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On Thursday, May 7th, 2015, the Alberta Ate Chef Collaborative was deployed to welcome the visiting delegates of the National Congress on Culture to Edmonton. This would be the very first time that the culinary arts are highlighted and showcased in the foremost manner. Working together with our partners at the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, seven of the city’s top chefs and an Albertan distillery produced an exceptional sampling of Alberta’s terroir. Located in the stunning Art Gallery of Alberta, guests were also greeted with music from local talent Garden Bates, and were welcome to enjoy the current exhibits at the Art Gallery throughout the evening.
View the photo gallery.
Opening remarks were made by Catherine Crowston, Executive Director & Chief Curator of the Art Gallery of Alberta, followed by Carolyn Campbell, Deputy Minister of Culture & Tourism. The final greetings were brought by Alessandro Porcelli, the creator of Cook It Raw, an international gathering of chefs that was announced to be coming to Alberta this year.
Guests made their way around to each of the chef stations, engaging in conversations with the chefs themselves and learning about what piece of Alberta inspired their offerings. The evening wouldn’t have been complete without a sampling of Alberta’s own craft spirits from Eau Claire Distillery. Located in Southern Alberta in Turner Valley, Eau Claire shared the “seed to sip” story with their Parlour Gin, Spring Equinox, and Three Point Vodka.
Participating Chefs:
Chef David Omar (Zinc): Saskatoon berry perogies with butter, caramelized sugar, Spice Box whiskey & whipped cream
Chef Shane Chartrand (Sage): Bison Brisket with beet relish, stewed rutabaga, parsley & chestnuts
Chef Edgar Gutierrez (Tres Carnales): Tacos de Cerdo Guisado - Pork braised in tomatillos, onions, chiles & cilantro with pickled radishes
Chef Josh Dissanayake (North 53): Duck Rilette with salt cured foie gras & sweet n sour plum
Chef Evert Maris (Get Cooking Edmonton): Alberta Bison Ranch croquette with Mo-Na fermented mushroom powder, red onion, August Organics parsnip cream & microgreens
Chef Lino Oliveira (SABOR): Piri piri lettuce cups
Chef Joao Dachery (Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse): Charcoal-grilled garlic rump steak with eggplant caponata, marcona almonds & chimichuri
The event took place at the Art Gallery of Alberta; a great venue for a fancy gathering with a live band of drums and piano to entertain the guests that were walking around sampling the bite-sized meals cooked by the chefs. As guests approached the stand for each restaurant, chefs graciously and thoroughly described exactly what their guests were about to eat. Of course, everything they said sounded (and was) delicious.
Sage chef Shane Chartrand cooked “parsley stewed puree, roasted beets with a little bit of pickle, roasted dehydrated chestnuts, and bison brisket with smoked sea salt.”
Chartrand is a big advocate for using Alberta products.
“I try to stay true to what I’m trying to build on my own and Alberta Culinary helps in a big, big way,” Chartrand said. “I try to use Alberta products and even with Sage in the River Cree, we use as much local as we can.”
Edgar Gutierrez, the chef for both Tres Carnales and Rostizado, is extremely complimentary of what local Alberta farms produce.
“We’re really lucky to have quality proteins like pork, chicken and beef,” Gutierrez said. “In Mexico, I feel like they have really good vegetables, but their protein is not as good as what we have. Alberta is one of the best in the world when it comes to protein.”
North 53 sous chef Josh Dissanayake likes to buy local because it helps out the local industry including his friends at Edmontonian farms.
“Every Saturday we go to the market and we try to get everything local,” Dissanayake said. “The duck is from Four Whistle Farms. We try to get the best ingredients and if it happens to be local then that’s a plus for us and we like to help a lot of our friends [at farms] like at Sangudo Growers.”
Chartrand, looking at his surroundings of chefs, breathtaking food, and Albertans who appreciate the creativity of these talented chefs, is excited about the future of Alberta culinary.
“All of Alberta has a massive stage ahead of us where we can do things and invent things, create things and showcase Alberta’s talent.”
National Congress Blog, May 8, 2015
This article was posted in Blog Event Recap and tagged: alberta ate chef culinary culture edmonton event local tourism
