blog
What do hockey, bared naked ladies, and Jim Cuddy have in common? LAST THURSDAY NIGHT!!! Out of the Blue! Okay so I like Creemore better but Out of the Creemore doesn’t work for this. But it was just like one of those out of the Blue commercials! So last Thursday night my friend Eric and I went to go see Blue Rodeo. Pretty great day already, right? You may want to sit down now for this. This is a quote from the message I left on the answering machine, “Okay so this is the deal we are sitting beside these great people in the audience who know Gary Roberts (ex Maple Leaf) and Gary Roberts is also a personal friend of Jim Cuddy. So guess where we are right now? Yup, we here back stage at the backstage party, just met the keyboardist from the Bare Naked Ladies and I had a glass of wine with Dave Hodge from Hockey Night in Canada, Yup, I said Dave Hodge, yup, yup this was absolutely unbelievable!” What a fantastic day! Here’s to (not only Great Eating) but Great spontaneous moments that, well…come out of the BLUE! Chef D
When you go to Huron County, please mind your feet on the red carpet.
We just filmed an upcoming episode in the Goderich area, “Taste of Huron” this past weekend. What a fantastic community!
The red carpet was initially rolled out to us by Vicky and Roger Morrison at the Grassroots Rural Retreat. They hosted about 200 people Friday night who came for a Country Supper made by passionate locavores. Can you say the best peach pie I ever had? I’d tell you about the ham and the apple sauce but I would be drooling on my keyboard! This morning Vicky and Roger cooked us a wonderful homemade breakfast. Imagine, for a moment, a table filled with homemade strawberry and raspberry jam, on my left is apple butter from Meeting Place Organic Farm. Beside my coffee cup sits a dish of sweet chilli and homemade Ketchup. You can go back and read that again or I can just say it again…yes, homemade ketchup. All the while being surrounded by a beautiful B&B (and a CSA farm) that warms you with the wood detail, embraces you with it’s clear voice of love of the family and begs your return because you are now a part of it’s history.
We head off down the road to Goderich to participate in the Taste of Huron’s ‘Chef Challenge’. What great fun!
I spent the morning with 3 local chefs, some young farmers who delight in the unique flavours they are yielding from their home grown soil and the people of Huron County who welcomed me as one of their own!
Check out the Taste of Huron episode on September 14th to see what happened in the Chefs Challenge. As always pictures in the photo gallery. Enjoy!
Here’s to Great Eating!
Chef D
My kind of town, Chicago is!
The People, the music, the wind and THE FOOD!
Want to be WOWed with a capital W? One word for you Osteria! Okay so it's
called The Osteria, which is two words, but work with me here!
Chef David Digregorio and his crew created music for my pallet every night.
Chef David finds the freshest local ingredients and incorporates them into
to his casual Italian menu! There may have been live music played at other
venues that night but I had the orchestra playing my taste buds strings at
The Osteria. Can you say fennel pollen WOW!
Sit at the Bar and let Micci serve you. Micci is a person who truly loves what she
does and creates an atmosphere of pure comfort.
Here's to Great Eating in Chicago!
Chef D
Edible Magic was what I ate last night!
The next time you are in Ft. Wayne, Indiana you must check out Catablu. The food melts on your pallet. The ambiance embraces you and the owners Maureen and Mike Catalogna treat you like family. Family you like!
Where is Fort Wayne Indiana? Make a right in Buffalo and keep driving. What am I doing here? Eating magic!
Here’s to Great Eating!
Chef D
..
Fireworks, friends, some fantastic flavours and a fun time at Shore 104.3fm are just few of the things that dazzled me in my latest trip to Vancouver!
I was in Vancouver last week where I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Dunbar of Shore 104.3fm. We got to talk about new and old flavours as well as the great time the whole production team had on a cruise in the bay, courteous of Gold Seal. Check out the site for some pictures! And check out Facebook for some very humorous video from the Shore.
The season is full of fresh flavours of blueberries, raspberries and peaches, whether you are on the west or east coast. Get outside to your local markets and bath yourself in some of these succulent delicacies. You won’t regret it. They freeze easily too!
Here’s to great eating!
Chef D
I have just had a life changing experience!
I had the honour of being invited to Friends of We Care camp day in London, Ontario. This is a camp for children with disabilities. Sadly I didn’t meet any of those children. Every child I met there was full of ability! I danced with Sydney Weaver, Ambassador to Friends of We Care.
I got my clocked cleaned in hockey by some very fast talking and fast moving young men. I was one of many campers that were dropped 70 feet in the air, yes I screamed! Maybe. And then Sydney and I got to cook dinner for over 70 young people who sang their thank you’s to us. But it is I who thank all of you! It’s not every day you have a life changing experience.
You must check out the photo gallery to some of the fun we all had! The show will go up in October….might be some sneak previews before then! (But don’t tell anyone.) Here’s to Great Eating and remember YOU’RE WORTH IT! We all are!
Chef D
What is your biggest cooking fear and if you could ask a Chef anything what would it be?
Date of Entry: July 7th, 2010
This is the question I asked the flight attendants on a flight to Vancouver. Their answers were more varied than I thought they were going to be. This is great because cooking and flavours vary with each person!
One fear was not to burn themselves while cooking, to find the freshest and most impressive dishes, to make sure everything is cooked properly, that recipes walk you through proper cooking methods and finally how too cook shell fish because there is a lot of wives tales are out there.
Asking a Chef any question and it came back to flavour and how can I get more? Remember a little salt can be your friend and give that dish just the lift it needs. Also lemons are like sunshine they add flavour to every dish keep some in kitchen at all times
It is always great to hear what other people think about food and hear what excites or scares them. Do you have some of the same fears?
If you have any questions/thoughts send me an email on our contact page.
Here’s to Great Eating!
Chef D
I was in Ottawa this past week and as in every city we go to, we try to find a new restaurant that we have not tried or that someone has recommended.
Date of Entry: June 25, 2010
Well, we came upon a great place called Murray Street and wow, it blew me away! The menu is very simple but different. Murray Street has committed themselves to buying local or finding the best ingredients in Ontario (e.g., Pine River 7 year old cheddar). Their version of Poutine and Smores are worth to Ottawa!
Just as we have filmed a lot of hidden gems, the owners and chefs of Murray Street have found their hidden gems and show them off every night!
I love passion and Murray Street delivers!!!
Here's to great eating!
- ChefD
As I was flying to Seattle I just finished reading an article in a wine magazine that got me going!
Date of Entry: June 10, 2010
The author was going on about making mistakes in cooking and picking wines.
As a Chef who has been working in the industry for over 25 years. Mistakes are the Key to learning in all aspects of life not just cooking. The first time I made hollandaise sauce it split because I had too much heat. I can go on...What I am saying is take the risk. Make the dish once before you serve it to guests. Some of my most creative ideas were born something different!
Enjoy, take some time and experiment!!
Here's to Great Eating!
- Chef D
With my job as Corporate Chef with Aquastar I travel all over the country and get to eat in some great restaurants. I am going to list 10 but it is not a top ten, anyone of them could be #1
Date of Entry: June 1, 2010
1. Langdon Hall - The food is outstanding!
2. Vij's (Vancouver) - Outstanding Indian Food, great service and a fantastic wine list.
3. Mooo (Boston) - Go for the Grass fed strip loin wow it is so good! Great Service and you can sit at the bar and eat. Very good wine list.
4. Punch Pizza (in Minneapolis) - Gourmet thin crust pizza that begs you to come back, you may see a line up but your pizza does not take long to get you. Wood fired ovens.
5. Press Gang (Halifax) - In the basement of a very old build huge cement walls, it is a great place to sit with friends and eat Oysters and drink great wines. The Chef's Sword Fish is amazing!!
6. De Emma (old Montreal) - Great food, amazing service, Emma makes magic every night. Have the gnocchi!
7. D' Amico Kitchens (Minneapolis) - Service that cannot be beaten, the best Mussels I have ever eaten, braised short ribs mmmmmmmmmm!
8. Flying Fish (Seattle) - Love the fresh fish, selection of oysters, great wines and great service, time and time again!
9. Publican (Chicago) - Great selection of beers, mussels and frites, great selection of cold hams and don't forget to try some Vodka! Take a whole bunch of people with you; the place is a lot of fun!
10. Bauer Kitchen (Waterloo) - Great Service - Conrad and his team are amazing. Chef Dan and his Brigade serve up some great food, the mushroom tart and beet salad are unbeatable and you have to try their steaks!
If you can check them out you will not be disappointed.
Here's to Great Eating!
Chef D
PS: You can always send me your favorites and I will post them on my site
Where does the Chef Shop?
Date of Entry: February 26, 2010
Well here we are at the end of Feb and I have been very delinquent on writing my Blog...
I often get asked, "Chef where do you shop and why"? You all know that I love Markets and the fresh produce but what about when I cannot get to the market. I shop at Costco and this is why: All the Meat is Drug free and most of it is still cut at each Warehouse. (This includes Seafood) As we are all concerned with our health and what goes into our bodies I love this fact. The other question I get is, "What Cooking Magazine do you recommend"? With out a doubt it is "Fine Cooking". It is packed full of cooking tips and great recipes. It has also passed the test of time, so check it out!
Until next time, here's to great Eating
- Chef D
Things to Come - Cooking with a Pressure Cooker
Date of Entry: January 25, 2010
Well I received a new Pressure cooker and it is not what my Grand mother used!! Very easy to use and it makes an inexpensive cut of meat taste great, not only taste but it was tender. Than I made a mushroom soup, the great thing with the pressure cooker is that the soup took 45 minutes to make and the flavour was outstanding. We will be doing an episode on cooking with the pressure cooker stay tuned. Over the upcoming week I will be having some guest bloggers to talk about wine, nutrition and some secret ones that I cannot let out of the bag yet. Our next episode is on Hidden Gems this was great fun to film. I hope you enjoy it
Here's to Great Eating!
- Chef D
Happy New Year!
Date of Entry: January 7, 2010
I have been a little lazy with holidays and some great events so I have neglected my blog. First I want to wish everyone a happy and great 2010 let's make it the year of great food. That can be in some of the great recipes that we will be posting in the upcoming weeks and months. I challenge you to go to your local markets; small butcher shops and great specialty stores where you can buy so many great products that you can not get at the big chains and don't forget to ask questions to their staff they are there for you.
You will notice some new features on the website over the upcoming weeks I am excited that we are adding a store page where you can buy some great products that I have tried and have been impressed by and would like to offer to you our viewers. Thanks for all the great comments on the website and shows (we will be adding a comment and suggestion page and a contest to cook with me on an upcoming episode).
Here's to Great Eating!
- Chef D
Banana Bread Bake Off
Date of Entry: December 16, 2009
We had a Banana Bread Bake off last Friday at the Aquastar offices and no I did not win but came in a close second. Laurie Boasie won and I have posted her recipe under the recipe section. For those who attended my cooking class in Kitchener last week I have posted the Raspberry Custard recipe on the site. I have finally found the perfect Shortbread recipe and can take no credit for the recipe. It is taken from the Gay Lea Shortbread Inspirations or checkout their website www.gaylea.com. Until next week
Here's to great eating
- Chef D
Holiday Parties and a Trip to Vancouver
Date of Entry: December 9, 2009
It's December and the time for Christmas and Holiday Parties. I am here with some great easy recipes to help make your holiday a huge hit. One of my favourites is the bacon wrapped dates! I know you are thinking bacon and dates. Your guests are going to go crazy for these sweet savoury apps.
With my job as the Corporate Chef for Aqua Star I get to travel all over North America and eat at some great Restaurants that I will share with you. I was in Vancouver last week and ate (I know I say it a lot but this is one of my favourites) at Vij's an absolute great Indian Restaurant, the food is unbelievable the lamb popsicles are worth the trip to Vancouver! The other part is the service is second to none please check it out!!
My other passion is great Music and I have been searching for a great Radio Station and I finally found it Shore 104.1fm in Vancouver, the music selection is amazing and great DJ's or check it out on line www.shore104.com and enjoy!
Till Next Time
Here's to great Eating
- Chef D
Preparing the Launch of Episode 2
Date of Entry: November 30, 2009
So we have put up some new recipes on the web site and the second show debuts on Friday. While filming on Saturday with the best Crew in the business it was like question and answer session my staff (who love food and wine and beer) and were asking questions on why this ingredient and what do you think about this ingredient it was a lot of fun, that is what I would like this site to be. Send me your Questions and I will answer them or get the answers for experts. I am on a Plane to Vancouver and will eating and preparing some great Food.
As always here's to great Eating
- Chef D
The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo
Date of Entry: November 26, 2009
The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo was a great success again this year. It provided an excellent opportunity to taste a variety of great wines and beers that were offered.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will begin providing some seasonal recipes at ChefDtv.com; for example, stay tuned for a great shortbread recipe!
Remember to plan your parties and do some of the prep work a couple days ahead so that you are not too stressed the day of
- Chef D
Getting What You Want in Life
Date of Entry: November 20, 2009
When I think back to high school and what I wanted out of life, I can tell you: This is it!
I get to travel all over the country doing something I love! Tasting, Eating, and Cooking in many different kitchens. People refer to my travelling lifestyle as that of a Rock Star Chef; always moving to different places is one of the things I enjoy the most.
So join me on my newest and greatest tour yet - ChefDtv.com. Every two weeks there will be a new video episode. I will also be frequently posting new recipes for you to try and enjoy. Join me at ChefDtv.com, follow me at Twitter or see me on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Come, we have some great eating ahead of us!
- Chef D
