#cookitraw

When anyone thinks of Alberta cuisine, beef is what comes to mind. It has been the cornerstone of the agriculture industry in our province since it was founded. The word beef is synonymous with our provincial name so it was only appropriate to include it in this Cook it Raw series.

We travelled south to the town of Nanton where we found Trail’s End located in a beautiful rolling valley. When you picture ranching in your mind, the prairies come to mind and conjure up a very flat grassy landscape. As we approached the gates to the ranch it dipped into a beautiful valley with one small ranch house. Rachel and Tyler Herbert have what looks to be a modest organic ranch, but honestly one of the most beautiful farms tucked away in the south prairies. It was a welcome distraction from the stigma which comes with the stigma of cowboys and the trickle down of the Calgary Stampede.

Rachel’s family has an amazing story and have been ranching for over one hundred years. Generations of farming this land has come with so many interesting tales, one being Rachel’s grandma taking in World War II pilots and housing them. We spent most of the day walking the land where Justin and Eden talked with Rachel about why they ranch the way they do. One of the most interesting things Rachel shared with us was how there is an aspect of terroir to their beef. This means the cattle at Trail’s End takes on some taste of what they have been grazing on the land.

Being in the rustic environment was really neat, and we even had the opportunity to share a meal in their log cabin home. In hindsight we should have probably cooked in the Herbert’s kitchen because it had the perfect look and the atmosphere for what we were going for in Cook it Raw. A unique aspect about Trail’s End is they don’t provide their beef to restaurants, but a private farm who caters to families. It’s something we don’t see very often in the world of big-ag so it was great to see a farm taking a risk and going back to old school style farming.

Flipping it over to the cooking portion of the piece, we had the chefs take a different avenue on the typical steak and potatoes dish. Justin and Eden both have very modern styles so they were able to take an arguably generic ingredient and turn it on its head using classic preparation but also high flavour design. This was Justin Leboe’s second Cook it Raw in which he brought a ton of insight and passion about the land, ingredients, and culinary style. After they finished the dish it was easily one of the coolest beef dishes we have seen. The Trail’s End beef tasted much differently than regular store bought beef and proved the value of what Rachel and Tyler are doing on their land.

-Locke Vincent

Our next adventure for Cook it Raw took us to the town of Bon Accord, just north of Edmonton. Root vegetables are a key foundation of Alberta’s culinary landscape and one of the few things which can grow abundantly in our harsh climate.

Tam Andersen runs Prairie Gardens, a beautiful farm-slash-activity centre for the whole family. It has a really cute set up of things for the kids to do as well as a fully functional U-pick for people just looking for the goods. To be honest, it was quite tempting to go explore and play in the corn maze or pumpkin patch instead of setting up the shoot but alas work came first in this case. Tam’s story is really interesting as she always works within the means of the land, during times both good and bad. The drought this year was tough but she was able to produce some amazing vegetables to feed our province.

Our favourite aspect of this shoot was being able to cook on site. This was the only episode where this was a possibility and everyone was excited to see how everything would turn out. Cam Dobronski and Blair Lebsack were the chefs in charge of the root vegetable collaborative dish and both wanted to keep it simple. Using only a forno oven, the chefs conjured up some of the most colourful dishes we have seen over the whole project. One of the most interesting pieces was a full beet encased in a shell of bread, which acted like its own little forno. It was forno-ception. Cracking that beet out of the shell after being cooked looked really awesome too and makes an appearance in the video.

Being outside was the way we should have done this series all along. The lighting was amazing and we were able to use shade to our advantage. It was beautiful all day and set the tone for the whole shoot. Everyone was chill and the chefs were on point with their cooking. Sometimes we needed to pry a little bit to get some talking bits out of them because they were definitely in the zone. We need to find another excuse to film out at Prairie Gardens again, possibly for a dinner through ACTA or something of that nature.    

- Locke Vincent

A Review of Origin, by Ben Shewry

One of my team mates, after watching the excellent Netflix “Chef’s Table” has recently become enamored of Ben Shewry, the chef of Melbourne’s “Attica.” I’ve been a fan of Ben Shewry’s since he first popped up on my radar, about 2008. I appreciate him not just as a chef, but for his commitment to his environment and devotion to his…

Next up in the Cook it Raw series is a grain unique to Canada. Red Fife is Canada’s oldest wheat grown right here in Alberta. Over the course of two days we set out to capture the essence of Red Fife, what it is like to produce it, and have two of the best chefs in Alberta collaborate on a unique dish using the grain.

We had the privilege of filming at Gold Forest Grains, just north of Edmonton. John Schneider is the farmer who operates there who was a very interesting person who had a ton of insight on farming organically in Alberta. His family has been farming for generations in Alberta, and John is one of the most passionate producers we spoke with all summer. His knowledge of grains was astounding and gave some real insight into what life is like as an organic farmer in our province.

Our first day of filming was on site at Gold Forest Grains, where Shane and John talked about his style of organic farming. We learned this lifestyle comes with challenges, especially during a drought year like 2015. John’s passion for farming is what drives him though rough years and competing with big-ag. An inspiring man who is making a difference selling his product through local markets only, which provides him with stories like this:  

“The best part of my job is having customers come up to me and tell me the first food their child eats is from my farm.”

Our next day of filming was back in Calgary over in the teaching kitchens of SAIT. Chefs Andrew and Shane brought their gear and some supplies but most importantly, an immense amount of creativity. The cooking portion of these Cook it Raw farm stories are a juxtaposition of chill while the chefs do their thing, and frantically trying to capture their creations without missing anything important. There are no do-overs while we film in the kitchen so it is a nice challenge to get the best shots without disturbing the creativity of the chefs.

he funny thing about this collaborative dish was that Andrew and Shane had never met in person until the day we filmed. I note this because you wouldn’t have known when you watched them work, as they were on the same page from the very beginning. When you are working with chefs at the top of their game it is awesome to see them come together and jam on a dish without hesitation. You would think from watching the video they had been working together for the entirety of their careers.

One of the coolest pieces of the dish Chef Andrew made was the Red Fife gnocchi. The technique of putting the mixture into a bag and then using a wire to cut it into the boiling water blew my mind. It was an absolute treat to see being made and an even better experience when we got to try a bite during the shoot. Chef Shane flexed his Native roots and infused his traditional cooking techniques into the dish. Having Shane as part of the project was a treat because really, his roots are what we are trying to emulate through this whole project.

-Locke Vincent

Our next episode of Cook it Raw began in the heart of central Alberta. The talented chef team of Paul Rogalski (Rouge - Calgary) and Brayden Kozak (Three Boars Eatery - Edmonton) drew bison as their ingredient, so we headed to Lacombe to meet up with Canadian Rangelands, one of the largest bison producers in the province. Everyone was really excited to learn about one of the most native animals of Alberta, and to be up close with such a majestic animal.

The drive to Lacombe was actually pretty disheartening. Alberta weather can be troublesome at the best of times and we drove through a constant rainstorm the whole way to the ranch. Since organising the shoot during the chefs' busy season we didn't have any other options and hoped the rain would break. Shooting in the rain wouldn't have been impossible, but it does make it more difficult to get exactly what we wanted for shots. Thankfully the rain did stop once we pulled up to the ranch and we were able to shoot the producer portion of the piece without any hassle.

Armin Mueller and Michelle Lunty were there to greet us at Pilatus Farms where they have over 300 head of bison. We had only scheduled an hour to interview them, pick their brains about the animal, and then get to cooking, however we ended up staying in the fields with the bison for over two hours. They had a very interesting story to tell and we couldn't help but keep the cameras rolling and soak it up.

The part of the bison story that stuck with me the most was when Arwin described why he raised bison. He said, and I paraphrase "they have been here for thousands and years and they know the land better than us..." Watching Alberta's largest land mammal hang out all day while we filmed was really special, knowing they have been helping the ecosystem for longer than we have been here. The other cool interesting point was how low maintenance the bison are, and they really kind of do their thing with little interference.

One of the more challenging shots was the aerials of the bison in the field. Armin said they may take off, and sure enough as soon as the drone was within earshot they started running. It made for some great footage, but we only had one chance to get them before they ran away. After parting ways in Lacombe our next portion of the day would be spent at Red Deer College. After setting up the cameras and gear we were ready to see what Paul and Brayden had in store for the bison.

The boys had some very interesting ideas, both wanting to celebrate the life of the bison. Using a beet gastrique to emulate the kill of the bison was one of the most unique visuals we saw for the entire project. Both Brayden and Paul have Ukrainian roots, so it was great to see the integration of this into the dish with the beet green rolls. Of course, the bison was done to perfection (not cooked too much!) and throughout the entire evening we all had an amazing conversation about the bison and what a wonderful animal it is.

Thanks again to ACTA, Cook it Raw, Canadian Rangelands, Pilatus Farms, Red Deer College, Paul Rogalski, and Brayden Kozak for helping make this piece come together so well.

-Locke Vincent