CHEFS OF THE KAWARTHAS
By Karen Irvine
CHEF TAMMY LAROCHE
T ammy
Laroche is well k nown in Peterborough. As the owner of the now closed Parkway Banquet Hall, I’m sure you have all, at one time, tasted her delicious dinners and sweet deserts. Nowadays, Tammy is serving much more important people - the seniors at Kawartha Heights Retirement Living - and is loving it. What got Tammy to start cooking? Life . ‘I started cooking at 5 when mom helped me bake my first cake. My sister was sick for years and years and I had to cook meals for my family when I was nine years old. I ended up being the cook because my brother didn’t, and my dad worked 3 jobs. I’ve always loved food, my family has always been centered around food.’ Her first real job was cooking at 15. Tammy worked for the two previous owners of The Parkway Banquet Hall, and took it over in 2005. She hired an amazing cook, Alec Miliaris, and learned many of her skills from him over the years he was with her. When he retired, she found no one could do it the way he did except her, so she took over the cooking and hired soux chefs to help out. ‘I loved the Parkway. It was the best of both worlds. I’m a people person and a foodie, so what better way to do it than to help people celebrate their weddings and anniversaries.’ The Parkway was well known for the sweets that they baked. Everything was from scratch. That has carried forward to her job at Kawartha Page 8
Tammy with one of the residents in the Dining Room
Heights Retirement Living, having started there in March 2018. Everything is done in house, and the deserts are all from scratch. That is part of why Tammy loves working there. But the main reason is the residents. ‘They are phenomenal,
