Our first chef-led virtual event had us in our own kitchens, cooking under the guidance of Chef Corby Pearce from Evolve Catering. It was a fantastic meal with plenty of fun interaction - a true example of friendship through gastronomy!
Our first ever virtual event was a Mexican extravaganza, led by two of our very own members. Fun was had, wine was sipped, and delicious food was enjoyed.
Chef Fabrizio Rossi, was born in Rome,Italy where he trained in culinary arts under Chef Sciullo. Fabrizio left medical school to pursue his passion for food and has worked in the prestigious hotel Habitart and at Casina Valadiere under chef Massimo D'Innocente.
Fabrizio has spent precisely half his life in the kitchen. That's what I know how to do. "I love eating and cooking because of my mom. She was a single mom and working all day long and coming home late and opening the fridge and making a five-course meal in half an hour after a long day. She was amazing! That's where my passion comes from. I always wanted to learn how she did everything so that I could continue her traditions in the kitchen".
Fab as he is known by friends and family, made Winnipeg his home in 2008. He is always proud to support local businesses and takes pride in using the freshest and highest quality ingredients in the food he creates. "My secret ingredient is the LOVE!" I love to create food that puts a smile on our guest’s face.
Kristen is a born and raised Winnipegger, while Kyle hails from Toronto. This culinary pair met at cooking school at George Brown College in the Culinary Management Program in Toronto and have been together ever since. After having trained together they went on to work for the Head Judge of Top Chef Canada, Mark McEwan, at his restaurants, ONE and Bymark. Kristen has worked at 529 Wellington, Scarpetta, Gallery Grill as Sous Chef and Manager of Les Louises Catering Company. Kyle has worked for Buca, Sous Chef at Five Doors North and was Head Butcher at The Healthy Butcher.
Both Red Seal chefs they brought their training back to Winnipeg in 2012 to open CHEW restaurant and start a family. The couple opened their kitchen in August 2013. Chew, which is an amalgamation of their last names, features a menu that is earthy yet sophisticated. The charming café hit the mark with its attention to local ingredients from small producers. Their globally inspired regional cuisine was an instant hit with food lovers and critics too. The intimate dining room was on many 'best new restaurant' lists that year. So, it makes perfect sense that Kristen and Kyle, expanded their horizons. The pair opened The Store Next Door, a bakery, espresso bar and prepared foods shop. The new business is located—you guessed it—right next door to Chew. Long wooden communal tables, repurposed barn wood, bright white subway tiles and shelves loaded with preserves and pickles decorate the space. Every day between eight and 10 varieties of freshly baked breads are on the racks alongside sweet and savoury pastries. French, Eastern European and Southeast Asian baked favourites—like croissants, coconut buns and knishes—are also fresh from the ovens.
Just last year the couple further expanded their Winnipeg culinary empire, opening Lark, a café, bakery and market which opened at 91 Albert St. This incredibly busy pair also run a full catering business.
Dan is the Executive Chef and part owner at Urban Prairie Cuisine. Urban Prairie Cuisine runs out of the Winnipeg Winter Club, providing food and service for the bistro and WWC events, however their main business is catering.
Urban Prairie Cuisine has two mobile kitchens which allows them to cook hot, fresh food on site. Urban Prairie has made a name for themselves in the wedding industry and is also able to provide food and service for in-home functions, corporate events and they've even travelled to Lake of the Woods for events!
Chef Dan's love of cooking began at a young age and he began his training at Kildonan East High School in 2002. His first cooking job was at Pony Coral at the tender age of 15.
In 2002, Dan was part of the amazing culinary team that provided food for Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Winnipeg!
Dan received most of his on the job training from working at the Manitoba Club, where he was an integral part of the kitchen team for 13 years. During this time at the Manitoba Club, Dan competed in Chaîne des Rôtisseurs competitions for 6 years, worked at the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club for 7 summers where he was the executive chef for 6 of those years, attended Peterson Global Foods for his second level apprenticeship, graduating with honours and receiving his Red Seal.
In 2017, he left the Manitoba Club to further his career and gain valuable experience at Urban Prairie Cuisine.
Shortly after starting this new job, an opportunity arose for him and his now wife, Danielle, to buy into the company and partner up with Elsie, one of the original owners. One day, down the road, Dan and Danielle will fully own Urban Prairie Cuisine.
Fun personal facts about Chef Dan:
- Dan was born in Germany and moved to Winnipeg when he was 5 years old.
- He loves to build new projects and fix old ones around both home and work.
- Dan home brews his own beer and has even tried his hand at wine, mostly for his lovely wife.
- He has a passion for painting – just ask him to show you some of his gorgeous creations!
- As a child, Dan enjoyed playing any and every sport he could!
- He loves to tend his garden at home and enjoys using his own fresh vegetables and herbs in his at home cooking.
- Dan married Danielle in September 2019.
Chef Dan is a dedicated, creative chef whose skill and passion shows in everything he does.
November has us cooking under the guidance of Chef Jeremy Langemann. He is the Executive Chef at St. Charles Country Club. He started with the club April 2018. Previous to the club, he worked as a Culinary Arts instructor at Red River College for three years, instructing a variety of programs. Jeremy spent the majority of his industry career, nineteen years, with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. He was fortunate enough to have been able to apprentice at the Banff Springs Hotel and Jasper Park Lodge. After working hard to get promoted to a management Sous Chef position, Chef relocated to Washington DC onto the Copley Plaza in Boston, Royal York in Toronto, and the Palliser in Calgary with his last stop as the executive chef here in Winnipeg for two and a half years. Chef Langemann had a tremendous career with Fairmont and is thankful for the countless opportunities they provided for him and his family..
His wife’s name is Shayna and they have two daughters, Ava who is nine and Bethan who is four so they keep them both quite busy!
Academically, Chef is embarking on acquiring his Certified Club Manager designation. He is hopeful that this can be completed within five years. Jeremy currently holds Certified Chef De Cuisine status and would like to add to the list.
A lover of food, hunting, and fishing. The host of @themeatupmb, Josh has been putting together wild-inspired meals for a long time now. He specializes in outdoor cooking and forest foraging. His love for food is evident in every meal he creates. If you don’t follow his Instagram, you should. You can find Josh at @joshmcfads.
Working with Josh to guide us through the evening will be our very own meat purveyor extraordinaire, Shawn Miller of Miller’s Meats.
Residing in Gimli, Manitoba for the past 12 years, Monica originally came from a small farming
community in northern Alberta and has been a ‘foodie’ since she was a little girl. Being on a mixed farm meant having to tend to various animals as well as grow and maintain a large garden and harvest and preserve all the bounties it produced.
Unlike most of the guest chefs invited to Les Marmitons, Monica is not a chef by trade, nor does she work in the hospitality industry. Her work in the construction management industry has taken her all over the world working at times as a project manager involved with building or expanding mining operations in such locales as Russia, Mongolia, Jordan, Dubai and most of Arctic North America to name a few. With her work and travel, she maintained her love of all things food and attended Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Ottawa, graduating Le Grand Diplome (both Cuisine and Patisserie). Monica grows a garden whenever possible and if anything remains at the end of the season it is canned and preserved to enjoy throughout the winter. She continues to practice her French culinary skills whenever possible as well as explore other techniques and food adventures wherever she goes.
Leane Kate Galang graduated from the Culinary Arts programs at Red River College on February 2019. She currently works at Tre Visi Cafe and aspires to own a restaurant in the near future.
Chef started his career graduating from the Culinary Arts Program at Red River College and continued training under esteemed Chef Takashi Murakami C.M. as Jr. Sous Chef at St Charles Country Club. After making the move into the local restaurant scene, Norm opened The Grove Pub & Restaurant and, following its success, proceeded to open Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant, then Black Bird Brasserie, where he continues to build on the legacy of Winnipeg's long standing establishments.
He competed twice in the Gold Medal Plates competition. In 2014 Norm was awarded the silver medal, and in 2015, won gold, which brought him to the international level in Kelowna, BC the following year.
Chef continues to be a proud member of the SOS Chef’s Dinner, and throughout the year participate in various fundraisers in the city.
The Grove, The Cornerstone, and Black Bird Brasserie are multidimensional neighbourhood establishments where bar and restaurant meet in the middle, blurring the lines between fine and casual dining. Chef enjoys serving internationally inspired pub fare along with a rousing selection of beer, cocktails, and wine in a lively and energetic room!
March has us preparing a diverse menu with Chef Kelly Andreas, Executive Chef of Diversity Food Services, leading the way.
A bit about Chef Kelly’s professional skills and experience:
- Food and beverage experience of over 28 years
- In a leadership role for more than 20 years
- Leads by example with a passion for excellence in all areas of food and beverage
- Well trained in all factions of cooking competencies
- Diverse in menu design, functionality and verbiage
- Strong team building capabilities
- Strong coaching abilities developing people, improving skills, communication resulting in cohesiveness
- Detail orientated with driven ‘SMART’ objectives
- Very Strong Financial acumen in menu design, labor and food cost control
- Multi-unit operations with over 80 staff
- Restaurant opening and branding
It will be an amazing start to 2019 with Chef Jess Young leading the way!
Chef Jess brings 20 years of experience to her current role as Chef de Cuisine with Diversity Food Services - a four pillar sustainable social enterprise that services markets throughout Manitoba and is dedicated to redefining institutional food services to capture an ecologically sustainable framework.
In 2008 she won Chefs of the City, bringing her to a stage in Australia working at Tetsuyas alongside their pastry chef. In 2011 she published a book highlighting healthy home cooking for your pooch titled “A Dog’s Breakfast” winning the 2011 Manuela Dias Book Design of the Year Award.
Chef Jess has contributed to numerous dinners benefiting our community, including Taste of the Nation, with proceeds supporting organizations dedicated to fighting poverty. She was guest chef for Women Wine Food for International Women’s Day in support of Women’s Health Clinic. Chef Jess recently participated in The Art of Good Food in support of Norwest Co-Op Community Food Center. She also volunteers, teaching cooking classes and food skills with House of Peace, a home where hope empowers newcomer women to live life and begin anew.
November brings a formal five-course menu under the guidance of seasoned chef and community builder, Chef Kelly Cattani of Bluestone Cottage.
Chef Kelly Cattani has been working in Winnipeg’s culinary community for over 17 years. She has been blessed to have worked alongside many of the city’s greatest chefs throughout her career. She is an avid promoter of fresh, vibrant and seasonal cooking and loves to create custom menus to suit the needs of her clients.
Chef Cattani believes that sharing food builds community and is a huge supporter of community building initiatives throughout the year. She has been a featured chef at many fundraising events, she has competed is several national culinary events, she has been published in numerous newspaper and magazine articles and has participated in a nationally televised culinary competition.
Throughout her career Chef Kelly Cattani has continually pushed herself to expand her skill set, seek new culinary adventures and teach others about the importance of scratch cooking and traditional food preparation methods. When she is not in the kitchen Kelly spends time with her family. She loves gardening, foraging for wild edibles and exploring the great outdoors.
Chef Cattani’s newest initiative is Bluestone Cottage which currently offers catering and event planning services. Bluestone Cottage has a big dream of one day becoming a vibrant neighbourhood cafe and eatery in sunny Downtown Charleswood. Head over to www.bluestonecottage.ca and check it out, or connect with her at @bluestonecottage on social media.
October will find us back on home turf at The University of Winnipeg’s Diversity Food Services’ main kitchen. We’ll be preparing a Salvadoran feast under the guidance of owner-operators Sonia Valdez and Jose Hernan from La Fiesta Cafecito.
Sonia and her husband Jose immigrated to Canada in 1988 from El Salvador.
At that time, she began working at Baked Expectations as a baker. “Baking was a passion of mine with the dream of opening my own pastry shop“.
In 1994 that dream came true. They opened La Fiesta Cafecito on Sherbrook Street as a pastry-coffee shop. With the urging of many people in the community, it evolved into a full service restaurant, specializing in traditional Salvadoran cuisine. They then relocated to 856 Ellice Avenue and operated at that location from 1997 to 2007.
In November 2007 they once again relocated to their present location at 730 St. Anne’s Road. It’s a family-run business which they take great pride in.
Our first event of the season will have us preparing numerous Middle Eastern delights under the guidance of Chef Sinan Aboud in the kitchen of his Ali Baba Restaurant and Shisha Lounge.
It was March 21, 2002 when Chef Aboud looked up Chef Ali at Pasta La Vista in search of a job. Even though Chef Aboud had to answer 'no' when asked if he spoke English, he still got the position. Since then, the kitchen has become Chef Aboud's comfort zone. Even though he was laughed at for his English, the chefs he worked with were helpful in correcting his errors. Chef Aboud learned how to speak English in the kitchen with their help.
Chef Aboud cooked at the University of Winnipeg's Diversity Food Services while studying biology and was known to sell and carry large amounts of pure saffron. Community involvement is important to him, as the many events he has organized or supported attest. With all of his worldly experience, Chef still finds himself most comfortable and at home in the kitchen. The kitchen at Ali Baba may be the best fit yet!
For our year-end windup this year, we are planning a farm-to-table 5km meal.
The prospective date for planning purposes is Saturday 23rd June. It will involve a meal to be created from products that are available from our host farm, Rudy Reimer’s Watersong Farms in Warren, Mb and from neighbouring farms that include a micro-greens and egg farm, a monastery that makes cheeses as well as Rudy’s trout and chicken farming.
The meal will be guided by a chef local to the area and knowledgeable about the farm-fresh products. We will, as always, do the cooking. There will be paired wines and relevant beverage choices and as a consequence we are planning to lay on a bus to take us and our spousal equivalents from Polo Park at 1:00 pm and drop us back there by 10:00 pm. So yes, this is a time commitment for us and our ladies. Any of the ladies not wishing to participate in the afternoon will travel on their own to Watersong for the evening.
The program will involve tours of the host farms to introduce us to the production methods and operations and the bus is retained for that purpose. There is also a butcher on hand at Watersong and a large smoking oven so we will have a variety of proteins and cooking techniques to explore.
We trust this will provide an exciting opportunity to connect with food in a different way and will prove to be an enjoyable day for our members and spouses.
Chef Emily Beger will be guiding the group this month. Emily is the recipient of this year's award for most promising culinary student at Red River College.
Biography
Emily Beger, 20 years old, Graduated with Honours from the Culinary Arts program at Red River College in December 2017.
Coop Placements:
Bergmann’s on Lombard - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Peller Estates Winery Restaurant - Niagara on the Lake, Ontario
Awards Received:
2016 Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited Award
2017 Paterson GlobalFoods Culinary Arts Award
2017 Les Marmitons Most Promising Chef Award
Why I Chose Culinary Arts:
Growing up I never put too much thought into my career, until at the age of 16 I was diagnosed as Type 1 Diabetic. With this I had to start looking at food a little closer and learning more about it and I discovered it was something that I really enjoyed. I started by looking up what foods are high in sugar and carbohydrates and then I found myself learning about the Malliard Reaction and much more from books and on the internet until I decided to actually study Culinary Arts and start learning hands on. I entered my first year of College knowing only what I had taught myself and I finished with my entire second year of tuition paid for by scholarships I received through Red River College. Being in school always challenged me, tested my limits, made me do things that were out of my comfort zone and taught me to never give up. I’m very confident I chose the right career and I look forward to always having the opportunity to learn something new.
The menu I chose for this event is with the theme of Spring
Appetizer:
Rhubarb Ceviche and Asparagus Guacamole served with Corn Tostada
Salad:
Kale Caesar Salad with Candied Walnuts, Charred Fennel, Roasted Beets, Herbed Croutons and Shaved Parmesan
Entrée:
Crusted Rack of Lamb Finished with Mint Butter, Herbed Risotto, Sautéed Morel Mushrooms, Spring Peas, and Sweet Potato Purée
Dessert:
Cherry Crumble with Sous-Vide Lemon Curd, Toasted Almonds and Honey Ice Cream
Chef Bernard will guide the membership through the preparation of a Basquaise (French/Spanish) meal.
Hailing from Gimli, Manitoba for the past 11 years, Monica originally came from a small farming
community in northern Alberta and has been a ‘foodie’ since she was a little girl. Being on a
mixed farm meant having to tend to various animals as well as grow and maintain a large
garden and harvest and preserve all the bounties it produced.
Unlike most of the guests invited to Les Marmitons, Monica is not a Chef nor does she work in the hospitality industry. Her work in the construction management industry has taken her all over the world working at times as a Project Manager involved with building or expanding mining operations in such locales as Russia, Mongolia, Jordan, Dubai and most of Arctic North America to name a few. Amongst her work and travel she maintained her love of all things food and attended Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Ottawa, graduating Le Grand Diplome (both Cuisine and Patisserie). Monica grows a garden whenever possible and if anything remains at the end of the season it is canned and preserved to enjoy throughout the winter. She continues to practice her newfound French culinary skills whenever possible as well as explore other techniques and food adventures wherever she goes.
The menu for this event includes:
- Roasted Eggplant Dip with lavash crackers
- Baked Scallops
- Clams in “Marinara “Sauce
- Hake Galician Style
- Chicken Basquaise
- Rice Pilaf
- Gateau Basque
Chef Pastorin from Cornerstone will guide the group through the preparation of British Pub Grub
Norm Pastorin
In a nutshell, I started my career graduating from the Culinary Arts Program at Red River College. Continued my training under esteemed Chef Takashi Murakami C.M. as Jr. Sous chef at St Charles Country Club. After making the move into the local restaurant scene, I opened The Grove Pub & Restaurant and following its success proceeded to open Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant where we continue to build on the legacy of two of Winnipeg's long standing establishments.
I competed twice in the Gold Medal Plates competition. In 2014 I was awarded the silver medal, and in 2015, won Gold which brought me to the international level in Kelowna, BC the following year.
I continue to be a proud member of the SOS Chef’s Dinner, and throughout the year participate in various fundraisers in the city.
Both The Grove and The Cornerstone are multidimensional neighborhood pubs where bar and restaurant meet in the middle blurring the lines between fine and casual dining. We enjoy serving internationally inspired pub fare, and a rousing selection of beer, cocktails, and wine in a lively and energetic room!
The menu for this event will be themed after the traditional Sunday Roasts popularized in English Pubs and includes:
Starters: Oysters with mignonette and Prawn cocktail with Marie Rose sauce
First Course: Scotch Egg with brown sauce (HP Sauce)
Main to be served Family Style: Beef Wellington, Spatchcocked Cornish Game Hen, Carrot and Parsnip Glacee
Dessert: Sticky Toffee Pudding
The Les Marmitons members will wine and dine their significant others at this Valentine's event. This year's event was held as a Brunch where all food was prepared by members.
