Chef's Tips: Good Tidings, Good Food
- Keane Straub
- 11 minutes ago
- 5 min read
We’ve always featured chefs found in Alberta establishments, from tea houses to brewhouses, fine dining rooms and casual cafés. But this year we’re doing things a little differently and putting the spotlight on Alberta chefs who work with food charities. Everyone deserves nutritious, delicious food, and these four chefs bring these experiences to those experiencing food insecurities year-round.
For December’s Chef’s Tips, Alberta chefs give to thee… three bread puddings – two with caramel - and chocolate pistachio cookies! We admit we were a bit hesitant when bread pudding was on everyone’s mind. But, as you’ll see below, these recipes could not be more different from one to the next. And, we love getting a new cookie recipe to add to our cookie trays, dunk in our hot chocolate, or leave out for Santa – if they last until then!
Serving Edmonton for over 50 years, Edmonton Meals on Wheels dishes up fresh daily meals and convenient frozen options for everyone. There’s no age limit, just good food! Their new walk-in service provides access to frozen meals anytime during business hours.
With 35+ years of chef experience, executive chef Jason Wild puts the emphasis on freshness. “We make the lasagna in-house and use fresh vegetables year-round.” The food service is also food-security aware and seeks out opportunities for food rescue. “In the last year we have rescued over 1,300 kg of produce and fruit that would have gone to waste and used them in our daily meals and desserts,” says Chef Jason.
He credits his late grandmother and foster dad as influences, explaining their love of food, entertaining, and feeding family and friends. “You could just feel the love in everything they made,” he adds.
When it comes to holiday baking, he says the best thing to do is keep things simple but memorable. Leave the 50-step recipes for someone else – the ones with fewer steps are easier to adjust and make your own.
Decadent Gingerbread Pudding and Caramel Sauce sounds labour-intense, but it comes together quickly with easy-to-find ingredients. “Gingerbread is a traditional item that has been around almost forever, in cakes and houses. This recipe takes the components and turns them into a soft and warm cake accented with the caramel sauce.”
While you can be a little lax on the measuring when it comes to cooking, when you’re baking you have to be precise. “Adding 1½ teaspoons of something instead of just 1 can almost guarantee that it won’t turn out properly.”
On the first Sunday of every month, you can find Chef Russ McArthur at Ronald MacDonald House (RMH), something that he’s been doing for the last nine years since joining Calgary’s CRAFT as executive chef. For him, it’s all about continuing the legacy with the others from his kitchen crew. “It’s a great way to give back to the community,” he explains, “and we get to have some fun flexing our culinary muscles with some of the menu items.”
It's a bustling kitchen with a crowd of hungry guests, and Chef Russ says the best way for the public to get involved is by donating food. “It’s really beneficial to the team at the house to have a large variety of items they can use to keep meals fresh and interesting for long-term guests.”
For him, simple food done well with good ingredients results in a great meal, and he loves bringing that belief with him to RMH. “It can be challenging to be motivated to cook after a long, stressful day. A great home-cooked meal can change someone’s day, and sometimes it’s the one thing they really look forward to.”
Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding is one of those desserts he says isn’t seen much these days, but it’s incredibly easy to make. “I’m an adamant believer in reducing food waste, and bread pudding ties into that with its use leftover bread. This is a recipe I’ve been making for years, while slowly adjusting it to be better every time.”
As Calgary’s second-largest food bank, and the third largest in Alberta, Community Kitchen Programs of Calgary goes beyond providing food. “Our focus is addressing food insecurity through educational programming, as well as helping to remove barriers in order for families to access healthy and nutritious food,” says Anna Mandziuk.
As team lead, pastry chef, and counsellor of Calgary’s Cooking, Chef Anna teaches people how to make healthy food on a budget and is inspired by empowering people with the knowledge and skills to create their own meals.
Recognizing the connection between food and mental health, she says it’s important to remember to nourish both the body and the brain with nutritious food. “It’s very challenging to go through life if we are coming from a place of hunger, whether it’s because we can’t afford healthy food, or we lack the basic skills to create a healthy meal.” If you’re looking to help this holiday season, consider volunteering with the Good Food Box Program, donating canned goods, or making a financial contribution to the organization.
When it comes to the holidays, Chef Anna says anything that is considered a comfort food are her favourite things to bake. “Fruit crisps or pies, coffee cakes, and anything chocolate – simple recipes, simple ingredients, and not time-consuming.”
Chocolate Pistachio Cookies check all the boxes and have a touch of nostalgia. “This recipe is from when I owned and ran a pastry shop,” she explains. “We only made these cookies at Christmas, several batches of them, and we’d sell out each time.” We daresay they won’t last long on the cookie trays, either!
Learning to cook from his grandmother fueled his curiosity about the world, and Chef Manuel Baharona has spent many years traveling and exploring different cultures and cuisine. His adventures inform his menus, and seeing people happy as they try new dishes or traditional recipes fills his cup. “Food is a love language,” he explains. “It brings people together.” Building on this principal brought him to Calgary Meals on Wheels, where he served as executive chef.
Knowing the power of keeping things simple when it comes to baking, he won’t say no to a tiramisu and enjoys bringing friends and family together to make cookies. Nothing could be easier – or more enjoyable – than a dish he first made at only 12 years old, Budin Latino, or Bread Pudding.
“After improving this recipe, I started selling this in El Salvador to my friends and neighbours, motivating me to keep cooking and eventually learning savoury food.” Budin Latino is traditionally made with leftover bread mixed with custard and topped with bananas and raisins. But for Chef Manny, a recipe is a guide you can express yourself with, and in this case, he created Pumpkin Bread Pudding using croissants, and topped with caramel sauce.
“Never cook angry,” he adds. “Follow your imagination and taste and be adventurous. When I started making this dish I never measured anything, I just sprinkled and added stuff until the spirit of love said, ‘That’s enough, Manny!’” Take a page from him and go for it – but now he advises writing down the changes you make along the way!
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