A gift of Christmas spirit, from one school to another

Our students gave up classroom time last week to prepare Christmas dinner. It was a little early for the big day, but then, it was not your usual family meal. They cooked enough turkey, dressing, gravy, veggies, potatoes and cranberry sauce to feed a small army. And they happily donated their time to see it through. Friday morning, they packed it all into insulated hot boxes and headed up King Street.

Setting up in the auditorium of King Edward Public School, they laid out a spread to feed 400 children, along with the teachers and parents that joined in on the fun. For some of the children in this economically depressed area of the city, it might be the only Christmas meal they get.

"Their teachers are faced with hungry kids on a daily basis, so the school approached us a couple of weeks ago to make a dinner for them," says Elaina Ravo, Liaison Kitchener's director.  "We had an overwhelming response from our students. We're very proud of the time, the energy, and the work they put into this, and their overwhelming generosity."

The handmade card some of the kids created for the culinary students says it all, in a way only young artists can muster; a simple 'Thank You', and 'Merry Christmas', and dozens of signatures in multicolored pencil.

This gift of food worked both ways though. "With all of the good that our students did," says Elaina, "we're still floating on cloud 9."

Cookie baking birthday celebration was an event for everywoman

Brigitte is celebrating her
76th birthday.

Standing in the lobby of Liaison Kitchener, a klatch of women around Susanne Mikler erupted into laughter. Some of the two dozen women at her Annual Festive Cookie Bake were long-time acquaintances of her family, here to help celebrate her mother Brigitte's birthday. Some were new to the event, and to her lively sense of humour.

From the minute they stepped inside the door though, their intent was clear: have fun in the kitchen, sip some wine, share some laughs with sisters, daughters, girlfriends. Their tables were all set up ahead of time - mixer ready, recipes printed, ingredients measured. Each team worked up a different variety of cookies – chocolate-almond crackles, cherry cheesecake cookies, glitter balls - enough cookies, it seemed, to feed an entire neighbourhood.

Suzanne reminisced with old friends and got acquainted with new ones, topping up wine glasses as she made her way around the room. Like the serenity of sunrise disappearing with the awakening city, the quiet order of the early morning slipped into a cacophony of banter and laughter by the time the last of the batter hit the baking pans.

Liaison students and grads lent a hand, making sure everything made it into the oven and, more importantly, out again.  As the ladies made their way into the dining room for lunch, their support team in the kitchen finished up, cleaned up and packed up. A mixed tin of cookies was each baker-for-the-day’s reward. 

What started out as an event to honor one woman's journey is evolving into support for women in the larger community. In the past, the entry fee for the Cookie Bake covered the cost of supplies and lunch. This year, though, the bakers paid a little more and brought a non-perishable food item too: At Chef Elaina's request donations and proceeds went to food banks. The extra baking was destined for Anselma House (a refuge for mothers and children at risk) so they could have something to enjoy through the holidays. 

For more photos visit our Facebook page.

Baking is the prodigy of chemistry and artform

Baking is an art form that relies on chemistry to make it work. With some good recipes and a handful of staples, you can make a variety of breads, cakes, puddings and pastries. But what if you want to change the texture, improve the flavour, or alter ingredients to suit your specialized diet?

The baking component of our diploma programs helps students understand the fundamentals of baking – how the chemistry works – giving them a solid foundation on which to build their skills, expand their repertoire, and create a range of unique products. 

These photos were all taken in the past few months, of dishes that our Advanced students made for our Friday lunches. 

Send-off lunch was a feast for the eyes

Meisha (left) and Siavash carefully layer the three-coloured soup.

It was the final day in the kitchen for our Advanced students; the last of ten Friday lunches they created together at the school. The tables groaned under a festive buffet – a gastronomic and visual feast, from the three-coloured soup to the yule log flanked by meringue snowmen.

Diners from pre-school to octogenarian packed the house, spilling over into the quieter-than-usual kitchen. Most of the action centered on the eye-popping spread that stretched the length of the hallway. As the sushi, pan de jamon, lamb kebab, paella, salt-covered sea bass, beef tenderloin and other savories disappeared, traffic shifted to the dining room, where a cascade of fruit and other sweet finishes took centre stage.

When the last coffee was served, and the few guests remaining were lost in conversation, Chef Dean called a huddle in the kitchen. His speech was short and congratulatory – passing on from diners their many compliments and requests for recipes. He added his own words of encouragement, as the students head out to apply their new skills in the culinary field. Chef Elaina, director of the school, also spoke as they leaned into the tête-à- tête. She seemed reluctant to let her fledglings go after nurturing them for thirty weeks, and assured them that the doors are always open here and their visits always welcome.

Andrew puts the finishing touches on the chicken, seafood and rabbit paella.

To view more photos visit our Facebook page. 

Cooking the Books....

Advanced students Siavesh, Michael and Kathy with Greta and Janet Podleski, authors of
The Looneyspoons Collection, and hosts of Eat, Shrink and Be Merry on the Food Network. 

It’s not every day that culinary students get to cook in front of a live audience. Rarer still is the chance to work alongside celebrities in their field. It was a remarkable day, then, when three of our Advanced students took to the 'Be Healthy' stage at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair on November 3 with cookbook authors and Food Network stars Greta and Janet Podleski of Eat, Shrink and Be Merry fame.  

The program was hosted by Taste Canada Cooks the Books, a two-day lead in to Taste Canada –Food Writing Awards. Authors of cookbooks that were nominated for awards were paired with Canadian culinary students to create a recipe from their newest collection.

(L to R) Kathy, Siavash and Michael at the Royal Winter Fair.

While Siavash, Michael and Kathy worked together on stage to produce the “Thigh Master’ (balsamic braised chicken), the Podleski sisters narrated from the sidelines, explaining what the students were doing, and why they chose the recipe from their latest cookbook, The Looneyspoons Collection.