Less than a year ago we launched Cuisine Canada Blog. With a simple layout and an even simpler name, we tentatively stepped into the online world.

But with the Canadian Culinary Book Awards on the horizon and a fresh infusion of members, we thought it was time to step things up a bit. So, we’ve got a new, more descriptive name — Cuisine Canada Scene — and a spiffy, oh-so-slick magazine-style look. All the content has been transferred over, so if you missed a post, don’t worry, it’s all there.

If you have us bookmarked, please change the address to http://cuisinecanadascene.com/.

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See you at our new location.

(GUELPH, On) Can you judge a book by the cover? The expert panel for Cuisine Canada and the University of Guelph’s Canadian Culinary Book Awards wouldn’t dream of it. To select the best of more than 50 entries, some of Canada’s top food professionals cracked the spine, rolled up their sleeves, tested recipes and read every word. The winners will be announced November 6, 2009, on opening day of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, in Toronto. This year’s finalists illustrate the range and expertise of Canadian food writers.

Short-listed in the English Cookbook Category are:

• The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book: The Essentials of Home Baking by Elizabeth Baird (Transcontinental Books, Montreal)
• Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes by Jennifer McLagan (McClelland & Stewart Ltd., Toronto)
• Small Plates for Sharing, Laurie Stempfle, Ed. (Company’s Coming Publishing Limited, Edmonton).

Short-listed in the English Special Interest Category, books about food, but not cookbooks, are:

• Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (Random House Canada, Toronto)
• Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood by Taras Grescoe (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Toronto).

Three books were short-listed for the Canadian Food Culture Category, books that best illustrate Canada’s rich culinary heritage and food culture:

• Anita Stewart’s Canada by Anita Stewart (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Toronto)
• Apples to Oysters: A Food Lover’s Tour of Canadian Farms by Margaret Webb (Penguin Group Canada, Toronto)
• A Taste of Canada: A Culinary Journey by Rose Murray (Whitecap Books Ltd., North Vancouver).

The contest is also open to Canadian French-language books. Short-listed in the French Cookbook Category are:

• Gibier à poil et à plume: découper, apprêter et cuisiner par Jean-Paul Grappe (Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal)
• Ricardo : parce qu’on a tous de la visite: cuisiner en toutes circonstances par Ricardo (Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal)
• Les secrets des sauces révélés par Jérôme Ferrer (Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal).

Short-listed the French Special Interest Category, books about food but not cookbooks are:

• • Manger, Un jeu d’enfant par Guylaine Guèvremont and Marie-Claude Lortie (Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal)
• Répertoire des fromages du Québec, Édition augmentée by Richard Bizier and Roch Nadeau (Les Éditions du Trécarré-Groupe Librex inc., Montréal)
• Les vins du nouveau monde, Volume 2, by Jacques Orhon, (Les Éditions de l’Homme, Montréal).

In the French Canadian Food Culture Category is:

• Québec capitale gastronomique by Anne L Desjardins (Les Éditions La Presse, Montréal).

For more than 140 years, the University of Guelph has contributed to Canadian cuisine in its programs in agriculture, food science, hospitality and tourism management and is the home of one of Canada’s best cookbook collections.

The Canadian Culinary Book awards are sponsored by: Agricultural Adaptation Council, CanolaInfo, Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Harbinger Communications, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Parmalat Canada, The Ancaster Old Mill, Beef Information Centre, Niagara College Teaching Winery, The Fairmont Royal York, Niagara College, Borealis Grille & Bar, George Brown College, Georgian College, Liaison College, Rootham Gourmet Preserves, Stratford Chefs School and Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association.

For more information about the awards visit the Canadian Culinary Book Awards page on the University of Guelph website.

Better than burnt smores?

For many children summer camp meant hiking, canoeing, scraped knees and adventures. The postcards home were scribbled out of guilt and only when rained forced us indoors .

But the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver’s Summer Camp sends kids into the kitchen not the woods — rain or shine. Under the tutelage of Chef Barbara Finley, young would-be chefs  learn to navigate a kitchen, prepare meals and plan a healthy menu.

Parents might imagine their children returning home with expanded palates and able to help prepare dinner, but what did the kids think? Was it Hell’s Kitchen or The Best Summer Ever?

In the spirit of summer camp postcards, Amy Proulx asked some young campers to write about their adventures at cooking camp. Below are letters from two of the attendees. They gush about gnocchi, plan on profiteroles and even sing the praises of kitchen safety.

The kids are as remarkable as the program and its instructor.

Spencer rolls bread dough

Dear Chefs and Food Writers in Canada,

I’ve been busy at summer culinary camp, a course that teaches us children to cook like chefs.  This course is held in the Northwest Culinary Academy, a professional cooking school.  Chef Barbara Finley is the head chef and instructor.

Every day we have a three course menu that we prepare.  First, Chef Barb shows the class how to make the specific recipe.  We are then separated into groups.  Chef Barb selects people that attended the Northwest Culinary Academy as group leaders.  We are also taught about kitchen safety like how to handle a knife properly and other safety tips such as cleaning up a spill immediately or to never run in the kitchen.  Once we’re finished with one or two foods, there is a snack break with juice, water and fruits or vegetables.  Once we finish our last item on the menu everyone is happy because the end of the day is the time to eat what we make!

Personally, I think that the course is an amazing course because it really teaches you to be responsible around the kitchen.  The summer camp is also a great way to meet new people but the best part, I think, is the food.  We learn tons of amazing recipes and they all taste delicious.  When I finish the course I know I can make delicious food by myself and I definitely know I’ll be coming back.

Bye for now,
Spencer Louie, 11 years old

I’m having a great time at the Culinary Camp at Northwest Culinary Academy. We’ve been making a lot of amazing things that I never knew I could make. Everything we do is great fun and at the same time I’m learning a lot. For example, Gnocchi is amazingly simple. I always thought it would take hours upon hours to make it. The sauce we made for the Gnocchi was really simple too! I’m beginning to think that the Italians just want to make it seem difficult to make their food so that they can keep their secrets to themselves. But, we aren’t just doing Italian food, we’ve done some foods from all around the world.

The first day was all breakfast foods, like smoothies, scones, raspberry French toast… things of that sort. The other days we made recipes for a patio party, French food and the best BC has to offer. I’m really looking forward to making these things at home. I think I’ll start with the profiteroles. They were really good! And, not as difficult as you would think!

My favourite thing about this camp is that it really makes it easy to do it yourself. Even at home, I can make these wonderful concoctions with relative ease. Next time I see you, I’ll have a full, three course meal made for you. And, you’ll love it. Without a doubt. Hope to see you soon.

Kyle Jenkins, 14 years old

______________________________
Chef Barbara Finley is the chef-instructor for the Northwest Culinary Academy’s Summer Camp. She is also the director of the Project Chef Program, educating youth across the lower BC mainland about the wonders of cooking and eating fresh.

For more information about the programs, please contact the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver.

Photos © Leeanne Munn and published with permission. More photos of this camp can be found on Leeanne’s photostream.

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the University of Guelph had a field day on August 18, 2009, showing the potential for growing a broader diversity of field crops. The variety of crops spanned the continents. From sea buckthorn, to globe artichokes, bitter melon, and goji, over 35 new field crops were introduced to Ontario growers.

Alan McKeown, Associate Professor at the University of Guelph, and one of hosts at the event commented, “Crop diversification is important to build economic strength, opportunities for growers and consumers, local production such as 100 mile diets, diversified food base for culinary uses including ethnic uses, and food security.”

“In order for all of the above to happen, there must be markets. Culinary professionals can help develop markets for growers and themselves by buying local in season, working with growers to ensure supply. They can ask growers to supply products they wish to use, if not available in Ontario or Canada. It’s a two way street between growers and the user of the produce.”

The Challenge
The challenge for producers is to fit into the value chain. Markets have to be in place for alternative crops. Producers have to be able to match quality parameters, and price points currently set by imported product. Before producers start growing novel crops it is vital to do extensive market research, besides the obvious research into crop management.  Post-harvest management, and appropriateness to culinary applications are as important as agronomic management when it comes to the success of a crop. 

People in the culinary fields help producers by creating market interest and demand for locally grown products.  As much as there is the need for farmers to research potential markets, people in the culinary sector need to seek out new products, and highlight their unique qualities to the consuming public.  Lots of challenges, but many great opportunities. 

Are there fruits or vegetables that you wished could be sourced locally? Have you grown a novel crop, and had success getting it to market?

__________________________________

Written by Amy Proulx

Garnet Beauties straight from Niagara County, Ontario

This is one of the best peach seasons I can remember. These Garnet Beauties were tender and bursting with juice. They tasted so much like a peach should I have eaten half my weight in them already. Or so it feels.

How passionate am I? We’ve been debating the pros and cons of buying a new freezer for two years and a single basket of peaches pushed us into the YES camp. I simply must save some of this for the dull, gray winter ahead.

Last year, Blazing Stars were my favourite. I have never tasted a peachier peach. Unfortunately, I learned about them at the very end of their cycle. The next week, when I returned to the Farmers’ Market, with a wad of cash and with my husband in tow to lug the bounty to the car, I was told they were done for the season. I almost cried.

Do you have a passion for peaches? If so, what variety do you wait impatiently for? Is a peach just a peach, or do you use different varieties for different things?

Horsemeat is a $60 million industry in Canada.

Here’s a topic you won’t see in the food magazines — horsemeat. Chef’s love it, animals lovers balk at the idea and the Japanese want us to ship more.

But this $60-million industry has virtually no regulations and generates a lot of controversy.

To set the record straight, Cuisine Canada’s intrepid Dana McCauley did a lot of digging. In her article Behind the Barn Door: The Hidden Facts about Canada’s Horsemeat Industry, McCauley logs dozens of hours talking to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, meat specialists, the Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada and a horsemeat rancher who asked not to be named.

Amongst McCauley’s conclusions, she writes, “I’ve developed a strong opinion about what’s wrong with the Canadian horsemeat business, too. It isn’t how it’s regulated or that it’s cruel to kill and eat such pretty animals, but that the rules currently allow packers to put poor quality meat with a Canadian stamp on it into the international food system.”

It’s a fascinating read on a topic few will touch.  Even if you’ll never eat horsemeat, food professionals will find this article useful, eye-opening and thought provoking.

Discretionary fortification is the addition of nutrients to foods, with the intent of restoring and increasing nutrient levels above and beyond those found in unprocessed food.  For many, the concern is that discretionary fortification will allow junk food to be fortified.   In many regards, we are already sliding down the slippery slope.

So, my sugary cereal is fortified, and has to be fortified because it is a staple food.  White flour, which many consider the nutritional equivalent of a bowl of sugar, is fortified to the hilt, and has been for decades.  My tub of pomegranate flavoured apple sauce, or “enhanced” iced tea, because of added vitamin C and “antioxidants”, are not foods.  They are considered dietary supplements regulated by the Natural Health Products Directorate.  All this, even though the amount of vitamin C is minuscule compared to effective doses.  It was only through a blur of legislation that calcium fortified orange juice went from being a dietary supplement, complete with a drug identification number, to being a fortified food product.

One could say, the industry is reacting to consumer demand for healthy food by creating fortified products, but one could also say they are creating a consumer demand for products we never imagined.  The public’s vague impressions of health effects of micronutrients and phytochemicals do not always match the reality of the products.

Most food processors would just say we are really just matching the regulatory environment of our major trading partners.  All of my efforts to obtain a copy of the FCPC report have come up fruitless, however this is not a new issue.  The Canadian regulatory environment is slow.  Some say this is for proper safety evaluation, however others say this is just a lack of initiative, and coordination across all the regulatory bodies in food quality and safety.

Part of the push to fortify food products with micronutrients and other beneficial components such as phytochemicals or essential fatty acids, comes from the potential to making health claims, whether on the package, or through other marketing initiatives.  Marketers love touting the wonderful effects of their new product, real or otherwise, because health and nutrition sell.  We buy products with perceived health benefits, even if it is often impossible to eat the quantity required to consume an effective dose.

Health Canada has been also debating how to tread into the mess of health claims.  What an interesting dilemma, just because a healthy quality has been attributed to a food doesn’t necessarily mean that the health benefit will be seen by the consumer of the product.  Fortification of certain nutrients (for example vitamin A, or iron) must be regulated, as over-consumption may put individuals at risk.  But for many other nutrients, there is a lot of research to cover before we understand the effects on public health, both positive and negative, from long term and high level consumption.

So, are you for fortification?  Is a discretionary fortification “free for all” going to fuel junk food sales?

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Written by Dr. Amy Proulx

Photo © Tim Skillern Published under a Creative Commons License.

Silver Medal Winner -- Canadian Culinary Book Awards 2008

Menus from an Orchard Table: Celebrating the Food and Wine of the Okanagan
Written by Heidi Noble
Reviewed by Christina Burridge

Hard to find a better time to re-read this silver medal winner from the 2008 Canadian Culinary Book Awards than the August long weekend when my own Vancouver Island garden is bursting with zucchini, tomatoes, eggplants, peas, beans and potatoes.

A summer visit to the Penticton Farmers Market ultimately led Heidi Noble and husband Michael Dinn to buy an orchard and country farmhouse on the Okanagan Valley’s Naramata Bench, home to some of the best boutique wineries in BC.  It was 2002, long before the 100-mile diet became famous, and the recently married pair, thrilled with the quality of local produce, had grand plans for an Italian-inspired, state of the art food and wine learning centre modeled on the (now defunct) Copia Center in the Napa Valley.  Big dreams hit bureaucratic reality and instead they launched a series of Gastronomic Getaways on weekends in the summer of 2003 all the while working four days a week a five-hour drive away in Vancouver and nurturing plans for a full time guesthouse, cooking classes and dinners that eventually evolved into the very successful Joie Farm Wines.

Menus from an Orchard Table (Whitecap 2007) charts the couple’s journey over the course of three hectic summers as they build an outdoor kitchen, cook dinners, teach classes, set up the guest house, and start making wine, helped by a parade of friends, relatives, neighbours, visiting chefs and itinerant cooks who collectively created Joie, a joyful celebration of Wendell Berry’s maxim that “eating is an agricultural act.”

The book is the story of Joie, illustrated by photos illuminating Noble’s culinary philosophy that all the great cuisines of the world are based on local ingredients, told first through a series of set menus from the summers of 2003, 2004 and 2005 (complete with BC and international wine pairings) and then a tribute to some of the producers of the glorious raw material that ultimately inspired the recipes that make up its final section.

While the story has lots of charm, it’s those recipes, especially the vegetable ones, that make the book a keeper, one worth returning to summer after summer.  Though Noble trained as a chef, most of the recipes are straightforward so long as you can get the first rate ingredients they need.  I’ll never make her Pheasant Ballotines but the simplicity of the Chilled Yellow Tomato Soup or the hot Zuppa di Zucchine is perfect when every day brings more bounty from the garden.

Menus from an Orchard Table brings people and place together in the birth of a new wine country cuisine, a “convergence of history” that neatly answers Noble’s question.  Why go to Tuscany for a vacation in wine country?

Organic Black Raspberries. Better or not?

Yet another press uproar, yet another set of watercooler debates. The Food Standards Agency in the UK reopened the debate over whether organic food is more nutritious than conventional food. Their two full reports (First Report and Second Report) and accompanying article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest that there is no difference when it comes to the nutritional content, and the health impact. And this has people talking.

After a thorough review of several hundred papers, extraction of relevant data, and comparison of conclusions, in general most nutrients were not different. For me, as a scientist looking at this paper, I am not surprised. But the average person is confused. Articles like the one in the New York Times questions the results. If some organic food has 53.7% more beta-carotene, how can it be deemed “the same”?

The Criteria
The Food Standards Agency had extremely stringent selection criteria for evaluation of the papers. Selection was based on various attributes which enhance the credibility of the study. More than  100 of the original 162 papers reviewed were rejected for not meeting the stringent criteria for the analytical methods.

As one could imagine, there are a myriad of ways to compare organic and conventional foods. Food basket surveys are quite common, because they are easy to execute. Just go shopping for comparable products, take them back to the lab, and analyze away. However there is no accounting for provenance, cultivar, and shelf life of the product. Too many unknown factors that can not be accounted.

The more thorough studies, using conventional and organic agricultural plots side by side to eliminate environmental effects (weather, soil, pests), were far fewer. These are the most credible studies, however because of the difficulty in execution, they were not common.

The Food Standards Agency study characterized a vast number of components within the compared foods. Of course, not every study included all the various components. Another layer of complexity to complicate the matter.

Did they miss the point of going organic?
None of the studies looked at what was not in the food — pesticide residues. Few studies looked at phytochemicals, such as antioxidants, or other compounds with possible health benefits beyond the vitamins and minerals.

The Food Standards Agency study also looked at the health benefits of eating a predominantly organic diet, as compared to a conventional diet. Again, a very sticky mess of variables to deal with. As to be expected, people who consume organic foods tend to have higher disposable income. They tend to be more health conscientious, and therefore more likely to have made other healthy lifestyle choices. It is extremely difficult to separate these variables from a determinants of health study.

In the end, the primary problem of the reviewers was actually finding relevant, and well executed studies which would provide useful data. The authors concluded there just had not been sufficient studies done to make a fair conclusion.

The challenges of analysis
Meta analyses and systematic reviews like these often seem to compare “apples to oranges”. It is so difficult to develop a statistical model that can authentically represent the multitude of data. Instead, potentially valid data is rejected rather than trying to squeeze it to fit a mathematical model. This analysis was meticulous, and extremely thorough, but I don’t think it will silence any debates over whether to eat organic food or conventional food.

Limited definition of healthy?
The greatest issue that this study raised in my mind was that the scientists concluded that the primary reason for choosing organic was for reasons of nutrition and health. I believe there are diverse reasons for choosing organic, environmental, social, economic, that were not addressed in this study. Science, in this case, must be joined to other disciplines in order to make a clearer judgment.

Your turn
You be the judge. There is no right answer whether to eat organic or not. The only answer is to keep informed, and keep working to improve all styles of agriculture for the betterment of our health, our society, our economy and our environment.

How did you feel when the findings hit the news? If you buy organic, will you continue to do so? Or do you think organics is just a gimmick?

Purple Cauliflower

Dale Kropf, founder of the Hometown Grocers’ Co-op, felt his customers were underserved with local products.  To address this, he left his six Sobey’s Foodland franchises, and became independent as L&M Food Markets.

By independently sourcing product, rather than going through national level corporate buyers, Kropf is able to purchase more from local producers, and create more tangible links between farmer and consumer.

That said, there is a cost.  Some products are more expensive, but have freshness and social value on their side.  Leaving the corporate environment means no support network for purchasing and marketing, but may give flexibility to make strategic choices for a different market edge.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/07/14/f-grocery-stores-independent-buy-local-meat-produce.html

Do corporate policies influence how you source product? What are your barriers to sourcing local? Do local sources increase customer loyalty?