FAVOURITE EQUIPMENT
One of Connie DeSousa’s favourite pieces of equipment is the old vintage-style slicer she has at CharCut Roast House in Calgary. “It’s fire-engine red, but what sets it apart from all other slicers is it’s manually operated. One of our signature dishes is the pig-head mortadella and with all the other cured meat and salami that we make in-house, because it’s not electric — an electric slicer would actually heat up and melt all the fats in the meat — we’re able to cut [the meat] paper thin and give it a really nice mouth feel.”— Connie DeSousa, CharCut Roast House, Calgary
FAVOURITE INGREDIENT
“Butter, without a doubt, is my favourite ingredient. It’s an amazing product that can be used to poach,fry or to make or enrich sauces.
Essential in most baking, for icing cakes, as a spread, it helps to slicegooey foods when rubbed on a knife blade and prevents snow from sticking to the shovel when clearing the pavement during Calgary winters. [And], its used as a beauty treatment as well.”— Vincent Parkinson, Calgary Golf & Country Club, Calgary
FAVOURITE RESTAURANT
“My wife is my VIP, so we go to Swiss Chalet. It’s not my favourite restaurant but it’s hers.”— Pierre Dubrulle, chef instructor, Vancouver
FAVOURITE RESTAURANT
“I honestly am so happy to stay at home on mydays off.” — Paul Rogalski, Rouge Restaurant, Calgary
FAVOURITE EQUIPMENT
The creative and passionate mind is my favourite equipment.” — Ned Bell, Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver
FAVOURITE EQUIPMENT
“With all the exciting new equipment and techniques, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the limitless possibilities in culinary. But, for me, I still get some real visceral pleasure from my old Victorianox and Henckels knife kit I bought when I was an apprentice at the Windsor Arms [Hotel in Toronto]. Just working with these old knives grounds me and gives me perspective when my culinary aspirations seem to be lost in the clouds” — Tony de Luca, The Old Winery Restaurant,Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
photo courtesy of Food Network Canada/Insights Productions
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