is plentiful. He uses citrus in everything from marmalade to preserved lemons, cocktails to meringues.

Shifting Tastes:

How Climate Change is Transforming Alberta's Food and Wine Scene

BY LAUREN KALINOWSKI

The Abrupt Reality of Climate Change on Our Plates and in Our Glasses

The January 2024 polar vortex that annihilated 99 percent of British Columbia's wine vintage. Smoke tainted California wines that taste “as smoky as mezcal.” Lettuce prices spiking from $2 to $9 overnight. This isn't some apocalyptic food forecast. It's Alberta's current culinary reality.

Climate change isn't just melting ice caps somewhere far away. It's reshaping what's on your plate tonight and what's in your glass right now. “It's not gradual. It's abrupt,” declares Scott Downey, chef and restaurateur behind Edmonton's The Marc and The Butternut Tree. “These environmental impacts happen immediately, and people need to figure it out.”

As extreme weather events intensify and seasonal patterns shift, Alberta's food scene is being forced into a radical reinvention. From restaurant menus changing on a dime to surprising new crops flourishing in our own backyard, the map of what we eat and drink is being redrawn by forces greater than tradition or taste.

THE POLAR VORTEX THAT CRUSHED BC WINE

In January 2024, disaster struck British Columbia's wine industry when

temperatures plummeted to -28° C for nearly a week, destroying virtually an entire year's crop in a matter of days. “The 2024 vintage was almost entirely destroyed,” explains Jon Elson of SBSW Wine Imports. “There's a very important temperature threshold of -23 degrees where, if vines are starting to go through their cycles, the cold will definitely kill the fruit and arguably could kill the vine.”

The timing couldn't have been worse. January is when BC's vines begin emerging from dormancy to start their growth cycle. “They might not be flowering, but they will start to see some bud break and things like that,” Elson adds. When the polar vortex hit, the vines' early growth was fatally damaged.

This climate disaster forced an unprecedented response: the BC government relaxed regulations to allow wineries to use American fruit while maintaining their VQA status.

“Almost entirely, with probably a few exceptions, the 2024 vintage of BC wine will actually be from Washington, Oregon, or California,” says Elson. For premium wineries focused on terroir and estate grown grapes, the situation represents an existential crisis. Downey witnessed the impact firsthand when visiting the Okanagan

during harvest season.

“We only saw grapes on one single vineyard. We only saw one time people actually making wine. And it was harvest season. It's usually chaos,” Downey recalls. “They said they have grapes on the vines, but they can't make wine with them. They're leaving them up so it looks nice, but that's it.”

The recovery will be painfully slow. While some vineyards, like Dirty Laundry Winery, were fortunate to lose only a small portion of their vines, others lost significant portions of their vineyards. At Gray Monk, some of the oldest vines in Canada at 25-30 years old, were completely destroyed. New vines take five to seven years before they produce quality wine grapes, and as Elson explains, “The wines will drink differently with that lack of maturity on the vines.” The 2024 polar vortex won't just affect this year's wines. Its impact will be felt for the better part of a decade.

FIRE, SMOKE, AND TAINTED WINE

Another climate extreme affecting the wine Albertans drink, is smoke. California, traditionally one of the province's top sources for imported wine, has been battling wildfires that create

“smoke taint” in grapes. “If you look at the 2020 vintage, specifically in Napa Valley, the fires led to a level of smoke taint that pretty much rendered the vintage obsolete,” says Elson.

This smoke taint doesn't come from vineyards burning down, but from grapes absorbing smoke compounds from nearby fires. The result can be undrinkable. “We opened a bottle of Albariño from Stag's Leap Winery the other day,” Downey shares. “It was so smoky, almost like mezcal — heavily affected by smoke and remarkably intense.” Rather than discard the wine, Downey's team found a creative solution. They paired it with a bison tartare, removing the dish's normal smoked components and using the wine's smoky character as an educational opportunity about climate impacts.

THE RESTAURANTS' SCRAMBLE

For restaurants, climate change means constant adaptation. The impacts aren't theoretical; they're immediate and demanding, often requiring complete menu rewrites overnight. “We get a message saying, ‘Okay, that head of romaine used to be $2 and it's now $9,’” Downey explains. “Whenever there's a disaster or extreme shift, it's not gradual. It's basically, ‘This is starting next week.’”

These abrupt changes force difficult decisions. Do restaurants absorb the cost, raise prices, or pivot to different ingredients? For Downey's restaurants, the approach depends on the venue.

“The Butternut Tree is this ever changing ecosystem where the menu is fluid,” he says. This flexibility allows them to adapt when ingredients become unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

But established restaurants with signature dishes face greater challenges. “At The Marc, the steak and the frites are always the same. If something happened to arugula or the potato that the fries are made from, we'd have to figure out how to pivot while maintaining what people expect.”

ALBERTA'S CHANGING GROWING SEASON: New Opportunities

Climate shifts are also transforming what can be grown locally, creating

unexpected bright spots in an otherwise challenging landscape. Alberta's growing season is extending and intensifying in ways that were unimaginable a generation ago. “We used to have a week or two that were really hot, and now it's more like a month that's really hot,” Downey observes. “We're heading to temperatures in the 40s, which is unusual.”

This heat is enabling crops previously impossible in Alberta's climate. Peppers and chilies, once rare specialty items, are now thriving. “In the first few years at The Butternut Tree, we couldn't really do chilies. You could get jalapeños from some greenhouses, but things with capsaicin and heat were hard to get,” Downey describes. “Now if you go to a farmers market in August, there's tons of options.”

Even more surprisingly, exotic fruits are appearing in Alberta's agricultural landscape. “If you go to Prairie Gardens in the summer, you'll find fig trees growing in their greenhouses and producing fruit,” Downey adds. “It's abnormal. I would never have said Alberta is a place you could grow a fig. But here we are.”

In the Okanagan, similar shifts are occurring. “Steve & Dan's started selling kiwis three or four years ago,” Downey mentions. The changing climate in southern BC now supports these subtropical crops, as winter temperatures rarely drop below the critical -15° C threshold that would kill the plants, at least until the anomalous polar vortex of January 2024.

Amid these changes, some wild foods are actually thriving due to climatedriven events. “Morels love to grow

after a forest fire,” Downey explains. “The morel seasons have been very good the last couple years. It's probably literally the only positive out of it all.” As forest fires have become more frequent across western Canada, these prized mushrooms have appeared in greater abundance, creating an unexpected silver lining for foragers and chefs.

For local growers, these changes represent both opportunity and uncertainty. “It's the smart people, the people growing, who say, ‘Great, let's grow kiwis. Let's explore that,'” says Downey. “Because for every new thing that we add, there's for sure one thing that doesn't do as well.”

LOOKING FORWARD: Adaptation in a Changing Climate

These changing growing conditions reflect a broader transformation in Alberta's food and wine landscape, one that requires continuous adaptation and innovation. Hybrid grape varieties, engineered to withstand temperature extremes, are gaining prominence in the wine industry. Elson points to coldhardy grape varieties now being planted in cooler Canadian wine regions as one example of this adaptation.

Traditional wine regions worldwide are making similar adjustments. “In the Rhône Valley in France, there are examples of wineries giving up their AOC [protected designation] to grow different kinds of grapes,” Elson says. These wineries are sacrificing their prestigious geographical designations to plant varieties better suited to warming temperatures. For wine lovers, this means exploring new varietals and

regions. Canadian wineries in areas once considered too cold for quality viticulture are finding opportunity in adversity.

In Alberta's restaurant scene, chefs are developing creative ways to maintain their vision while adapting to volatile supplies. For Downey, communication is key. “We have a lot of very young professionals. We just try to educate them on why something changed, so when it comes to the table, our staff can articulate to guests why we had to change this.”

This transparency extends to innovative approaches like Downey's pairing of smoke-affected wine with bison tartare, turning climate challenges into educational opportunities for diners.

The dining public will see these changes reflected in both availability and pricing. Seasonal menus will likely become more common as fixed menus become increasingly difficult to maintain year-round. Even iconic dishes may need to evolve. Meanwhile, Alberta's farmers and growers are experimenting with crops once unthinkable in our northern climate. The appearance of figs, kiwis, and a wider variety of peppers represents just the beginning of this agricultural transformation.

Climate change is already reshaping what we eat and drink in ways both challenging and unexpected. Yet amid the disruption, Alberta's food community is responding with creativity and resilience. As Downey puts it: “I think between both restaurants, we have a lot of people with a lot of passions in their life. We just try to educate them on why things change.” In an era of climate uncertainty, this spirit of education, adaptation, and innovation may be the most important ingredient of all.

As we look ahead, this adaptive approach will likely become the new normal for Alberta's food scene. For consumers, this means embracing seasonality, appreciating what's available when it's available, and perhaps discovering new favourites along the way. While climate change disrupts traditional patterns, it also creates opportunities for new tastes and experiences that may ultimately enrich our local food culture. Resilience, after all, comes not from resistance to change, but from the ability to adapt with it.

Lauren Kalinowski is a freelance writer who lives and works in downtown Edmonton. She loves to cook for a full table, eat everything, and always has an opinion.

Vine & Dine at SOT

September 4 and 11 Everyone who came to these dinners last year was full of praise for the outstanding dishes at SOT, and this year they were awarded Calgary’s Best New Restaurant 2025!

One-off Bodegas Riojanas Winemaker Dinner at SOT, September 14 We’re excited to welcome Bodegas Riojanas in Spain to Calgary for a special one-off winemaker dinner at SOT in September!

One-off Pindarie Winemaker Dinner at Open Range Big Fish, Marda Loop, September 16 Wendy Allan, owner and winemaker of Pindarie in the Barossa Valley is with us for a very special multicourse dinner with carefully paired dishes!

Vine & Dine at Aama September 17 and October 30 We’re coming to one of Cochrane’s best restaurants for two evenings of outstanding paired Nepalese food. Chef G has just returned from Nepal doing a cooking show there!

Vine & Dine at Bar Chouette

October 9, 22, and 28 Chef Duncan Ly is opening just for us in October, when we’ll enjoy six carefully created, and beautifully plated dishes, and the pairings that complement them!

One-off Portuguese Winemaker Dinner at The Artist Lounge, October 16

Every one of our evenings here in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, all sold out with waiting lists, so we can’t wait to return for a Portuguese winemaker dinner here in October!

Indigenous Cuisine Experience at Little Chief, October 25 We’re back in Little Chief’s private dining room for a

ALBERTA'S CHANGING SEASONAL CALENDAR:

What You'll Find at Farmers' Markets

SEPTEMBER:

ABUNDANCE & DISRUPTION

● Peak season for most vegetables

● Widest variety of the year

● Greenhouse figs beginning to appear

● Also prime time for supply chain issues

"September is almost overwhelming because finally everything you could ever want is available"

— Scott Downey

EXTENDED SEASONS:

● Mushroom season extending from traditional October end into December

● More greenhouse-grown exotics appearing (figs, experimental crops)

"Mushroom seasons used to end in October. Rarely, sometimes we'd get mushrooms coming out of BC in November... But we were getting chanterelles almost to Christmas last year" — Scott Downey

new, elevated and premium, six-course, creative and modern Indigenous Chef’s Table dinner!

Vine & Dine at L’Olivo

November 11, 19, and 25 We’re thrilled to be coming to the brand new L’Olivo for three Vine & Dine evenings in November. This gorgeous space is Calgary’s first cicchetti restaurant!

One-off Cono Sur Winemaker Dinner

November 18 One of Chile’s most iconic winemakers is coming to Calgary, and we can’t wait for this very special one-off winemaker dinner with him!

These evenings can – and do - sell out quickly and new events are added regularly, so check vineanddine.ca for details and menus, and email linda@culinairemagazine.ca to reserve your places, and to be included in our bi-monthly updates. We try to cater for all allergies.

Short Cut Sheet Pan Lasagna

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY RENÉE KOHLMAN

This is the time of year when things start to get bonkers busy. School is back in. Activities have resumed their slot in the weeknight schedule. Those carefree summer days of lingering meals on the patio are but a distant memory.

September is jam-packed and time is tight, which means that meals during the week have to be quick and relatively fuss-free. Maybe not everything is made from scratch, and you enlist the help of some grocery store short cuts. We’re only human, after all!

Some of my favourites include hot rotisserie chicken from the deli, shelfstable gnocchi, and jarred marinara sauce. There are plenty of great-tasting sauces out there, and they sure help cut the time down on a recipe. And then there are streamlining methods, like with this sheet pan lasagna. Who has time to fuss with layers and layers of pasta on a Tuesday night? Maybe you just stir everything together and dump it on a sheet pan like I did. Same great flavours and way less stress. Let’s go!

First off is dealing with the lasagna noodles. You want to break them up into 5 cm pieces then boil until they are barely al-dente. They will cook further in the oven, and we don’t want them to be too mushy. Next, are the greens. Whether you use spinach or kale, you want to cook it down until it’s wilted, then stir it into ricotta and pesto. This step really adds layers of flavour. Now the meat sauce. You can totally prepare this ahead of time on the weekend, which will save you even more time on a Tuesday night.

I like the combination of lean ground beef and Italian sausage, but you could use all of one, or even ground turkey, chicken, or pork. Or, if you’re vegetarian, skip the meat entirely and sauté mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini,

peppers, etc. Your lasagna your way! When that sauce is bubbling and tastes delicious, stir in the cooked noodles and some mozzarella cheese. Slide it all onto the greased baking sheet and top with dollops of the ricotta mixture and more cheese. Everything gets baked until it’s browned and beautiful, about 30 minutes. Your kitchen will smell amazing, and I guarantee everyone who lives in your house will come and see what’s for dinner. We should talk about crispy bits, because there are plenty of them. If you’ve ever been around the dinner table and have seen people quarrel over who gets the end pieces of lasagna, then I’m happy to report that there are plenty of end pieces here. The greater surface area of the sheet pan yields so many crispy, cheesy, beautiful bits. Let’s all cheer for that!

Sheet Pan Lasagna

Serves 6-8

454 g uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into 5 cm pieces

2 Tbs (30 mL) olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan

4 cups spinach leaves or chopped kale, stems removed

Pinch red pepper flakes

2 cups (500 mL) ricotta cheese

¼ cup (60 mL) pesto

454 g lean ground beef

227 g Italian sausage, casings removed

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs Italian seasoning

4 cups (1 L) marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought

2½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

To taste salt and pepper

Basil leaves, for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the broken lasagna noodles and bring back to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until the noodles are al dente, about 5-6 minutes. Drain, and toss in a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

2. Preheat the oven to 425º F. Lightly grease a 30x44 cm (12x17”) sheet pan with olive oil.

3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 Tbs (15 mL) olive oil, then toss in the spinach or kale, and red pepper flakes. Sauté until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese and pesto. Stir in the wilted greens, and season with generous pinches of salt and pepper.

4. In the same skillet you cooked the spinach in, heat the remaining olive oil. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage and cook until no longer pink. Add the onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning, and cook for a few more minutes until the onion is translucent. Stir in the marinara sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Combine the meat sauce with the cooked lasagna noodles and stir to coat the noodles well. Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.

6. Transfer the meat and noodle mixture to the prepared sheet pan, and spread evenly. Drop spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture on top of the lasagna, and then top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

7. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is browned and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes. Allow the lasagna to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil leaves.

Renée Kohlman is a busy food writer and recipe developer living in Saskatoon. Her two cookbooks ‘All the Sweet Things’ and ‘Vegetables: A Love Story’ have won awards and been on best-of lists.

Give European Lagers a Try

The humble lager is a latecomer to brewing, not arriving until the early 17th century, as a new yeast species Saccharomyces pastorianus was discovered, almost surely by accident, in the region of southern Bavaria and Bohemia in Central Europe.

The word “lager” originates from the German word ‘lagern’ meaning “to store”, as this beer required long periods of maturation before being released, in the age before refrigeration. It took a couple of hundred years before yeast activity was fully understood and lagers were perfected, but since then, it has become the most common beer in the world, representing about 90 percent of brewing production. It is the number one category of beer in almost every country, and in some cases, may be the only beer brewed in many nations.

As we’ve talked about before, lagers now come in a multitude of styles, but the most prevalent is the clear, crisp,

golden, approximately 5 percent ABV, mass-produced beer one sees promoted on television, online, in stadiums, posted on billboards… well, almost everywhere advertising is allowed. However, even this genre can be divided into a further subset of lagers defined by location and their ingredients. Mexican, Japanese, American, and other regions have their own specific styles, but one that seems to get overlooked is the oldest, the standard European pale lager.

As lager brewing spread through Europe in the age of industrialization, individual jurisdictions began to produce their own beer, usually dominated by one or two breweries in each area. Many of these beers are still being brewed today, made in breweries commonly named after the municipality they are located in. Alberta is fortunate to have dozens of them in the market, but you’ll never see local ads for these beers, and they will only appear on very selected restaurant or bar menus.

BY DAVID NUTTALL

Unless you are at an event sponsored by one of the social organizations of a European country, you usually only find them in the single beer section of a liquor store - which is a shame.

What follows is a short exposé of some of these beers available in the Alberta market. To avoid repetition, all of them are clear, yellow to gold in colour, around 5-6.0 percent ABV, with a light body and bready malt characteristics from pale coloured barley malt. What differentiates them from mainstream lagers brewed in other continents is their hop profiles. Most use local hops, others will employ noble hops from Germany or the Czech Republic. This produces the floral/spicy/herbal qualities that distinguish these beers.

Almost all are sold in single tall can formats (although some come in other formats as well) and cost between about $3-5 each. The CSPC code listed is for the single 500 mL can or bottle unless otherwise noted.

POLAND

While consumers get caught up in the popular Big Three of European brewing (UK, Germany, Belgium), Poland is the fourth largest beer producing country in the continent after Germany, Russia, and Spain. As with many of the breweries listed below, some began brewing hundreds of years ago, with mass production starting about 150 years ago. Poland is the world’s fifth largest hop producing nation, so each of these beers has a unique flavour, depending on which hop(s) they employ.

Lech Premium, CSPC 726116

Lezajsk, CSPC 106140

Lomza Lager, CSPC 540815 Tatra, CSPC 738141. A top five beer in Poland, it contains glucose syrup and corn along with barley. Tyskie, CSPC 780395

Zubr, CSPC 803183 Zywiec, CSPC 820071

SPAIN

Spain is known more for its wine, but it is the eleventh largest beer producer in the world. As a major hop grower (world rank #9), you’d think it would have as good a beer culture as its wine. Unfortunately, for lovers of beer variety, it specializes in and exports mainly pale lagers. Fortunately, for lovers of that style, they are pretty good.

Damm Estrella, CSPC 726693, Spain’s most popular beer is made with barley and rice.

Reserva 1925 Lager, CSPC 638759

6 x 330 mL bottles, $19

NETHERLANDS

The Dutch are major beer producers (world rank #17) but also aren’t known for variety. As the home of Heineken, people the world over know at least one of their beers.

Bavaria Original, CSPC 787381

Hollandia Premium Lager CSPC 746691

ITALY

Like Spain, France, and Portugal, Italy is more recognized for its wine than beer. Craft brewery numbers have been growing this century, but the pale lager still dominates, with Big Brewing helping to make Italy number 24 on the world list.

Birrificio Messina Bella Stretto

CSPC 838213, 330 mL bottle

Peroni Nastro Azzurro

CSPC 738639, Italy’s most popular beer is made with German and Czech hops, barley, and Italian maize.

CZECH REPUBLIC

A major brewing nation (ranked #19) and hop producer (ranked #3, behind only the USA and Germany), it is also known as the birthplace of pilsner and the home of the renowned Saaz hop. While pale lagers dominate, they also produce great dark beers.

Czechvar Lager, CSPC 863393

Pilsner Urquell, CSPC 255380

Kozel, CSPC 802345 uses a lesserknown local hop called Premiant.

Here are a few beers from smaller countries with less production.

Croatia: Karlovacko Beer

CSPC 243725

Austria: Stiegl Bier Goldbrau

CSPC 714842

Portugal: Coral Branca

CSPC 857508, 6 X 330 mL bottles, $22. Its distinct flavour comes from the use of corn in the mash.

Slovakia: Golden Pheasant

CSPC 536789, 500 mL bottle

Many of the breweries in this article have been purchased by large international brewing groups. Most keep their brewing production in the original country, but in some cases, the beer is brewed elsewhere to cut down on costs. The recipes attempt to be as true as possible to the original. Below, Carlsberg, Tuborg and Faxe are Danish brands, while Kronenbourg is French. The versions in Alberta are brewed under license in Canada. Interestingly, the beer in Grolsch cans is brewed in Canada, while the bottles come from its homeland in the Netherlands.

Carlsberg Pilsner, CSPC 890296

Faxe Premium Lager, CSPC 130691

568 mL can

Tuborg Gold, CSPC 890297

Kronenbourg 1664 Lager

CSPC 105671

Grolsch (Canada)

CSPC 883828, 4 X 473 mL cans $15

Grolsch (Netherlands)

CSPC 407205, 6 X 330 mL bottles $20

Other European countries with lagers available in Alberta are Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Serbia, and the Ukraine. Give European pale lagers a chance. They are inexpensive, have unique flavour profiles, and deserve wider exposure.

David has worked in liquor since the late 1980s. He is a freelance writer, beer judge, speaker, and since 2014, has run Brew Ed monthly beer education classes in Calgary. Follow @abfbrewed.

September Spirits

BY TOM FIRTH AND LINDA GARSON

Hold on tight to those last nice days of summer! September is always a favourite month of ours, it’s harvest time, but also the days tend to be nice and warm, with evenings starting to get chilly as the days continue to get shorter and shorter. This month, we wanted to cover our bases with mostly international spirits primarily focused on whiskies. But not to worry, there is a local rye in the mix, along with a pair of excellent white spirits if you are inclined to martinis or the last (few) G&Ts outside.

Shinobu Bourbon-Based Blended Whisky, Japan

A highly unusual offering in that Shinobu is a blending of American bourbon and Japanese whisky, aged in Mizunara oak, and made in small batches – naturally. Plenty of those higher-toned alcohol notes, and exceptionally clean with toffee, honey, and cereal aromas, but in the mouth, hints of sweetness and subtle oak balance a fair bit of heat, and lengthy, graceful finish. At 40 percent ABV, it’s highly enjoyable neat, or over rocks – a julep or boulevardier (hint hint) with this would be pretty

CSPC 117582 $65-70

Belvedere Organic Vodka, Poland

Belvedere has always been proudly Polish in origin, and let’s be honest, it’s got a kick-ass label of the Belweder Palace flanked by bare trees. It’s a new label too, drawing attention to the use of organic, Polishgrown rye. Clean, and mildly spicy on the nose, in the mouth, it’s finely crafted vodka, with excellent mouthfeel and a lengthy, peppery/spicy finish with a bare hint of almonds. Easy to enjoy chilled (but not cold), or in any number of cocktails where smoothness would be paramount. CSPC 437772 $50-60

Whisky

Black Tot Historic Solera Caribbean Rum

Black Tot has been bringing consistent hits for rum enthusiasts, and the newest release, the Historic Solera is a treat. Made from sourced rums hailing from Guyana, Barbados, and Jamaica, and – very cool –aged in a Solera (a fractional blending system mixing older and newer spirits) of Spanish sherry casks. The result? An earthy rum bringing dried fruits, coffee and cocoa, and a deep, figgy character ending on complex spice. Bottled at cask strength, it’s a fine sipper, best enjoyed as such, though in a well-made cocktail – I wouldn’t blame you.

CSPC 124788 $115-120

Gap 1924 Revolution Rye, Lethbridge

Something new for Alberta whisky enthusiasts! Five generations after Prohibition ended (in 1924), the Vandervalk family’s hard work cultivating the land near Fort Macleod has resulted in a new distillery – Whisky Gap! And here’s their 1924 Revolution Rye. Local grains, local mountain water, and a pinch of Prairie-settler’s determination, have resulted in a lip-smacking rye with a mild spice from the grains, a little butterscotch, macadamia nut, tree fruit… It’s delicious, and watch for their 20-Year-Old whisky in one-two years, and a 30-year in two years!

Around $40

The Gardener Gin, France

A celebrity gin with credibility! They don’t always go hand in hand, but this is Brad Pitt’s gin (in homage to his beloved French Riviera where the grapefruit, and sweet and bitter oranges grow) in collaboration with Tom Nichol (retired Master Distiller for Tanqueray) and the Rhône Valley Perrin Family. We’re fans; there’s a herbal, citrus, and juniper nose with delicate minty and licorice notes too, and it’s the beautiful, creamy mouthfeel that begs you to enjoy it as a simple martini – and a dirty one if you like! CSPC 105357 $48-55

Glenmorangie A Tale of Ice Cream Scotland

Ha! My goodness, Glenmorangie have really hit it on the head with the fifth release in their ‘Tale Of…’ series: (very) serious yet playful, limited edition single malt whiskies showcasing Director of Whisky Creation, Dr. Bill Lumsden’s, whimsical imagination. A Tale of Ice Cream is everything you hoped it would be with a name like this. Finished in high-vanillin casks, it has a really full and creamy mouthfeel with layers of flavour: sponge toffee, peach crumble, macarons, and popcorn at the end. Just add four drops of water and taste what happens… CSPC 112343 $110–$115

Our 6th Annual

Everyone has gone home a winner at our Culinaire Treasure Hunts and Taste Tours; they’ve been so popular that the spots sell out every year, so now we’ve planned a new and exciting World Taste Tour with new treats to enjoy. And it’s all in location – just park up and walk, no driving across town!

It’s another very fun and rewarding day, so grab a partner and sign up as a team of two, or sign up solo at culinairemagazine.ca/treasure-hunt. Mark the date: Sunday September 14! Reserve your places now!

You’ll answer questions to learn and enjoy different foods or beverages at each stop, and use your new knowledge and skill to complete the culinary puzzle to win fabulous prizes! There are also prizes for the best costumes, the funniest team names, best social media... and lots more!

MAKING THE CASE for the last days of summer

By TOM FIRTH

eptember is a bit of a mixed bag for many. For a lot of families, it’s back to school, for others, it’s back to the grind after vacations, getaways, and the like, and for others, it is still part of summer as the days are often still nice, the parks and destinations are a little less busy than they were, and there are still ample days to relax, soak up some more sun, or just enjoy a nice glass here and there.

This month was a bit of a struggle to find the right wines, but what seemed to come together was a wide selection of Italian wines notably some incredible bottles, but also versatile, tasty wines that go with so much more than just pasta or pizza. In deference to the hoped-for fine weather, we have a few nice whites that really shine.

Next month, in October’s Culinaire, we won’t have my wine recommendations as we are publishing the results of our 2025 Alberta Beverage Awards where we’ll have hundreds of curated, awardwinning bottles (and cans too) as selected by our esteemed panels of judges. I sincerely hope you pick up a copy and I know that you’ll definitely find something to enjoy.

Find these wines by searching the CSPC code at Liquorconnect.com; your local liquor store can also use this code to order it for you. Prices are approximate.

Escorihuela 1884 2022 Estate Grown Viognier, Mendoza, Argentina

While Argentina is best known for its wonderful malbecs, the really exciting wines being made there are made from other grapes – including white grapes (the climate and altitude that work so well with ripening malbec has a lovely effect on other grapes too). A viognier from Argentina is an exciting wine. Look for intense floral characters, peach and nectarine fruits, almonds, and a slight honey tone too. A lovely, delicious bottle sure to please viognier fans.

CSPC 246165 $19-23

Tom has been waxing on (and on) about wine, beer, and spirits for more than 25 years and freelances, consults, and judges on beverages all year long. He is the Managing Editor for Culinaire Magazine, and the Competition Director for the Alberta Beverage Awards.

This is a producer and bottling that have long been established in our market, and the Tre Saggi is fantastic, year after year. Made from 100 percent montepulciano, aged in barrel for a year and then further aged in bottle for another, the wine is lush and powerful with expressive, almost raisin-like berry fruits, earth and asphalt, and a lengthy, complex finish.

CSPC 868690 $32-36

2020 Preziosatera Tuscany, Italy

A genuinely pleasant and enjoyable wine that paired well at dinner and struck the right balance of classic, sangiovese flavours along with a little added fruit power from a smidge of syrah in the blend. Abundant red cherry style fruits with a fine plum and blackberry support, along with agreeable tannins, lovely acids, and an easy balance. It was a star with a brisket, but would be just as at home with a nice selection of cheese or light nosh.

CSPC 756312 $39-42

Sassicaia is one of the great wines of the world, and a rather recent addition to that pantheon of luminaries. The new release is always highly anticipated, and I know very few professionals in the wine business that would turn down a glass (or two). The 2022 is getting very close to its release, and it’s worth asking about it at your favourite store. Cabernet sauvignon with cabernet franc at its finest with power, polish, and perfection in the wings. Cherries and tar, floral abundance, and a star for the cellar once again.

CSPC 940040 About $385-400

Talamonti 2022 Tre Saggi Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Abruzzo, Italy

Tenuta San Guido 2022 Sassicaia Bolgheri, Italy

Montecchiesi

Over the course of many trips to Italy, I firmly believe that it’s in Abruzzo that the breadth and depth of cuisine is perfected. And the wines – *Chef’s Kiss*. A full and rich expression of the grape here, with liquorice, cherry, and plum in a rather lush expression. Plenty of spice to go with flower blossom and a juicy finish too. An easy match with meaty sauces, deep dish pizza, and grilled red meats.

CSPC 799608 $20-25

Honestly, how could you not want to try this one? Sumo Cat just might be the next well-priced, cheerful, off-dry table pleaser you didn’t know you needed. Definitely on the off-dry side veering into sweeter territory, but well-chilled, the sweetness lets the crisp and tart apple fruits move to the fore, and with brilliant acids the wine isn’t cloying in any way. Hints of steely mineral character add extra nuance, but this is a zesty, easy glass of nice riesling.

CSPC 112416 $19-22

Guardacaccia 2021 Viognier

Terra Alta, Spain

A highly unusual example of viognier coming to us from Spain of all places, but an absolute gem. Wildly intense as viognier can be, but with a feral leafiness and more intense herbal tone to go with those lush stone fruits that keep on coming. Quite nutty and oily towards the finish, and classically viognier the whole way through. Just as good at the table as it is on the patio, it’s a fine pairing with grilled poultry, creamier sauces, and intense, creamy cheese. Very nice indeed.

CSPC 882476 $30-35

Tuscany, Italy

Merla is an uncommon name for us, but it’s specifically used to describe a local variant of the canaiolo grape. Packed with deep, dark, brooding berry fruits backed up by hints of tar and smoke. Restrained tannins especially compared to the big fruits, but an absolute pleasure to enjoy a second glass or third. Should be an easy guest at the dinner table and would pair very well indeed with steaks or other premium cuts of beef.

CSPC 101118 $41-45

A much loved, classic expression of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, Villa Maria is exceptionally priced especially in the Private Bin line, and the wine checks off all the boxes that NZSB lovers want. Gooseberry, jalapeño, melon and lime on the nose and palate with “wake you up” acids and a clean tropical fruit palate – you know, under all that goosey/grassiness. A wine that screams out for summer, and who am I to argue with that?

CSPC 725171 $18-22

Is it just me, or has pinot gris from the Okanagan gotten really “dialed in” over the past few years. Wild Goose has always brought their white grape “A” game, and the pinot gris really stood out recently for its nuance and expression. Not to be served too cold, macintosh apple, bartlett pear, and straw show on the nose with flavours ringing true and evolving nicely over the palate. The finish is fantastic with a medley of acids, mild bitterness, and clean fruit. Highly recommended.

CSPC 536277 $35-38

Terenzuola 2024 Vermentino Vigna Basse Tuscany, Italy

Here, my notes started with “Wow, just wow!” a beautiful vermentino with crisp apples, pear, oranges, and a mild honey note supporting intense white blossom aromas. Crisp, complex and polished, it’s a true gem of a white with pepper spice, and loads of mineral character on the palate supporting the fruit. Perfect to enjoy in the sun, but also with creamier dishes, sushi, or freshwater fish. Absolutely a bottle to look for.

CSPC 891277 about $32-34

Another beautiful bottle to enjoy in the fresh air when you can, and from an esteemed producer whose reds we are likely more familiar with. Fresh and lively, vibrant, and nearly bursting with grapefruit-style citrus notes but also softer, fuller fruits like pear and even quince. Lightly spicy with a fresh, dry grassiness, and a bright core of acids tying it all together. A treat to enjoy with seafood or freshwater fish, it also shines with cured meats and light snacks.

CSPC 120313 $20-24

A complete stunner on all counts. From a wetter, cooler, and trickier year than most, the blend of about 55 percent cabernet sauvignon and 45 percent merlot delivers. Beautiful fruits shine with slightly wild, woodsy aromas of herb and spice, but also cedar and earthiness; all of it nuanced and layered, evolving in the glass along the way. Still very young of course, a short time in the cellar would be ideal, with my recommendation being to open one after 2030 at the very least, with 2035 being closer to ideal.

CSPC 709301 $95-105

San Felice 2023 Vermentino Tuscany, Italy

Wild Goose 2023 Pinot Gris Okanagan Valley, Canada

Spinelli 2022 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy

Sumo Cat 2023 Riesling Rheinhessen, Germany

Villa Maria 2022 Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

Terenzuola 2022 La Merla Canaiolo

Tenuta San Guido 2023 Guidoalberto Bolgheri, Italy

Hamilton Beach Panini Press and Compact Grill

Stoked Oats "Stoked O's" Protein Oat Cereal

It's a crowded shelf in the breakfast cereal aisle, but most offerings are loaded with sugar, and who knows what else. Stoked Oats, a champion of top-quality oatmeal recently launched their own cereal with no sugar, loads of protein and prairiesourced oats, and a super small ingredient list. Super crunchy, they make for a pretty awesome snack, in a trail mix, and our nod for breakfast goes to the Mountain Maple flavour. ("Apple Pie in the Sky" for a trail snack!). 245 g bags around $8, stokedoats.com

Wow, this compact two in one grill and panini press from Hamilton Beach is so impressive, and perfect for back-to-school lunches and busy families on the go. It’s wide, nonstick cooking surface is perfect for quick grilled sandwiches or burgers; the grill plates are easy to clean, and the removable drip tray is dishwasher-friendly, making clean up a breeze. Grilled ham and cheese was the go-to test sandwich, and will be our new staple lunch thanks to this panini press. Bonus - the compact upright storage makes it easy to store. $37

Four O’Clock Teas

The inspiration for Quebecer, Johanne Dion’s, Four O’Clock Tea was when she was sipping tea in London and heard Big Ben strike 4. We love that 27 years later the family-run business is still living its values, and creating Fairtrade and organic teas with compostable teabags, recycled packaging, and nonGMO ingredients. Coconut Ginger, Pomegranate Echinacea, Lemon Ginger, make refreshing and delicious iced herbal teas, while Chai Espresso and Golden Turmeric are perfect for lattes! 16 teabags $6-7, fouroclock.ca

Skipper Otto Seafood

You know we’re all about supporting local and supporting our growers and producers, and when it comes to seafood, BC is our local go-to! We love everything about the Skipper Otto program, it’s flexible and fits perfectly with our values. They’re supporting more than forty local fishing families and paying them properly and promptly for their quality, sustainably harvested catch, and offer a wide range of seafood that is abundant each season. And - the prices are the same we’d pay anywhere! skipperotto.com

miNaturals Mushroom Protein Shake

Montreal nutrition company, miNaturals, has developed a new 6 in 1 mushroom blend protein drink - Peakshroom. Formulated with dried Colombian coffee and natural medicinal mushrooms, this was one of the tastiest mushroom-based protein shakes we have tried. No more mixing our own protein and mushrooms as they have perfected it for us! Their blend of cordyceps, turkey tail, lion’s mane, reishi, king trumpet, and shiitake mushrooms may help with energy, increased focus, and gut health - a great alternative to our usual morning

non-stick coating and subtle pastel colours of their appliances, cookware, bakeware and tableware – and now we discovered they have matching knives too! The Everyday Chef’s knife, Serrated Slicing Knife, and Paring Knife are sturdy, with sharp, German stainless-steel blades running right through the handle too, and are nicely weighted and balanced. Chopping and slicing are covered in our kitchen! $195 fromourplace.ca

...with Peter Keith

BY QUINN CURTIS AND LINDA GARSON PHOTO BY DONG KIM

If you were to ask Peter Keith who he was a year ago, he would have told you that he was a chef. But if you were to ask him now, he would tell you that he fancies himself more of an entrepreneur, and while “chef” is still one of the many hats Keith wears, his path has led him to become much more.

“I love to create, I love to build things, and at one point that looked like designing dishes, or menus, or thinking purely about food. And I think it's expanded a lot more now to thinking about creating projects, initiatives and things for the community, things for people around me. And food is a big part of that, but I think I've expanded my world view,” says Keith.

Growing up in St. Albert, he drew much of his inspiration from his parents: his mother, a wiz in the kitchen, and his father, a carpenter who Keith says could “make everything out of anything.” And by

age ten, he had already decided he wanted to be a chef.

Working as a dishwasher at Boston Pizza at the young age of 14, Keith worked his way up through the ranks in the kitchen, eventually landing a job at River House Grill in St. Albert, owned by chef Willie White. “I was 16 or 17, and I had all this experience working in franchises, and he said, ‘alright, now let me teach you how to cook and teach you what food is really about.’ And he loves to say, you're going to learn by making mistakes. That's part of the journey.”

And Keith’s path in hospitality branched off in many ways.

“I started doing my culinary apprenticeship at NAIT in Edmonton, working in fine dining restaurants, but actually got the opportunity to compete around the world. So I was part of the youngest ever culinary team from Alberta

who, in 2012, went to the World Culinary Olympics in Germany, and got a gold medal,” says Keith.

After a series of culinary adventures and personal realizations, Keith knew it was time to strike out on his own. Conversations with his future business partner led to a space — and from there, Meuwly’s was born.

“Meuwly's began with the goal of producing small batch, high-quality charcuterie products for Alberta. Made with local Alberta pork and beef and using old-world techniques, hand cuts, good quality spices, no fillers, all of that stuff. And we started building that company in 2016. We opened our storefront in 2018, and as the months went on, I really started to understand that what Meuwly's should be was not just a place to sell pure meats, but a place to be a little hub for the local food maker community,” he says.

But an all-too-familiar roadblock in 2020 forced Keith and his business partners to transition their business model, with more recent shifts taking shape last January. Keith made the decision to close the retail space entirely and instead focus on catering. “We decided to dedicate most of our kitchen space to incubating other food brands. So we have seven or eight different companies who rent space from us. They can use all the equipment, they can put stuff in our fridges, we try to introduce them to our partners and business relationships, whether that's suppliers or retailers or restaurants,” he explains.

Now, he has turned his focus to helping other restaurants and food entrepreneurs thrive. His latest venture, a new restaurant incubator called The Hub, recently opened its doors on Whyte Avenue. After countless hours of preparation, Keith marked the occasion by finally cracking open the bottle he’d been saving for just the right moment: a gin from Strathcona Spirits, distilled in Edmonton and infused with botanicals foraged from the city’s own river valley.

“I know they had a devastating fire at their distillery last year. And so I thought, I want to grab that and hold on to it because we might go a long time before there's more of that around. It's a really beautiful gin.”

So congratulations to Keith on cracking open that bottle to celebrate the opening of The Hub!

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